Residents in the Byron shire’s hinterland say they are still reeling after the council’s plans were released that detail large increases in housing and development for rural areas.
The Draft Rural Land Use Strategy is on public exhibition until 20 May, and has come under fire after Cr Sol Ibrahim made significant last- minute changes before adopting it for public submissions.
Main Arm Rural Residents Association president Judy MacDonald says the plans would allow for rural subdivisions with no minimum lot sizes across the Shire.
‘[It] targets 740 new dwellings for Main Arm, The Pocket, and Middle Pocket out of a total 815 estimated for the entire shire.’
‘Just as alarming will be the opening up of rural land, in particular east of the Pacific Highway; fertile lands rich for the picking from New Brighton down to Broken Head.’
Poorly conceived
‘As a guiding principle for rural planning 20 years into the future, this strategy has been poorly conceived and executed in haste, without adequate social, environmental and economic appraisals or community consultation.
‘There are also no guarantees that necessary upgrades to dangerous roads and causeways will be undertaken at no cost to the wider community, or that developers, where necessary, will pay these costs before development can proceed as stated in the strategy. Landholders with small lots could apply for a zoning change and develop a mini-subdivision. For instance, a two-hectare property could be subdivided into five one-acre lots.
‘Some might believe this is of interest to them, but uncapped rural development can only be detrimental to the Shire’s wellbeing as a whole.’
To get involved visit www.byron.nsw.gov.au/rural-land-use-strategy.
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