Miles Shorten, Green & Clean Awareness Team.
Currently plans are afoot to move the monthly Byron markets to beside the dunes at Main Beach.
The Green & Clean Awareness Team (GCAT) have spent the last 20 years successfully restoring the dunes from the past ravages of sand mining, and as carers and protectors we are opposed to this move. We believe 360 stalls with resulting crowd pressures to be an unsustainable use of the reserve and directly threatening to the dune ecosystem that has been reestablished.
A much smaller version of the market was moved from this location 20 years ago because of its damaging impacts: a proposal to move it back was again rejected in 2014 with stallholders voting against it.
The environmental values of the dune environment these days are vastly improved thanks to the work of volunteers, bush regenerators, green corps teams, grants and business sponsorships. There are already a number of pressures on the dunes that require maintenance. The Green & Clean Team urges that the community discuss this issue and let Council know they value the preservation of the area against misuse and abuse and that this move is not on.
