R Whelan, Myocum
Byron Council is developing state-significant farmland – really?
In the looming face of climate-change-induced food shortages and the reality of our current 98 per cent drought-declared state of New South Wales, it beggars belief that any governing body, particularly one led by the Greens, would seriously consider developing state-significant farmland – be it contiguous or not.
Our council’s Business and Industrial Lands Strategy, despite already having identified more land than is required for the next 20 years, belatedly decided to include a couple of extra locations – one being part of the former Bruns Eco Village (BEV) proposal, the other in the Bangalow environs.
Council staff are aware that the BEV land is constrained by the results of a previous investigation that identified ecological and heritage areas, state-significant farmland, and potential challenges with water, sewerage and NBN connections.
Apart from diminishing the food-production potential of the land, one wonders if ratepayers are happy to continue footing the bill for such investigations?
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
