L S Lambert, Byron Bay
The illegal building on Belongil Beach (Letters, 12 February) is a permanent structure with no health or safety checks or permits. Built without any Council approval. Whether the person who built this is nice and wise is irrelevant.
With that reasoning if the person is judged beautiful, wise, or warm by a select few then that is all that’s needed to build on public beaches. And what if he/she is judged as not having those attributes? Approval withdrawn?
This man has taken it upon himself to encroach on public land for his personal use. He also restricts use of this building by closing at times that suit him. Yes, it is a matter of perspective. To me and others (certainly not just ‘one male complainer’ Margot Hay) it is not a beautiful space, it is an eyesore and a blatant infringement on public space.
We are amazed that Byron Council allows this to continue. Besides the aforementioned illegality, people gather in groups here without any COVID registrations that are demanded of other meeting places.
Individual homeless shelters are periodically destroyed and pulled down at councils’ request, yet this is condoned, well, actually openly permitted by Council. It needs to be gone.
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. 
