The Byron Shire Council says it’s still working with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on a contamination investigation at the Butler Street Reserve, home to what used to be a tip.
Authorities are checking the Byron Bay site for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS.
Byron Shire Council Acting Director Infrastructure Services Phil Warner said via a media release this week testing was ongoing and the reserve would stay closed until results were in and the EPA had approved an Environmental Management Plan.
The reserve was closed in July 2019 when work on the Byron Bay bypass started and at that time was due to reopen when the bypass was finished.
The council says it’s planning for a number of possible eventualities, depending on the outcome of investigations, and is seeking community feedback on the idea of permanently moving the monthly Byron Community Market to in and around the rail precinct in the centre of town, rather than back to the Reserve.
Mr Warner said it was possible a small section of the site would be OK to use for the Farmers Market, which has around 80 stalls, compared to 300 stalls at the Byron Community Market.
Whether it returns to its original home on Butler Reserve or ‘crosses the tracks’ into the centre of town doesn’t matter greatly. The key issue is returning the weekly Byron Bay Farmer’s Market back into town as soon as possible. Our Famers Market belongs in a central park setting, not an asphalt car park on the fringes of Byron.