19.6 C
Byron Shire
July 8, 2025

State govt overrules councils to push agritourism on rural land

Latest News

Interrupting trauma and violence

Last week multi-award-winning journalist Jess Hill spoke to hundreds who gathered at the Star Court Theatre in Lismore. Hill spoke about gendered violence, and some of the things she has uncovered in recent years are truly shocking.

Other News

Editorial – Welcome to Mullumbimby!

It’s on – NSW government-run development corporation Landcom has lodged its development application for 28 tightly-packed ‘affordable’ units and commercial space, which would replace a very busy Mullumbimby carpark at the town’s entrance.

Help sought finding accused Ballina burnout driver

Local police are asking the public for help identifying a driver accused of performing burnouts in Ballina last week.

Can you help Uncle Scotty?

Uncle Scotty Sentance has been contributing to the local Byron Shire community for the last 40 years and now he needs a helping hand because he is facing one of his biggest challenges, he needs a double lung transplant.

Winter school holidays a dangerous time to be on the road

School holidays see 20 per cent of fatal or serious crashes take place with the winter school holidays being the time when weather conditions typically contribute to serious crashes.

BOQ to close Byron branch

The Byron Bay branch of Bank of Queensland (BOQ) will close September 4.

Cartoon of the week – 2 July, 2025

The Echo loves your letters and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, send us your epistles.

Rural land conflict is already an issue on the north coast and councils are concerned the issue will increase with the state government policy on agritourism development. Photo Wikimedia

The state government is ramming through an ‘agritourism’ policy which effectively removes restrictions on tourism development on rural lands, ignoring the objections of local councils and the impact on surrounding landowners.

In a thinly veiled attempt to curry favour with the National Party’s rapidly eroding voter base ahead of the upcoming election, the government is creating a series of ‘development pathways’ for agriculture-related tourism operations.

This will significantly reduce restrictions and scrutiny of the development of so-called ‘farm experience premises’, ‘farm gate premises’ and ‘farm stay accommodation’.

These developments will be able to proceed through a streamlined process that effectively sidelines local councils and neighbours wishing to object.

The government says agritourism presents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for the NSW economy, and has declared that the policy will be in place by December 23.

But the policy is now effectively being forced through without any chance for local councils to adapt the provisions to the particular needs of their communities.

Having originally given councils the opportunity to nuance or opt out of aspects of the proposed policy, the NSW Department of Planning then suddenly changed tack, coming back with a rigid policy that effectively removed this nomination process.

‘I do not accept that this has been a transparent or fair way to implement such a significant statewide planning policy, given the implications that these state-imposed land-use changes will have on rural lands in the Byron Shire,’ Byron Mayor Michael Lyon said in a mayoral minute objecting to the policy.

‘It is questionable just how ‘low impact or straightforward’ the land use types that the DPE has defined as exempt or complying agritourism development will be in the Byron Shire’.

Enforcement burden upon Council

‘Further, we know from experience that the enforcement burden for these land-use changes will fall back onto Council, without any funds for the additional resourcing it is likely to require.’

In Byron, current planning controls that are in place for weddings, events, cellar-door premises, and holiday accommodation on rural lands will be overridden by the new policy.

These controls were written in an attempt to balance the interests of tourism and event organisers with the needs of surrounding residents, who were being significantly impacted by the Shire’s already burgeoning agritourism industry.

Developments considered ‘exempt’ can be carried out without the need for planning or building approval if it meets specified development standards and doesn’t require notification of Council or neighbours.

In his Mayoral minute, to be debated at this week’s Council meeting, Cr Lyon moved that Council ‘opt out’ of the new provisions until it conducts its own review of where they could be appropriate.

He also moved that Council formally objects to ‘Agritourism’, ‘Farm experience premises’ and ‘Farm gate premises’ and ‘Farm stay accommodation’ being made permissible anywhere in the shire’s Local Environment Plans. However, should this policy be passed by Council, it is uncertain whether it will be permitted by the state government, given that it has effectively removed the option for councils to opt out of certain aspects of the policy.

Retraction: This story previously contained the following quote from the NSW Small Business Commissioner’s website: ‘As NSW farmers experience another severe drought affecting 100 per cent of the State, agritourism offers another avenue to keep farmers on the farm and jobs in the regions’.

This quote was out of date and should not have been included in the story. The Echo retracts this quote.

 

 

 


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Local councils are elected by the shire residents to uphold what the people have voted them in for. I think it’s wrong that the State can overrule local councils. Once again, it’s ratepayers and residents who are the losers.

    • Yep… Pretty sure tge drought finished a couple of years ago…. Soundsike some one in NSW agriculture dept hasn’t updated its standard protocol press release

  2. Land use conflict with our region’s local farmers and landowners will increase with the Northern Rivers Rail Trail. The rail corridor runs through the guts of the some of this region’s most productive and iconic landscapes —trespass, break and enter, illegal overnight camping and lighting of fire will be impossible to manage and enforce penalties on 132 kilometres of rail corridor. The land use issues and risks also include biosecurity. As if farming isn’t difficult and risky enough.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Two drownings remind swimmers that lifeguard patrols are reduced during winter

July has seen the drowning for two men marking a tragic start to the 2025-26 winter patrol off-season season for Surf Life Saving NSW.

Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women – Yarn Up coming to Tweed Heads

Feeling empowered to take charge of your health and wellbeing as well as helping your family and community is essential for everyone and Yarn Up is empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to do just that. 

Ballina bitou bush to be tackled by Rous County Council 

Bitou bush is one of the most aggressive weeds threatening coastal ecosystems and bitou bush will be tackled in three areas of Ballina Shire by Rous County Council (RCC) with an $85,000 NSW government grant. 

Can you help Uncle Scotty?

Uncle Scotty Sentance has been contributing to the local Byron Shire community for the last 40 years and now he needs a helping hand because he is facing one of his biggest challenges, he needs a double lung transplant.