The Byron mayor appears to support making the temporary fill in Prince Street, Mullumbimby permanent, so he can fill the ‘fill’ with permanent housing. He said in last week’s Echo that it’s okay to pursue this sort of idea and just sort the details out later. The site is useless at its original ground level is flood-prone. That is not a detail, it is a fundamental flaw.
Even if filled, the site does not offer safe living. There are floods higher than the published 1-in-100 year flood. That’s what happened in 2022. And even in smaller floods, this site becomes isolated, making evacuation difficult or impossible, including for our brave first responders.
And once the site is filled and permanent, it will create mayhem for neighbours on the same floodplain and will do so forever, even if they can elevate their own premises.
The previous Council pushed hard for an arrangement like Prince Street at ‘Lot 22’, further south on the same floodplain. They ignored government and advisory committee advice and thus wasted time and money, and the precious hopes of people needing affordable housing.
While ever society keeps pursuing development on flood-prone land, we hold back the tide of what the Shire really needs – sane development on dry land.
When you consider the government’s $800 million promised so far to reduce flood risks for past development on flood-prone land, why would you doom future generations to the same cycle of non-foreign aid money? Taxpayers on dry land understand the necessity to look after our flood-prone neighbours, but we don’t agree with creating future payouts, or with damning more people to the same wet fate as in 2022.
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. 
