In a familiar story of Ballina Shire’s human population putting their own desires ahead of the natural environment, the DA notice for the proposed child care centre at the corner of Hutley Drive and Byron Bay Road in Lennox Head is now on public exhibition.
The child care centre is set to accompany a new fire station for Lennox Head on what was once a small residential block surrounded by natural vegetation, including fragmented littoral rainforest.
When the issue was discussed by Ballina Council late last year, two councillors were missing from the debate, which was ultimately decided in favour of the development by Mayor Sharon Cadwallader, who used her casting vote to block an ongoing search for alternative sites, such as Spoonbill Reserve.
Council has owned the site in question since 2018, before the new Hutley Drive intersection existed. This is now a busy road servicing the Epiq development.
The fences have been up for some time, but progress on the fire station and child care centre has since slowed, with ecological consultants and council staff differing on how best to deal with the associated environmental issues, and a growing waiting list for preschool places as many more young families have moved to the area.
Issues
A council-employed technical assessment officer said in 2022 there was a ‘best case scenario’ of a 25 per cent biodiversity impact from the new RFS shed and child care centre, with nearly half of the land’s endangered rainforest likely to be destroyed, and what remained set to lose its protection from salt-laden coastal winds.
Greens Cr Kiri Dicker said at the time that it was disappointing that the fragmented nature of the ecological community on the site was being used as justification for its eradication, noting that Ballina Council had a very different risk appetite for biodiversity across the shire when compared to considering risk to its financial investments.
Cr Jeff Johnson argued that offsets could lead to a better outcome ‘than having some isolated trees next to main roads surrounded by houses.’
The development application can be viewed in full here. The closing date for public submissions is 25 May.
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