Byron Council’s strategy for dealing with unauthorised development is coming under the microscope this week, with the owners of the old piggery site at Skinners Shoot seeking consent for an unauthorised dual occupancy.
The dual occupancy has sat on the well-known land at 103 Yagers Road for years, pre-dating the tenure of the current owners.
These owners first approached the Council about the issue in October last year, kicking off a lengthy, multi-step approval process that includes amending the relevant Local Environment Plan (LEP), requesting a gateway determination from the NSW Department of Planning, and then seeking input from the community.
The matter is now finally coming back to Council at this week’s planning meeting for final adoption after a month-long public submissions period earlier this year.
With unauthorised dwellings nearly as common in Byron as organic oat milk lattes, the piggery application highlights the cumbersome nature of the retrospective approval process.
Broader plans?
Adding spice to the case is the opposition of the Skinners Shoot residents group. They oppose the application, partly because they see it as part of broader plans for the site.
These plans include the creation of a 45-seat restaurant, shops, and an artisan space showcasing the local food and drink industry.
The residents group registered a ‘strong objection’ to the proposal, arguing that the dual occupancy was located on land that was bushfire prone, had unmapped high value vegetation and would create traffic issues. They say that the owners have negotiated an unreasonably low development contribution.
Others said that the contamination report for the proposal had failed to consider the asbestos sheds on the site.
But Council staff dismissed each of these concerns, arguing, primarily, that the dual occupancy was a pre-existing development and that granting approval would neither create new issues, nor exacerbate existing ones.
However, staff did partly accede to a request from the State Emergency Services (SES) by requesting additional information to address flooding concerns in relation to the site.
There were a number of submissions from local residents who are in favour of the planning proposal. In particular, they noted that the current owner had contributed significantly to the biological diversity of the site.
Should the application be approved by Council at this week’s meeting, it will then go back to the NSW DPE for finalisation.
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