A large, rolling paddock on the edge of Brunswick Heads would be turned into an employment hub featuring light industry, a business park and live/ work precincts, under a plan proposed by a local developer.
In a proposal coming before this week’s Byron Council meeting, developer Creative Capital is seeking planning permission for a multi-use development on a 52-hectare area of land at 66 The Saddle Road Brunswick Heads, between Brunswick Heads and Mullumbimby.
Creative Capital is owned by developer Brandon Saul, and is the group behind the Habitat mixed- use development next to the Byron Arts and Industry Estate. The land in question has previously been identified by Byron Council for use as industrial and employment land, a commodity in short supply in the Byron Shire.
Nevertheless, the development would dramatically change the character of the site, which currently consists of a large paddock in a picturesque rural setting.
The development would require a series of zoning changes, and the construction of a roundabout on Gulgan Road to accommodate significant traffic entering and leaving the site throughout the day.
As such, the development requires approval not only from Council, but must also go through the state government’s ‘Gateway’ approval process.
The proposed development, which includes 6.5 hectares of built areas, would include a number of separate precincts, one for a business park, and another for a ‘traditional industrial precinct’.
There would also be an area designated as work/live dwellings, which appears to be buildings where people can both live and work.
The proposal does not specify the number or exact type of buildings to be included in the development.
However, it indicates that the floor space ratio for the areas set aside for employment land would be 0.9:1, which is the ratio that typically applies in the Byron Arts and Industry Estate.
There will also be a height limit of 11.5m for three of the precincts, well above the
9m height limit that applies across most of the Byron Shire.
The developer says this will minimise the need for earthworks, and that there will reportedly be ‘minimal impact’ on the visual amenity of surrounding landowners.
The developer’s planning proposal states that buildings will be focused on areas with limited environmental significance. It also intends to revegetate and repair large tracts of land to include rainforest, wet eucalypt forest, and forested wetlands.
Nonetheless, some vegetation removal will be required to facilitate the development, including the removal of a number of native trees and a portion of ‘disturbed wetland area’ at the west of the site.
The developer’s traffic assessment found that the development would create thousands of additional traffic movements into and around the site every week.
Yet, an analysis of the impact of the development on the three existing intersections near the subject site found that ‘traffic impacts are acceptable’.
However, the analysis also found that the existing capacity issues near the intersections of Gulgan Road with Mullumbimby Road and with Tandys Lane were likely to be intensified owing to a ‘predicted traffic increase of approximately two per cent to 5.5 per cent’.
The developer has given Council a ‘letter of offer’ to enter into a planning agreement to fund the construction of the roundabout at Gulgan Road to facilitate vehicle access to the site.
Council staff have recommended approval after a number of amendments are made to the plan.
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