The Byron Bay Golf Club (BBGC) has seen significant board resignations and a refusal of a member request for an extraordinary general meeting since the attempt by some board members to include the golf course land in the Byron Shire Council’s (BSC) Residential Strategy 2041.
The BBGC was established in 1957 by local golf enthusiasts who bought a 193-acre dairy farm on Broken Head Road. With regular working bees and household mowers the golf course began to take shape. Today the BBGC is ‘a challenging 18-hole championship course’ and a place that many koalas and other wildlife call home.
Significant upheaval
The attempt by some board members to include the land of the BBGC for housing in 2023 has caused significant upheaval at the club. Some members, who have asked not to be named, have contacted The Echo to highlight the fact that while the proposal to include the BBGC site in the residential strategy was withdrawn at the 14 March 2024 BSC meeting, they feel that there is still a push to sell the land for housing development from some members.
During discussions to include the BBGC in the residential strategy, with then Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon, it is understood that the club were seeking assurances that an alternative site in Myocum would be available to create a future golf course.
‘The main issue for many club members is to keep this an everyday members’ club and not a privatised, exclusive club that is too expensive for the common person,’ one member told The Echo.
‘Fees have gone up ten per cent a year and they are getting to the point that they are borderline unaffordable for many locals. The effect is that it becomes an exclusive private club that untlises the public asset for the private means.’
BBGC manager Shaun Breheny told The Echo that ‘the golf club does not currently have an application in with Byron Shire Council to rezone the land to housing’.
This was confirmed by board member Ralf Pelz who said, ‘there is no plan whatsoever for any subdivision or anything for sale from the board’s point of view. There is nothing on the table.’
General meeting called
Following a spate of resignations from the BBGC board, five per cent of the playing and voting membership asked for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), as they felt that the board should have called a meeting to elect new board members rather than simply appoint them. This request was denied by the board who stated that a member EGM required a notice period of 60 days.
However, the board have now brought forward the December annual general meeting (AGM) telling members in their September newsletter that ‘the board acknowledges the intent of the notice and feels that it is important to address the objectives of the undersigned members. With this in mind, the Board has proposed to bring forward the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to Tuesday, 19 November.’
The future of the club
‘What we want is for the members to look forward, to see what they want for the future of their club,’ said one member to The Echo.
‘There has been a previous proposal to sell the land, there is the option of ensuring the golf course is part of an important wildlife corridor for koalas like Moji who was recently killed on Broken Head Road. Do we want a club that is accessible to the common person, or one that is exclusive?
‘As playing members it is up to us to elect a board that represents the future of what we want this club to be.’
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