Plans for a 24-unit residential development on Bangalow Road, Byron Bay, have been unanimously approved by Byron Shire councillors.
The development, located at 56–60 Bangalow Road, will see two older houses demolished and replaced with two blocks of units.
The units will be made up of one- and two-bedroom dwellings, with three designated as ‘affordable’ under state legislation, and three adapted to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
The dwellings will be serviced by parking for 30 cars, intersection upgrades to Bangalow Road, and a recently constructed, as-yet-unnamed, new Council road.
40 native trees to go
The developer has been granted permission to remove 40 native trees to facilitate their plans, a loss which they have promised to offset through compensatory planting and ongoing weed management within the adjacent coastal wetlands.
While a number of those living next to or near the site objected to its size, scale and the impact on traffic and parking, others have argued that it will provide much-needed housing which, while not affordable by any objective measure, will be cheaper than most other housing in the Bay.
Unanimously approved
Councillors unanimously approved the development when the application came before last week’s planning meeting.
However, Cr Jack Dods (Independent) recused himself from the debate and the vote because of his close business relationship with Ardill Payne & Partners, a local planning consultancy which was hired by the developer to provide traffic and civil reports as part of the application.
Councillors did not impose any significant conditions on the development in terms of its size or scale.
Pet restrictions
However, Greens councillor, Michelle Lowe, successfully moved a motion restricting and regulating the keeping of cats and dogs in the new units in order to limit their impact on local wildlife.
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