A holiday letting operation deep in the bush at Middle Pocket has been ordered to close its doors after a court found that the dwellings were unauthorised and not up to standard.
The owners of Kinabalu Farm at 333 Skyline Road had been offering a range of basic, cabin-like dwellings to visitors since 2022, including a handmade treehouse known as ‘The Treepod’.
Tucked deep in the bush and accessible only by four-wheel-drive, the accommodation was described by the owners as ‘the ultimate nature lovers and wilderness experience’.
But late last year, Byron Shire Council took Kinabalu Farm to the NSW Land and Environment Court, alleging that five separate dwellings on the site were unauthorised and did not meet either building or fire standards.
Justice Nicola Pain found in favour of Council.
On November 15, Justice Pain ordered that Kinabalu Farm immediately cease renting out or in any way using five unauthorised buildings on the site, including four cabins, and the Treepod.
‘The location of the property is in a heavily vegetated area, with limited access,’ Justice Pain said.
Four-wheel-drive only
‘The main usable road access is by four-wheel-drive only’.
‘There is a potentially serious environmental issue.’
Justice Pain also ordered that all advertising in relation to holiday letting of the dwellings be deleted immediately.
Council was further given permission to inspect the property with 48 hours’ notice, to ensure that the orders were being complied with.
Prior to reaching her decision, Justice Pain heard evidence that there was no development consent for the dwellings to be used for short-term holiday rentals.
There was also no publicly registered plan of management for the site, meaning that emergency services were not alerted to the presence of the dwellings.
The court heard that a building certifier who inspected the property identified a number of extensive non-compliances in the building structures.
This included balconies without balustrades, access ways without railings, absence of fire-rated and ember-retardant materials in construction, and windows which opened directly to the ground.
The matter was brought on quickly by Council because of the imminent advent of the bushfire season, and concerns about the remote location of the accommodation.
Documents obtained by Council show that each of the individual structures has been rented out separately since 2022, with bookings due to continue into January this year.
The court heard that the property was heavily vegetated and had a mix of zonings, including rural landscape, environmental management and conservation, and an area of general rural zoning.
No defence filed
At the time of the judgment, Kinabalu Farm was yet to file a defence in the matter.
The solicitor for the business indicated that they anticipated they would be relying upon existing use rights as a defence.
However, Justice Pain indicated that Kinabalu had been given sufficient time to identify this as the basis for their case, but had not done so.
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