A sprawling 33-acre property at 103 Yagers Lane, Skinners Shoot was once home to the largest piggery in the southern hemisphere.
Now, it’s a rusting reminder of Byron’s blue-collar past. But last week, it was approved to become home to a farm-to-table restaurant and a small-scale artisan food and drink industry operation.
Last week, Byron councillors gave the $22.2 million development the green light, despite strident opposition from neighbours, who have become used to an empty piggery and surrounding paddocks.
The approval will see construction of new buildings within the footprint of the old piggery to house the restaurant and the food and beverage operation.
Additional works will include the construction of a carpark, earthworks and retaining walls, landscaping, horticulture, art installations, solar panels and vegetation management works.
The owner of the property, Maggie Schreiber, told last week’s meeting that the development would ‘breathe life into an iconic part of Byron’s history’ and have no significant negative impacts on surrounding residents or the environment.
‘I’m totally committed to being a sensitive neighbour which involves ongoing consultation with other residents,’ Ms Schreiber said.
But fellow resident, Kay Collins, said no local residents supported the proposal, which would adversely affect traffic flows and native wildlife.
‘The road and adjacent land are an important corridor for wildlife with frequent sittings of swamp wallabies, echidnas, coastal pythons and particularly koalas.
‘Friends of the Koala has expressed serious concerns regarding the impact of this development, particularly as the hours of operation coincide with peak times of koala activity’.
‘I know that people get used to not having something going on a particular block of land, but what we have here is a permissible use and what’s been asked for is within what’s allowable and is very reasonable,’ Greens Mayor Sarah Ndiaye said.
‘Regardless of whether or not the people who live nearby want that to happen, it wouldn’t hold up in the Land & Environment Court if it was refused’.
Mayor Ndiaye said it was unfortunate that the proposal had been a source of animosity within the Skinners Shoot community.
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