It was disappointing to read your article about the Federal Heritage Study and its significance for the Federal Village Masterplan.
The aim of the masterplan was to give all members of the community input into the direction their village would take over the next few years.
To this end there were two widely-publicised rounds of well-attended public meetings, one round to develop the vision and the second to select from two alternatives that had been developed. The final document was then placed on public exhibition for comment. The masterplan process took three years to complete, involved thousands of hours of volunteer labour, and was overseen by Byron Shire Council staff. It was accepted by the entire elected council in December 2022.
Of the 15 ‘actions’ in the final plan, one, section 5, concerned future development in the village, and a subsection, 5b related to heritage, as follows: Conduct a heritage assessment of the main street and into Federal Drive (towards Eureka), leading to consideration of a Heritage Conservation Area listing.
The subsequent heritage assessment, conducted by a skilled volunteer, has been considered by Council and the proposed Heritage Conservation Area has not been accepted for listing. That was the completion of subsection 5b.
Inclusive as it tried to be, no community-based consultative process could achieve unanimity of views and there will always be those who disagree with the vision of the majority. To highlight the view of one disgruntled property owner on one minor aspect of the plan and, without approaching anyone with a more positive opinion, to imply that this calls into question the entire masterplan process, is journalism worthy of the Murdoch press and an insult to the Federal community.
As in the rest of the shire, rural areas are under pressure from those who are more interested in their property as a vehicle for personal advancement than in participating in and enriching the life of their community. It’s sad to see The Echo unwittingly aid this process.
Peter Garrard, Federal
- Ed: Very few, if any, of the landowners whose properties would have been included in the proposed Federal Heritage Conservation Area supported its introduction. Given that this idea came from the Federal Village Masterplan it is reasonable to question whether the Masterplan truly represents the wishes of the community when it comes to heritage conservation.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
