A controversial $4.3 million industrial development will be built on a sensitive greenfield site next to the Harvest housing estate in West Byron, after Byron Shire Council and the developer settled a dispute over conditions in the Land & Environment Court.
The subdivision, to be built at 288 Ewingsdale Road (DA 10.2024.57.1), will see the site divided into 17 industrial lots varying in area from 11,447m2 to 13,897m2.
The developer, Hannas Contracting, will dump a total of 74,000m3 of fill onto the site in a bid to mitigate the risks of flooding.
It will also build an access road that will feed into and out of Ewingsdale Road, adding dozens of additional truck movements to the main artery each day.
The land slated for development includes an area of wetland that is home to several threatened native species, including two different types of acid frog.
There have also been concerns expressed over apparent flaws in the storm water planning for the project.
In a bid to address these and other issues, Council imposed a series of conditions on the development when it approved the project in December last year.
These included a requirement that the developer submit a full and detailed stormwater management plan demonstrating that the project is in accordance with Council and state government guidelines prior to any construction taking place.
Conditions were also imposed in a bid to address the absence of pedestrian and cycle access to the site, and to reduce the impact on the threatened species.
But the developer objected to the stringency of these conditions, appealing the matter to the NSW Land & Environment Court almost immediately.
Court documents reveal that, in a court-ordered conciliation conference on April 30, the parties reached an agreement over these conditions. While the key conditions remain in place, they appear to have been watered down.
Nevertheless, they have now been formally ratified by the court.
‘I am satisfied that the amended development application (DA) can be approved taking into consideration… the applicable environmental planning instruments, the likely impacts of the development, the suitability of the site, and the public interest,’ Acting Commissioner Michael Young said in his judgment in relation to the matter which was handed down on June 18.
‘As such, the court may exercise its function under s 4.16(1) of the EPA Act and approve the amended conditions of the development consent.’
With this judgment, the developer is now free to begin clearing the site, and dumping fill in preparation for construction. The provision of industrial land remains a thorny issue in Byron.
While the Shire is in need of more industrial and employment land to meet demands, there is very little unconstrained land available for this purpose.
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