Byron Shire councillors appear fixed on moving forward with the housing development at 57 Station Street in Mullumbimby despite acknowledging significant issues with the development application (DA) by Landcom, the fact it contradicts the Mullumbimby Masterplan, and that they do not currently have a community housing provider (CHP) willing to take the project on.
The Mullumbimby Residents Association (MRA) is calling for councillors to step back and reconsider, particularly in the light of the opportunities provided by the federal government’s $10 billion dollar Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF), established on 1 November, 2023.
‘We are in a new world with the HAFF facility and NHAF (National Housing Accord Facility) being operational from January 2024. It is time to reassess. That’s what businesses, creatives, and developers do. We need to use the money that is available from the HAFF/ NHAF to build more social and affordable housing in the appropriate place, which is not this site,’ MRA spokesperson, Dale Emerson, told The Echo.
Following a question to the March 2025 Byron Shire Council (BSC) meeting the Director Sustainable Environment and Economy responded that, ‘Council has not directly explored funding opportunities available under Round 2 of the Commonwealth’s Housing Australia Future Fund program for the delivery of social housing on this site.
What is ‘low cost’?
BSC’s December 2020 Expression of Interest (EOI) to housing providers for ‘Housing Over Carparks’ sought ‘the establishment of diverse, lower cost, and accessible housing on Council owned carparks, without decreasing the current number of available car parking spaces’.
Mr Emerson points out that, ‘This proposal started out as housing above the existing carpark. At the time the community was not consulted on the change of use. This has then morphed into a significantly larger project that not only removes the carpark, but includes commercial premises and is in direct contradiction to the Mullumbimby Master Plan.
‘This entire proposal was developed without appropriate consultation and engagement with the community and in contravention of what we consider to be best practice policies.
‘Byron Shire councillors have decided to inform us of their decision about what is going to happen at the Mullumbimby carpark site rather than collaborating with and empowering the community to make decisions in relation to this community-owned asset at the entrance to our town.’
Cr Michelle Lowe acknowledged the concerns of the community ‘regarding both the financial and community impacts of the housing development’.
‘I am determined to try and understand both sides of an important community issue,’ she told The Echo.
Deputy Mayor Jack Dods and Cr Elia Hauge both acknowledged that the MRA and broader Mullumbimby community had raised valid concerns over the DA including flooding, stormwater, sewer easement, public toilets, business access, traffic and laneway access, and the scale and character of the building while Cr Michael Lyon said, ‘the DA needs improvement’.
‘Affordable’ for workers
In the 2021 Census it was revealed 55 per cent of Byron Shire residents are on an income of under $1,000 a week and a key point of deliberation for councillors appears to be if the housing will be ‘affordable housing’ (for key workers on medium incomes) or will provide some element of ‘social housing’ (for low-income people) as part of the project.
‘With respect to people on Centrelink, or homeless, that is not our target with respect to affordable housing [at this site],’ Cr Lyon told The Echo.
Cr Dods agreed, saying, ‘It’s important to be clear that this project’s purpose is to provide genuinely affordable rental housing for key workers – teachers, nurses, and other essential staff.’
However, Cr’s Hauge and Lowe have both emphasised to house low-income residents as well as medium-wage workers.
‘While the intent under the previous Council was that this development would primarily provide housing for key workers, I don’t believe Council has yet exhausted all options to work with state government and interested CHPs to ensure the development can also provide for those in the community on very low or no income,’ said Cr Hauge.
Housing needed
The delay in providing future housing is a key aspect of many councillors’ opposition to delaying or pivoting the project to another site such as the BSC carpark or the old Mullumbimby Hospital site.
‘Every project is complex and takes a long time. The suggestion by some members of the community that Council can just move the development to another site is untenable,’ Cr Janet Swain said. ‘If another suitable site could be found, it would be a different development, and would take years of negotiation and planning.’
Responding Mr Emerson says, ‘We had Covid in March 2020 and we pivoted immediately. The government and community took decisions that could only have been done under a wartime-like approach. If the state and federal government are committed to social and affordable housing, they have the capacity to pivot and drive these projects forward in the right way, at the right locations, and in a timely fashion.
‘Anything can happen.’
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