Planning to build a new house or open a restaurant in the Byron Shire in the next few years? Probably best to let go of the idea of having a gas stove or gas-powered hot water system then.
Byron Council has begun the process of changing its planning rules so that all new residential and commercial development in the Shire will have to be all-electric.
At last week’s meeting it was decided that, when Council next reviews its Development Control Plan (DCP) later in the year, it will consider a prohibition on gas connections for all new development.
The move, which is already being implemented by more than a dozen councils across the state, is driven by a growing realisation that gas is hazardous to both human health and the health of the planet.
This includes new modelling which suggests that high-emitting gas stoves can silently spread benzene throughout the home, raising cancer risk well beyond the kitchen.
‘We’ve received emails from doctors and GPs outlining the really serious health impacts of having gas connections in the home, including the impacts that gas has especially for childhood asthma, and for people with lung conditions,’ said Greens councillor Elia Hauge.
‘Electrifying our homes and removing gas connections are really important steps that we can take to protect the health of our community.
‘Economically we know that the cost of energy in homes is going up and up, and gas is a really important part of that.
‘Environmentally, gas is a fossil fuel. In the climate emergency we need to transition away from fossil fuels as fast as possible and this motion helps to contribute to reaching that zero.’
Council’s plan is to undertake consultation with the local commercial and industrial sector prior to implementing that stage of the process.
‘I suspect that this is the type of change that we will make and then will come up in some level of outrage from someone trying to build a restaurant realising that they’re not allowed to have a gas connection,’ said Labor Councillor Asren Pugh, who seconded the motion.
‘That’s something I think we need to be aware of.’
Council’s Director of Sustainable Environment and Economy, Shannon Burt, said that a body of consultation and work remained to be done.
She also foreshadowed the likelihood that implementing the new rules for commercial and industrial development would likely involve a longer process that involved greater planning and consultation.
While the exact detail of the new rules is yet to be determined, it appears that while new homes and commercial developments will have to be built with all-electric power in mind, owners will be allowed to retrofit their homes for gas after construction.
Also, residents and business owners will still be allowed to use small gas-based appliances such as barbeques, portable gas stoves, and hot air balloons (as a means of avoiding traffic and potholes).
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