Byron Council is investigating an alleged incident of unauthorised land clearing in Byron Bay last month.
The Council has confirmed to The Echo that the alleged incident occurred at 80 Bangalow Rd, the site of 12 townhouses backing onto an area of native bushland.
It is understood that the alleged incident occurred on the morning of July 8 at around 9am.
Neighbours on to it
Neighbours report that they witnessed a bulldozer clearing a 1,200-square-metre area of coastal wetland featuring paperbark trees and native grasses.
It is understood that this area has a C2 zoning as it is considered to be of high ecological value.
Neighbours say they called the Council and that an officer arrived soon after and ordered the work to cease.
In a statement to The Echo a Council spokesperson said it was ‘investigating an incident at this location’.
‘The matter is currently under investigation, and it is not appropriate for Council to comment [further],’ the spokesperson said.
Owner does not live on the property
The Echo has tried unsuccessfully to contact the owner of the property in question. However, it is understood that he does not live on the property or in the Shire.
Unauthorised land clearing and tree removal is a serious issue in the Byron Shire, with several recent instances being investigated by the Council and NSW National Parks.
In January last year a local was fined $22,000 for illegally clearing land in Koonyum Range National Park.
In February 2021 three fines of $3,000 were issued for the unauthorised and illegal removal of native trees on private property in Suffolk Park.
However, a large amount of illegal land clearing occurs in the Shire and the state more broadly that is not detected.
Efforts have been made to use satellite imaging to crack down on this practice.
However, this technology is generally only effective in detecting very large incidents of land clearing involving many hectares of native bushland.
Smaller incidents frequently go undetected.
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