The Mullumbimby Residents Association (MRA) is calling a public meeting to discuss an alternative site for Byron Shire Council’s (BSC) 57 Station Street affordable housing project on Monday, 28 September at 6pm at the Ex-Services Club in Mullumbimby.
Working with Councillor David Warth the MRA has recently identified a Council-owned site in the Byron Arts & Industry Estate that they say will deliver affordable and public housing faster and cheaper than the 57 Station Street site can achieve saving both BSC and the state and federal government significant money. This follows multiple suggestions of alterative sites in Mullumbimby that the Byron Council has rejected.
Retired architect David Brown has put together a basic design on how to move the Station Street development to the Crows Ash Close site opposite the IGA supermarket.
‘It is a project with none of the constraints that 57 Station Street has, including a major sewer line, overhead electrical power lines, height and bulk issues, traffic and access issues, delivery access for the local IGA and grease trap and gas deliveries for local cafes, and the cost of a replacement carpark and toilets,’ explained MRA member Dale Emerson.
Faster, cheaper delivery
‘The key wins are the speed that the project can be delivered, the flexibility of the site, the significantly reduced costs to Council and developer that would offset what Council has already spent on the 57 Station Street site, and that it is a fully serviced site with water, sewage, and electricity connected,’ Mr Brown told The Echo.
Brown said that using prefabricated, modular, off site development or ‘modern methods of construction (MMC)’, like The Nest in Mullumbimby, rather than conventional construction methods such as concrete framing and conventional brick work that is currently being proposed to build the 57 Station Street site, the cost of development could be reduced by more than 50 per cent.
‘The Station Street build cost is estimated at $16,500,000. This is a bit under $590,000 per dwelling for the 28 shop top apartments currently proposed. The Nest build cost, by way of comparison, is $8,202,200 and a bit over $164,000 per dwelling for 50 dwellings. There is no doubt this is more “bang for the buck”,’ said Brown.
‘I’m sure a number of very experienced and competent project managers would love to get involved if Landcom was not involved.’
Brown emphasised that the project manager must be well versed in the advantages and challenges, of MMC which unfortunately Council officers and Landcom managers are not.
Time to listen to the community
Mandy Nolan, who will be running for the Greens in the seat of Ballina in 2027, told The Echo that, ‘I have heard the concerns of the community, and I don’t support the DA for 57 Station St in its current form. It’s fantastic to see MRA putting forward alternatives, and I am hopeful that our Council and community can work together on opportunities to deliver the housing we so desperately need.’
Flood free land
MRA member Michael Williamson highlighted that, ‘this site is on flood-free land. There is the solar train just next door so people can get convenient, easy access to town for work, shopping, and entertainment while there are local shops, medical facilities, and entertainment within walking distance. This is perfect for key workers like hospital staff, police, emergency services etc.’
Brown even explained that the new site could facilitate slightly larger units so that ‘people can fit in a table, and a double bed’.
‘Councillors have proposed 18m2 at Station Street. On the new site we could give people a little more space of between 22-24m2. You could arrange some two-bedroom units as well, but that would be for a detailed assessment.’
The balance of units versus car parks will be a key question for the site planning with fewer units providing more car parking and vice versa.
‘With two storeys, easy site access and a high level of urgency, the benefits of MMC can be realised on the Crows Ash Close site,’ said Brown.
‘In this, each dwelling is a prefabricated unit of the whole. Built in a building off site to a high standard of fabrication and complete with all internal finishes and fittings, MMC units of the size proposed are easily trucked to site, lifted into place, services connected and landscaping completed. It is a fast process that is not weather-dependent.
‘The cost and time advantages over the concrete-and-brick, access-challenged Station Street site proposal are obvious. I would not be surprised that under current conditions, and an immediate start, the cost per dwelling might be less than The Nest, the construction time significantly less, and the disruption to neighbouring properties minimal.’
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