Trying to get a park in Byron Bay these days can be a little tricky with the amount of tradies and construction teams blocking off alleys and sections of road to park and get deliveries. And it doesn’t look like that is changing any time soon, with multiple large developments going through the NSW state government’s State Significant Development (SSD) and Regionally Significant Development (RSD) development approval process – both which bypass Byron Shire Council (BSC).
The question is what is this doing to the face of Byron? Known for its eclectic vibe and character that has defined the town, Byron has fought to maintain its character with strict height limits and other planning controls through development control plans (DCP) and town master plans. However, with constant pushes to breach height limits by developers and the state government appearing to bypass local planning laws around height, bulk and scale, when anyone mentions ‘affordable housing’ or ‘retirement living’ and at least three high-density development applications (DAs) going to the state government, bypassing BSC, it looks like the fight to keep Byron from turning into the Gold Coast is on once again.
Currently heading into the SSD pipeline are the former Glen Villa cabin, caravan, and camping site at 80 Butler Street and 12 Bay Street, which has a proposal for 200 ‘retirement living’ apartments with a starting price for a lease at $2.5 million. There is a mixed-use proposal for 190 apartments on Jonson and Browning Streets, and The Swell Hotel on Butler Street for 70 dwellings, and wellness facilities. And these don’t include the likes of the DA for the former Quicksilver surf shop at 2 Jonson Street, Byron Bay that seeks to exceed the height limit by 3.38 metres. Former National Party Deputy Leader and Member for Ballina from 1988 to 2015, Don Page has come out in defence of Byron’s height limits, previously telling The Echo, ‘We, as a community, fought hard to bring in the NSW Coastal Policy in 1990 to protect Byron from becoming another Gold Coast. No high-rise is an important part of Byron Bay’s character and distinguishes us from the Gold Coast in a very positive way. It is an important principle to protect.’
The Sydney CBD, North Sydney and Parramatta core CDBs were removed from the SSD pathways because those areas already have bespoke local environmental plans (LEPs), major precinct frameworks, and planning controls that the government did not want overridden, explains People of Byron convenor Brooke Crowle.
It is time to call on the state government to look at the impacts that these developments have on the town’s character and future together, rather than individual, isolated projects. Perhaps it is time to have Byron removed from the SSD and RSD pathways so that the unique character of the town can be managed effectively. There are clear and specific controls through our local environment plan (LEP), DCP, and master plan, that have been developed over decades to protect the town’s character and surrounding coastline and local environment.
Find out more about the SSD and RSD at the People of Byron website www.peopleofbyron.com/journal-byroncentric/statesignificantdevelopments.
Aslan Shand, editor
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