The vexed issue of 4 Wheel Drive (4WD) access at Airforce Beach, Evans Head, is now open for public comment, closing 30 November.

Abuse of the beach by 4WD users, with some drivers now covering their number plates, has led to calls to close the Evans Head part of the Evans Head to Ballina Beach. 

Enough is enough. Locals call for the close the remainder of the Evans Head to Ballina Beach to stop the wanton vehicle destruction.

Ballina Shire Council will phase out 4WD access to Seven Mile Beach. From 1 July only half-year and full-year permits are available.

Ballina Shire Council's public comment period regarding 4WDs on Seven Mile Beach closed over a month ago, but the issue isn't going away, with a seminar to be held at the Lennox Hotel on Monday already booked out.

Last week's Richmond Valley Council meeting saw Councillor Jill Lyons put a motion ‘to close the beach from the Airforce Beach entrance at Evans Head through to South Ballina’.

An attempt to enlarge the list of approved 4WD beach users allowed to access South Ballina Beach failed to get the numbers to progress at the last Ballina Shire Council meeting.

The closure of South Ballina Beach and Evans Head to 4WDs and other vehicles has been met with a mixed response.

After weeks of sustained pressure, councillors at the last Ballina Shire Council meeting voted unanimously to close the 4WD access track at Patchs Beach. They also agreed to write to the state government to request that South Ballina Beach be closed to the general public driving 4WD vehicles.