The long-running saga of 23 Compton Drive, East Ballina, has finally been resolved, with Ballina Council agreeing to the demolition of the existing restaurant, which will be replaced with a two-storey house.

Ballina Shire Councillors Kiri Dicker, Michelle Bailey, Eva Ramsey have teamed up to organise a free event to encourage residents of Lennox Head to join a wider array of community and sporting groups, with hopes of promoting social cohesion and greater community connection.

The new Ballina Shire Council returns for its first meeting tomorrow, with the idea of a new police station at Lennox Head already being knocked back by police, who say there is no increased crime in the area, in spite of what some councillors were suggesting in the last term.

With one last chance for councillors to justify their existence before being reshuffled, Ballina's final meeting before next month's local government elections is happening tomorrow. There's a packed agenda, including a DA decision which will affect whether WardellCORE can continue at their current site of operations.

Ballina's B Ward Councillor Eva Ramsey appears to be distancing herself from Sharon Cadwallader's team with her latest statement in advance of local government elections, describing herself as a 'true independent'.

At the eleventh hour, Ballina Shire Council has voted to press pause on the controversial Sharpes Beach car park redevelopment, and seek further options.

Greens state member for Ballina Tamara Smith says she has written to planning minister Paul Scully seeking advice and counsel over controversial opt-in conservation zones in the Ballina Shire. 

The future of conservation zones in the Ballina Shire could be left to private landowners in a council vote expected this week.

The busy intersection at the corner of Byron Bay Road and Byron Street in Lennox Head is an accident waiting to happen, according to locals Jamie Hoile and Ballina Shire Councillor Eva Ramsey.

By a close margin, Ballina Shire Council has voted to return its official awards date to Australia Day in 2024, after deciding to try something different at its previous meeting.