The proposal to change the approved Multiple Occupancy at 84 Blindmouth Road, Main Arm, development application to a Community Title which Council staff have recommended for approval, has raised significant concerns for the Main Arm Rural Residents Association.

Managing unapproved development is not a new challenge for Byron Shire Council (BSC), or other Northern Rivers councils.

The threat of multiple home demolitions is still a reality for a small vulnerable community of long-term locals living in Main Arm, with renewed support from Greens Mayor Sarah Ndiaye and Council’s General Manager, Mark Arnold for the compliance department's actions.

After Council’s compliance team threatened to demolish the homes of a small Main Arm multiple occupancy (MO) community, councillors voted unanimously last Thursday to review their enforcement policy in the coming months.

Home demolition orders have been placed on a small community of long-term locals in Upper Main Arm after Council compliance raided their shared multiple occupancy (MO).

The plans for the proposed development at 84 Blindmouth Road are currently on public exhibition and they are seeking a significant number of changes to their DA.

Those living on rural Community Title properties will be able to use their land for secondary dwellings and dual occupancies, after Byron Council amended the planning rules at its last meeting.

Main Arm residents are calling for councillors to scrap their plans to expand rural housing on Multiple Occupancies and Rural Community Title, owing to poor process and it being ‘not in keeping with the original ideals of Multiple Occupancy Living’. 

The removal of Tweed Shire Council from the State Environmental Planning Policy 2019 that allows rural land sharing communities such as multiple occupancies and community title took place at last night’s council meeting.

At its upcoming Council meeting, the Tweed Shire Council is seeking to remove the option of Rural Land Sharing Communities, which includes multiple occupancies and community title.