A grant to encourage street activation, community events and creativity in Byron Shire has been awarded to Council.

The legacy of former Lismore City Councillor Jenny Dowell is sure to linger for many locals and her advocacy for women in local government has not been forgotten.

Mullumbimby Road is now back open to two-way traffic, detours are no longer in place and heavy vehicles can resume use of the road.

Greens Mayor Sarah Ndiaye used her casting vote to squash fellow Greens Cr Elia Hauge’s efforts to delay and seek independent legal advice around a planning agreement for a large contentious 39-large-lot exclusive greenfield proposal near the Mullumbimby Road and McAuleys Lane intersection.

Council’s General Manager, Mark Arnold, and Greens Mayor Sarah Ndiaye, have strongly backed planning staff after claims they inappropriately intervened to assist wealthy developers with their controversial large, exclusive 38 lot greenfield proposal near McAuleys Lane and Mullumbimby Road.

The controversial decision to install traffic lights at Suffolk Park’s notorious Clifford Street intersection could be reversed within weeks, after Byron Shire councillors voted to put the option of a roundabout firmly back on the table.

Claims by Byron Mayor Sarah Ndiaye (Greens) that Homes NSW had removed temporary accommodation for homeless people in Byron Shire have been strongly refuted by NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson (Labor).

Tourism operators running hotels and motels have been accused of charging the state government higher rates than tourists to accommodate some of the most vulnerable people in the state in the lead-up to Christmas.

Former Greens mayor Jan Barham has joined the Byron Chamber of Commerce in a blistering critique of Council’s latest business strategy.

The first meeting of the new Byron Council term was barely an hour old when the realities of politics and power quietly made their presence known in the Council chamber.