North Byron Parklands - Cultural Events Site

This submission is regarding North Byron Parklands. I oppose any usage of
this area for large scale events. North Byron Parklands abuts the
Billynudgel Nature Reserve. This reserve is one of the last few places
on the coast where development has not occurred and birds and wildlife
flourish. In this time when species are disappearing from Australia at
a very alarming rate - greater than most other countries - we need
urgently to preserve such places. Inundation by 35,000 and more people
to the area beside this reserve is not the way to preserve this
precious resource. Any plans should be to decrease, not to increase
this inappropriate development. The Tweed Valley and Byron Shire are
places where there high biodiversity and untrammelled natural beauty
still remain. The economic future for our area lies in developing this
precious resource. It is time to take action to preserve what is left
here, not to continue to sacrifice it for short term economic gain.
Such large scale events do not belong here.

I am born & bred in the Byron Shire. I believe that North Byron Parkland
brings so much to our area. The job opportunities that have been
created through the festivals that are held there have been
overwhelming. I know people of all ages that have annual employment,
some full-time. These people I have grown up with & are able to stay
in the local area & look after their families because of the jobs
created through the festivals held at NBP. NBP is a beautiful
property, it's well maintained & loved dearly by all the people that
look after it. The environmental initiatives & sustainability in place
ensures that it remains eco friendly. There are self composting
toilets, recycling & on-site waste management. I grew up on 300 acres,
we had cows & horses, they would dig up the earth & eat the young
vegetation if not fenced in, they had more of an impact on our
property than I see happening from thousands of people at NBP. I know
many people in the area that own businesses & everyone benefits from
the thousands of people who attend festivals at NBP each year. This
income is vital for many of us & keeps dinner on the table for a lot
of local families. We need this amazing property to keep operating as
it has done for the last few years.

To whom it may concern, The Splendor in the Grass event brings large
numbers of visitors to this area which relies heavily on the tourism
industry as a major employer. While any large event that caters to
thousands of attendees will result in some inconveniences to residents
of primarily rural areas, anyone attending can attest that it is well
run, and conducted in a professional manor seeking to minimise
negative community impacts. My business benefits from the running of
the event by the extra customers in town allowing for a higher number
of seasonal staff able to be retained over the quiet winter months. I
support the running (and expansion) of the event on the basis that on
balance, there is significant community benefits to employment and
incomes in the area. Yours sincerely Darren Pearson General Manager

I totally support North Byron Parklands as a permanent site for all
future/current festivals events. I have been to all these events at
this venue and it is the perfect spot for these type of events. Our
area needs these events and we need somewhere to host them otherwise
they will go to other areas and they will benefit from them like we do
now!!!

I am in support of further development of the North Byron Parklands to
enhance it's sustainability as a permanent cultural event site. Such
events attract valuable tourism to the Byron Bay region which in turn
provides employment opportunities for local residents. In an area of
low employment this is a point of vital importance to be considered.

I wish to provided this letter of strong support to the significant
economic and other flow on benefits the approval of this application
for permanency will bring to to the Byron Shire and wider Northern
rivers region. 1. Total economic value of $126.4 Million with $34.6M
direct benefit to the Byron district 2. Direct capital injection of
$55.1M with $17.1M going to the Byron District 3. 788 full time jobs,
246 in Byron 4. The trial period shows the effectiveness of the
environmental monitoring and controls with further mitigation measures
proposed, it shows serious commitment to the ecological values on the
site. 5. Traffic issues are also well in hand and on past experience
NBP have shown a successful pro active approach to management of this
important issue 6. With regard to noise, experience shows the site
complies with the current approval limits and continues to work with
all parties to ensure ongoing compliance is achieved. I believe the
positive social benefits far outweigh the currently well recognised
and managed negative impacts and that continued operation of multi day
events on this site be approved as a matter of priority for the future
of the Byron/ Northern Rivers region. The Parklands trial has
successfully demonstrated to all parties that the application for
permanency be approved as it is the correct outcome for the community
and the region.

Dear Madam/Sir I am writing in support of SSD 8169, a Modification to
Concept Approval MP 09_0028 and consent for the permanent use of the
North Byron Parklands as a cultural events site for up to 50,000
patrons. North Byron Parklands (Parklands) has been through a rigorous
assessment process across the last 5 years covering all aspects
associated with the events held on site including traffic, noise,
flooding, social, ecological and heritage impacts. This assessment
process formed the essence a 5 year trial approval that was given to
Parklands in order to test its viability as an event venue. It is my
understanding, that no other events venue has been given an approval
to trial its viability prior to a requirement for a further
application for permanency. However, this precautionary approach
issued by the Planning and Assessment Commission has afforded
Parklands the opportunity to develop, implement and refine various
systems and processes such that the incredibly passionate, experienced
and dedicated management team of North Byron Parklands now has a
clearly documented pathway of continuous Improvement. Across the
duration of this trial approval, Parklands has successfully hosted 10
internationally acclaimed events with both the venue and the events
themselves demonstrating a continued pathway of ongoing improvement
across a range of key performance indicators from one event to
another. It has unequivocally proven that it is a viable and
sustainable events venue. North Byron Parklands has been able to
concurrently manage community impacts whilst providing valuable work
opportunities and experience for locals. It has brought the positive
benefits of tourism to the greater Byron Shire and offered much needed
community contributions in the form of a festival ticket levy to boost
the local economy. Parklands is home to two internationally recognized
events in Splendour In the Grass and The Falls Music & Arts Festival.
The reputation of these two events alone, that continuously sell out
year after year, attract some of the world's biggest and most desired
artists to Australia on put Northern NSW on their touring cycle. It's
a result that assists to keep us at the forefront of the international
music and creative arts industries maintaining Australia and the
Northern NSW Coast as an international destination for high quality,
engaging, cultural experiences. More than $25 million has been spent
on development and infrastructure over the past 5 years by North Byron
Parklands. A significant investment considering it has been without
operating certainty. A further investment of $42 million would follow
with an approval in place. This further investment will allow for
Parklands to build an onsite conference centre and onsite water and
wastewater management systems that would not be connected to local
council municipal systems among several additional improvements which
we believe would see multiple flow-on benefits to the local amenity.
In Summary, North Byron Parklands has been one of the most publicly
scrutinized events venues in Australia but the site has absolutely met
key performance indicators which were conditional of its approval,
whilst making continuous improvements. It is an outstanding events
venue that will continue to improve, thrive and provide incredible
cultural, social and financial opportunity and benefits in particular
for the greater Byron Shire and Northern NSW community as well as the
Australian cultural landscape. Without doubt, the project should be
given permanent approval. Best Regards

A great event in a fantastic location, easy access beautiful area close
enough to towns but far enough away not to disturb residents. Make it
the permanent home.

Strongly support this event and site to continue for the benefit of the
local people and our economy. I live in nearby Ocean Shores and find
the owners are very respectful to our town and the events are very
welcome by the vast majority of locals who may not be as vocal as
other sections of the community.

I would like to support the current submission to hold Splendour and
Falls festivals permanently at the Parkland's site. Both festivals are
well managed, provide employment and boost local business. They
provide a great opportunity for the youth of the area to enjoy music
and culture from around the world, in a safe and fun environment. The
set up is commendable, great composting toilets and waste management
and they have really made an effort to sort out any traffic control
issues that may have arisen when they first moved to the site. In my
opinion they can only get better and should be given the opportunity
to do so.

The Department of Planning and Environment, I write to you today with
regard to The North Byron Parklands Cultural Events Site, and the
application to make this a permanent event site and to increase the
capacity of the site to 50,000 people. My support for this application
comes as a partner, sister and friend of people employed at this site
through Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival, but also as local
resident and a marketing and events specialist with over 25 years
experience. I feel it important to also understand that I am very
precious about the local environment, the maintenance of it and the
personal benefits I gain from living in such a beautiful natural
environment. So whilst it could appear that I have a bias based on my
personal relationships to those who benefit financially from this
event site, I can assure you that this is balanced out with a strong
and opinionated desire to protect this environment and my surrounding
local community. I have witnessed first hand, the care and attention
that the organisers and those who manage the site and the events, take
to protect the physical environment, and also the safety of the
patrons both on-site and as they move away from the site. It is with
this hands on experience that has convinced me that there is, and can
continue to be balance between 'sustainable growth and development'
and the protection of our environment and local community assets. I
have worked on many events over my career and can absolutely vouch for
the fact that the current events held at The North Byron Parklands are
managed with a level of professionalism, respect, care and
responsibility that is rarely seen in the industry. This is what gives
me absolute confidence that the same ethos will be carried through to
any additional events and increased capacities. I also believe that
whilst there is of course an opportunity for financial reward involved
with the granting of this application, at the heart of the application
and the applicants comes an authentic desire to provide opportunity.
Opportunity for employment, opportunity for growth, opportunity to
provide entertainment, opportunity to provide and support diverstiy,
opportunity to make people happy and from where I stand, in this day
and age it is hard to find anything but positives in that. Thank you
for your consideration. [REDACTED]

Attention: Joanna Bakopanos Dear Madam, I object to the proposed North
Byron Parklands Cultural Event Site (SSD 8169) and modification of the
Concept Plan (MP09_0028 Mod 5) for the following reasons: 1. The
impact on internet and phone services during festivals during the
trial period has been devastating to me when trying to submit work or
participate in online forums during my Masters. To allow this to
become a permanent regular impact is a significant impact on residents
amenity that should not be allowed by the Government. 2. The illegal
campers which constantly camp in the dunes and sometimes in the road
Reserves while attending the events create dangerous conditions when
they walk along Wooyung Rd when coming back from the events at 12 at
night. Wooyung road is narrow and winding and patrons are often
intoxicated creating a very dangerous situation. 3. The increase to
holding up to 10 amplified music events increases the noise impacts at
my home. The allowable noise criteria are far too high and it is my
understanding that these have not been adhered to during multiple
events at the Parklands. Parklands has justified their proposed high
noise limits by saying that they did not receive many complaints at
recent festivals but we just gave up complaining as they never turned
it down even when we did complain. To allow so many more events will
greatly increase the noise impacts - what we can put up with once a
year is very different to what we can put up with 10 times a year.
Please make the noise limits lower than during the trial period. There
is no justification for increasing above 35,000 people on site, any
increase is going to have further major impacts on traffic and is not
sustainable on our local roads.

Attention: Joanna Bakopanos Dear Ms Bakopanos, We live on Wooyung road
2kms from the event site. We object to the proposed North Byron
Parklands Cultural Event Site (SSD 8169) and modification of the
Concept Plan (MP09_0028 Mod 5). Please see the reasons below. When the
festivals are on, the traffic around the site on arrival and leaving
days makes it very hard for me to visit doctors in Mullumbimby. If you
allow more festivals at this site this will be a lot worse. We have
lived in Wooyung for 50 years and when it floods the road floods and
stays closed for two to three days at a time. I have seen the festival
site underwater many times and it is not an acceptable risk to place
so many young people at risk in a place it is very difficult to
evacuate. If you have to evacuate 35,000 people from the site in an
emergency where will you put them? When the festivals are on I cannot
access my internet and my mobile reception goes in and out. When the
festivals are on for four or five days in a row this is a big impact
on my amenity. When I am coming home at night the young people walking
home along the roads create a big safety risk as they are often in
groups and walking in the middle of the road. Similarly when the
patrons are waiting on the side of the road for the buses, they are
often waiting for a long time and drinking while they are waiting so
they start creating an unsafe situation. Many young people volunteer
at the festival site and then get "paid" with a free ticket but they
are then able to buy alcohol on site even though they are underage.
This site is encouraging drinking and drug taking in our children and
should not be given permanent approval. Yours sincerely, Kathy Cherry

As a local resident, after experiencing the trial events, I am satisfied
that the proposal is, overall, positive for the local community. The
postive outcomes such as jobs, boosting local business, cultural
enrichment, education for young people and environmental restoration
outweigh the short term impacts. The organisation has shown it is
capable of avoiding or managing these short term impactswith its
responsive management.

Fraudulent "History" 1 1) Application Quote - "However, following an
appeal against the legal validity of Council's consent, the Land &
Environment Court ruled the approval invalid on the basis that a
relatively small but integral part of the proposal was prohibited."
The Consent was ruled invalid on two points of Claim, not just the one
identified in this inaccurate Report - 1) Prohibited on 7K wildlife
protection zoned areas, and 2) That the Consent had not demonstrated
that no environmental harm would take place. And the Byron Environment
Centre ("BEC") Notes the major unremediated environmental harm that
has taken place from the sites now polluted soil, and polluted ground
water which is now entering adjacent Sepp Wetlands and the Cape Byron
Marine Park. And from major Noise pollution which has severely damaged
wildlife ecology, both on the sites farce of 'environmentally
protected' forest blocks, and on adjacent Sepp Wetlands and Nature
Reserve. And the BEC Notes that sewerage and noise pollution breaches
have been ignored with the NSW Department of Planning ("DoP")
complicity of on site DoP staff, with the only compliance initiated by
Byron Residents, and that this DA now proposes sewerage is planed to
be buried and sprayed over the site, which has a very high water table
that Byron Council identified as unfit for onsite sewerage pond
management. Fraudulent "History" 2 2) Application Quote - "the NSW
Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) under delegation from the then
Minister for Planning approved both Concept Plan and Project
applications (Ref.PAC, 2012) The Concept Plan approval (which provides
the land use planning provisions and permissibility for the site)
enables the use of the site for cultural events in perpetuity up to a
maximum of 35,000 patrons" The PAC approval did not enables the use of
the site for cultural events in perpetuity, it gave temporary Consent
for a 5 Year Trial Fraudulent "History" 3 3) Application Quote -
"EVENTS HELD TO DATE. Consistent with the intent of the trial project
approval, Parklands has now held a total of seven large and medium
events and undertaken detailed performance monitoring and analysis,
resulting in ongoing management improvements across each event." All
independent monitoring and analysis demonstrates ongoing DA Consent
breaches,and a decline in wildlife species using the site, and a
decline of wildlife activity adjacent to the site. Fraudulent
Allegation 4 4) Application Quote - "Parklands has provided the Byron
local government area and the State of New South Wales with
substantial economic, social and environmental benefits" a) The
Majority of event profits are now sent overseas to the U.S majority
owner of the Splendour and Falls events. b) The attendees demands on
off site Shire infrastructure are almost entirely subsidized by Shire
residents and are draining the Shire Councils finances c) The majority
of employees are foreign tourists on Working or Tourist visas, and
foreign employees of the US Corporation Live Nation d) The out of
scale number of attendees is larger than the Shire residential
population and overwhelm and displace residents from the Shires public
places and public vehicle parking, and from accessing the Shires
Hospitals, residential retail outlets and residential services e) "
Environmental benefits". What a sick joke - the Developers and the DoP
staff are in breach of Criminal Law. The unremediated Green House Gas
carbon pollution from the associated transport of patrons is the
Shires single largest development contribution to Carbon Pollution
induced Climate Change global warming from transport pollution. Global
warming is killing people now. Australia's Criminal law is clear -
"Callous disregard to an act that leads to death is an act of Murder"
The Developers, and the DoP staff facilitating this pollution have
demonstrated callous disregard to the pollution that is causing
deaths, and there is clear evidence for the developers and the DoP
staff to be charged and tried for these murders. And note that there
is no Statute of Limitations on bringing these Murder charges against
DoP staff and the developers (including by lawful Citizen arrests).
And note the public's right of self defence against the DoP staff and
the developers prima facie acts of murder. Fraudulent Allegation 5 5)
The Trial Consent required all post Trial consents to be the exclusive
right of Byron Shire Council. We now see that the DoP and the PAC have
conspired to corruptly breach the DoP's, and your tame PAC lapdogs,
own Consent by this now proven propaganda Trial Consent Fraudulent
Allegation 6 6) This Proposed Consent alleges and implies that the
Developers will comply with this proposed Consent and the DoP will
oversee the Consent Conditions. We now have five years of evidence of
Developer non compliance and five years of DoP complicity in ignoring
breaches. The BEC condemns consideration of this DA based on this
farce of a propaganda "History" and farce of Fraudulent development
application allegations, and considers the DoP has displayed complete
contempt for the Byron residents and the environmental impacts of the
previous Trial The BEC notes that the current CSIRO prediction of a
3.25 degree Temperature Increase from carbon emissions, which is
associated with an approx. 6.5 metre sea level rise, and that the
CSIRO is now considering the likelihood that the projected Polar Sea
temperature rise will cause the collapse and extinction of the massive
polar spawns of both Krill and algae. With: a) Polar Krill being the
base in the food hierarchy of all aquatic ocean species, the loss of
Krill will lead to the collapse and death of all ocean species leading
to mass human starvation, and b) Polar Algae providing aprox 50% of
the earths annul oxygen supply, the extinction of the massive spawn of
Polar algae, may end the capacity for human life on this planet. The
BEC considers that this Development Application should include
consideration of the developments associated human carbon pollution
deaths, and species extinctions, that it will add to facilitating, and
Consent for this DA should be considered as a breach of your
governments Human Rights obligations.

North Byron Parklands provides a beautiful home for arts and culture to
come together in a community environment. The events held at this site
are the most premium and well run events i've ever had the pleasure of
attending, they are world class and capable of hosting more people and
more events. These events provide countless opportunities for the
local byron community and provide jobs for the local youth population.
NBP is committed to sustainability and make huge efforts in
encouraging patrons of the event to follow in their footsteps, they
are a true inspiration.

To: NSW Department of Planning & Environment My name is Matthew Evans and
I am making this submission as an individual. I declare that I am
employed by Secret Sounds Group (which owns interests in both events -
Splendour in the Grass' and `Falls Festival Byron' - that have been
held at North Byron Parklands) and am also involved in the management
of North Byron Parklands. However, I am also a resident of Byron Bay,
where I have lived for the past 5 years with my partner and young
children, and this submission reflects my personal opinions as a local
resident. SOCIAL Music festivals create opportunities for people to
gather and celebrate music, arts & friendships. Over many decades
Byron has become synonymous with such artistic celebration, indeed it
is what has attracted many new residents to the region that, in
partnership with the incredible home-grown local talent and diversity,
have cemented Byron Shire on the cultural map. Yes, it is the nature
of festivals that a large number of people visit the area and of
course there is potential for this attendance to impact amenity for
the local community. It therefore behoves the festivals to mitigate
the potential impacts and ensure they are run as professionally as
possible across all areas - programming, planning, sustainability,
noise, ecology, environment, logistics, safety, traffic, transport,
the list goes on. It is my vehement opinion that Splendour in the
Grass and Falls Festival Byron are world-class events, and in fact
lead many of the world's festivals across all of these factors.
Parklands publishes the number and nature of calls made to the Event
hotline during events. Since the first festival in July 2013 when
there were teething issues with - in particular - noise and traffic,
the trend in these complaints has been significantly downwards. While
I appreciate that neighbouring communities have the potential to be
affected by events, and sympathise with people who might be affected,
the number of complaints now being received (13 for Splendour 17)
would suggest that very few people are being materially affected and I
know Parklands is working tirelessly to mitigate the impact for those
who are. The general sentiment towards the festivals in Byron shire is
overwhelmingly in support with significant support in the north of the
shire in the very area potentially most affected by the venue &
events. It would be impossible to hold events in Byron Shire without
engaging with the local community and stakeholder groups, and the
consultation around this project has been significant. The scheme of
event days now being sought represents a significant reduction versus
the original application in 2012 and the preliminary SSD application
lodged in 2016. This reduction is in direct consideration of the local
community's feedback and recommendations of local agencies and
stakeholder groups. ECONOMIC With youth unemployment in the Northern
Rivers at 21.6% in late 2016 and regional unemployment a recognised
problem across NSW and Australia, the economic benefit to the local
community is huge. Total economic output from the 2 events and venue
in 2016 was measured at $126.4 million, with Byron Shire accounting
for $34.6 million (27%) of this number. The creation of 246 equivalent
full time jobs in Byron shire in 2016 represented 2.25% of the local
workforce, which would disappear overnight if the festivals relocated
back to Queensland. This development however could see this employment
increase up to 561 local jobs. I hear from numerous local event
suppliers and local businesses that, without the benefit of
event-related business, would not be sustainable. The timing of
Splendour alone in the otherwise quieter winter period creates a
dispersal of tourist visitation and meaningful increase in bed nights
across the shires of Byron and Tweed. With permanency will come the
ability for Parklands to invest in more world-class infrastructure,
creating yet more benefit for local suppliers and businesses. Indeed
there are products and services that are currently imported from
Queensland and further afar that could be nurtured and developed
locally with the advent of additional event days for Parklands and
patron capacity for Splendour. ENVIRONMENTAL In an area of such
natural beauty and diversity as Byron, it is essential that the event
site does not damage the environment and this is clearly a focus of
the venue with the General Manager himself being a qualified
environmental scientist. Following significant and detailed studies of
the site and the measurement of impacts on flora and fauna over
hundreds of survey days, it has been concluded that the events at
Parklands have caused only very minor, temporary and reversible
impacts on the ecology of the locality. In many ways the ecological
value of the land has been improved from its denuded cane farm past,
with revegetation programmes and the planting of more than 20,000
native trees. Numerous sustainability measures have been implemented
over the years - waterless composting toilets, on-site greywater
processing and solid waste management, low-flow showers, recycling
programs, carbon offset programs, to name but a few. With the
certainty of permanency and unlocking the latest capacity of the site
for 50,000 patrons comes the ability for Parklands to invest further
in sustainable, efficient assets. SUMMARY With the triple bottom line
benefits of this venue, together with the limited and managed impact
on community amenity that is evidenced in the Event hotline stats, I
believe approving this project on merit is compelling, and I wholly
support its approval.

The festival site at North Byron Parklands has been running on a trial
basis for 5 years and this system of conditional approval should
continue. The site should only be given conditional approval by the
Department of Planning and it should be reviewed annually in
consultation with Byron Council, to determine the effects it is having
on the environment, the amenity of the area and the social impacts on
both the Tweed and Byron Shires. The festival site should have strict
conditions set by Byron Council, which regulate its operation. This is
the case with any large scale entertainment event, regardless of
whether it is temporary or permanent. The oversight and enforcement of
consent conditions by the Department of Planning (DOP) has been too
lenient and at times totally lacking. There have been only a few fines
and cautions issued to the operators to date, even though local people
have documented close to 100 breaches of consent since the trial
period began. I request that the Department of Planning should give
oversight of the consent conditions to Byron Council and the DOP
should make available to the community a clear record of the breaches
of consent, at this site. The following recurrent problems at the site
need to be addressed and resolved before any approval is granted:
Noise, traffic within and outside the site, impacts on the
environment, impacts on local infrastructure (roads, water, sewer
systems), impacts on residential amenity, fire risks including
bonfires on site, on-site traffic jams, outbreaks of viral infections,
noise disturbance locally and repeated illegal use of fireworks. The
community has ongoing serious concerns about the above development in
an area that is a biodiversity hotspot, wildlife corridor and
sensitive site, part of which is zoned Habitat Protection in Byron
Shire Council's LEP. These concerns were supported by the Land and
Environment Court decision in 2009. The court found that the
development is properly characterized as a temporary place of assembly
which is prohibited in the habitat zone. The site is also surrounded
by the Marshalls Ridge Wildlife Corridor and in the early 1990s over
$13m was spent by the Fahey Government acquiring land to protect the
site. A completed sewerage treatment system was supposed to be
functioning by the end of 2017. The proposed plans for treating
sewerage onsite have major risks of polluting the water table and the
surface water of the local catchments, especially as this site is
subject to flooding. Note the flooding onsite in March 2017. It is not
acceptable that the excess sewerage from this site is trucked to the
sewerage treatment plant in Byron Shires, which is overloaded. The
proposed usage of the site far exceeds the original stated intention
of using it for "a few days a year". With the 2 major festivals and 3
medium sized events each year, the site is already in use for more
than half of the year, including set up, dismantling and preparation
times. This does not include smaller events of a half day or less. The
stated intention is to have 50,000 people a day on site during
festivals. I request that the number of people allowed onsite at any
one time and the number of festivals per year must be limited by the
Department of Planning to a level well below the current proposals.
The two major 5-day festivals currently onsite, now have a majority
ownership of 51% by Live Nation, an American company. The majority of
profits from these festivals will be going offshore and will not be
benefiting any Australian businesses or communities. The Conference
Centre at the site originally proposed accommodation for 60 people.
This has been doubled to proposed accommodation for 120 people and a
total capacity of up to 180 people. This centre was originally to be
used by staff during festivals and paying guests at other times. It
has turned into a de facto hotel and is proposed to be located in an
area of Koala habitation, which is totally unsuitable for this
purpose. If this Conference Centre is in fact a hotel/ motel, it
should be controlled by local planning regulations and moved away from
Koala habitats. The one-off Section 94 contributions of $420,000 that
will be paid to Council if this development goes ahead will not be
anywhere near necessary to cover the ongoing wear and tear of the
infrastructure created by the huge influxes of people to the shire.
These contributions represent a minute fraction of the profit that the
owners of this site will make annually. There is no independent
monitoring of Key Variables done at this site. Parkland's does
self-monitoring and this is not objective, as the consultants doing
the monitoring are in the pay of the developers. The reports they
write are sent to the DOP for review. This is a flawed process. I
request that the Department of Planning should insist on independent
monitoring of the site and should enforce this into the future. It is
especially important that an independent cost benefit analysis is done
on the effects of this development on the community. The approvals for
this festival site should have been controlled by Byron Shire Council.
The owner's strategy of extending the trial period and subsequent
development of infrastructure at the site has subverted this process
and taken away the democratic rights of the community to have a say on
this development. This is not consistent with the existing PAC -
approved Concept Plan. Billinudgel Nature Reserve and Marshalls Ridge
Wildlife Corridor, will be permanently compromised and the ecology
will deteriorate if this proposal goes ahead in its current form. NSW
has invested millions of dollars over decades into these state
significant assets in the north of Byron Shire. As a priority these
reserves must be protected by the DOP. The residents of Byron Shire
are the ones who must live with this development and the undesirable
effects of it on our environment and throughout our community. The
residents and local businesses of this shire should be determining our
future developments, not the State Government. The infrastructure of
this Shire cannot cope with the 2 million plus tourists visiting the
Shire annually, let alone huge influxes of young people at Festivals.
The purpose of festival goers is to party, the participants have no
responsibility or commitment towards the area beyond the festival. If
the State government wants to increase tourism to this area, it should
be financially supporting the infrastructure of the Shire and
financially subsidise the negative social consequences of tourism in
Byron Shire. For all the above reasons the development as proposed
should be refused and the above changes must be required by the DOP
before any approval is given. The record of the breaches of consent by
the owners, must be made public by the Department of Planning.

I strongly believe that north Byron Parklands is a brilliant cultural
arts & music venue, and very important to our area. Splendour in the
Grass and the Falls Festival both bring thousands of people to the
Shire each year, with many locals benefiting from the influx of
people. Among other local business for example the accommodation
industry, retailers & food outlets experience a serious increase in
revenue during the festival time. The events are very well organised.
I have visited several myself and it is just brilliant to, as a local,
be able to enjoy world class artists and cultural art here on our
doorstep in the Shire. please keep the festival spirit at North Byron
Parklands :-)

To Whom It May Concern, My family of five (husband and 3 children) live
in Mia Crt, North Ocean Shores - one of the closest suburban streets
to the North Byron Parklands. Whilst I do not object to North Byron
Parklands per se, it is the very large increase in allowable numbers
of patrons for single events. Despite all the positive advertising to
the contrary, our suburb is directly affected by a very large increase
of people in our little suburb over the time of large events such as
Splendour in the Grass. Some, not many, of the numbers behave in
antisocial manners in our local environment - at the beach, in our
park, at the shopping centre and on our roads. Behaviour including
drunken, disorderly and threatening to children, that we just almost
never see at other times of the year. Probably my main concern is the
sudden upsurge in illnesses directly after the Splendour Festival, to
the point now that the parents at the local school, Ocean Shores
Public, call it the 'Splendour Bug'. You may laugh, but I would
suggest a study of the local medical centres would confirm this (I
have spoken to a number of the doctors who do not laugh at this matter
and take it very seriously). Communicable diseases have not been
addressed by these very large influxes of people to one small area. As
an attendee myself, the state of the hygiene and toileting facilities
at the festivals are appalling. They are incredibly dirty, and
horrifically smelly. Rarely is there water to wash hands. I have seen
large pools of excretement mixed with mud surrounding some toilets.
There never seems to be enough toilets, so that very large queues form
outside the ladies in particular and very very often you will see
males urinating wherever they can, and females squatting away. The
food stalls have poor hygiene standards, with dirty floors and
benches; I have seen more than once, a pile of vomit next to the
eating tables! Having owned restuarants myself, health and safety is a
major concern in the industry, and thankfully standards for outlets is
very high and taken seriously - but not at festivals, why? The
incredibly poor hygiene standards directly affects festival goers and
employees of the festival and filters directly to us in the community
in the form of major illness spread from festival goers. I do not
object to small (less than 2000 people), more manageable events, in
fact see it as a positive in our area. Please DO NOT allow increased
patrons for major events. Our small suburb is swamped by attendees,
some displaying very poor antisocial behaviour; and the unhygienic
conditions together with communicable diseases passes on by so many
extra people and resulting illnesses are unsustainable.