North Byron Parklands - Cultural Events Site

North Byron Parklands Cultural Events Site - Tweed Valley Way and Jones
Road, Yelgun Cultural Events Site - State sign Cultural Events Site -
State significant Development Application (SSD 8169)ificant
Development Application (SSD 8169) I wish to express my concern with
the application and my opposition to it. My objection is two fold a.
It goes against the intentions of the original application and makes
fundamental changes to what we were first offered as residents of the
area. Hence; a. Having the state of NSW control the festival site is
not consistent with the existing PAC-approved Concept Plan. After the
trial period is over, Byron Council is supposed to grant any further
approvals for holding festivals at the site. Rather than prepare for
this, Parklands got the state to extend their trial period and applied
to become a State Significant Development. These moves have allowed
them to avoid Council control. b. The festivals have been operating
profitably under a conditional trial approval for five years and
operated for many years before that with year-to-year approvals from
Council. If Parklands receives any further approval from the state, it
should be conditional on annual reviews, and it should have to meet
specific, rigorous conditions that Byron and Tweed Councils have set
in consultation with local residents. c. Much unpredictability
remains. Recurring issues include noise, traffic, impacts on the
environment, impacts on local infrastructure (roads, water, sewer
systems) and impacts on residential amenity and health. Fire risks
continue to be great, especially since the festivals have numerous
bonfires and are located in a fire-prone area. Problems have arisen
repeatedly throughout the trial, many unpredictable, e.g., the on-site
traffic nightmares at Splendour 2016, recurring outbreaks of "festival
flu", unpredictable noise disturbance throughout the area, and
repeated illegal use of fireworks on the site. Parklands may claim
that all the problems have been identified and will easily be
mitigated, but that's pie-in-the-sky thinking. Much unpredictability
remains. We can't be sure what mess or disaster might develop because
of the festivals. 2. This entire event needs to stay under the
jurisdiction of locals and not be given to a State authority with
little perceived care for local needs or concerns. Hence; a. If this
proposal is approved, the local community and its elected officials
will again have been pushed aside, as they were by the Part 3A
approval in 2012. The state will be in charge but will not be
accountable to local residents. Byron and Tweed Councils will have no
say. The DOP will continue "overseeing" the development from Sydney
but will simply trust Parklands to manage everything. This is not
right and not fair. Byron Council, in consultation with local
residents and business owners, should be determining the shire's
destiny--not the state government. b. Parklands claims their
compliance with consent conditions has been close to 100%, but locals
have documented close to 100 breaches and other irregularities since
trial approval was granted. The DOP has issued only a few Penalty
Infringement Notices (fines) and Official Cautions (no fines) and does
not even appear to have an accurate record of breaches and
irregularities. (The DOP has not yet provided clear and complete
information about breaches.) If the state remains in charge, oversight
and enforcement will continue to be lax and inadequate. There is a
feeling among many of us that the above proposal will become an event
way beyond our control and one that will end up impacting many parts
of our lives, to the detriment. Sending this to a State bureaucracy
will certainly streamline operations for the organizers but will be a
severe act of disempowering our community in the form of our Shire
Councils, interested bodies and us the residents. ROBERT Hess
STRENGERS 5 BERRIMBILLAH CT OCEAN SHORES

North Byron Parklands Cultural Events Site - Tweed Valley Way and Jones
Road, Yelgun Cultural Events Site - State sign Cultural Events Site -
State significant Development Application (SSD 8169)ificant
Development Application (SSD 8169) I wish to express my opposition to
both of the above. As a resident of the Shire and as someone in close
proximity to the site I am deeply concerned at many levels. My primary
concern is that an activity that should be and could be run at a local
level with all necessary inputs form the local community is being
farmed out to a State bureaucracy. This is not only a step backward in
the democratic process but also contrary to the original intentions of
the organizers proposals. Furthermore I wish to raise the following as
serious areas of doubt, concern and opposition. The festivals have
been operating profitably under a conditional trial approval for five
years and operated for many years before that with year-to-year
approvals from Council. If Parklands receives any further approval
from the state, it should be conditional on annual reviews, and it
should have to meet specific, rigorous conditions that Byron and Tweed
Councils have set in consultation with local residents. Parklands
claims their compliance with consent conditions has been close to
100%, but locals have documented close to 100 breaches and other
irregularities since trial approval was granted. The DOP has issued
only a few Penalty Infringement Notices (fines) and Official Cautions
(no fines) and does not even appear to have an accurate record of
breaches and irregularities. (The DOP has not yet provided clear and
complete information about breaches.) If the state remains in charge,
oversight and enforcement will continue to be lax and inadequate. To
demonstrate their performance on key variables, Parklands hires
consultants to monitor things and prepare reports. Parklands then
sends the reports to the DOP for review. No independent monitoring has
been done at any time during the trial. Parklands' self-monitoring and
self-reporting remains a major issue and will continue to be a major
issue if this proposal is approved. No independent analysis has been
done that objectively weighs the purported benefits of the festivals
against the costs to the community. The Economic Benefits Report,
Appendix W in the proposal, was generated by a Parklands-paid
consultant. The report is presented "without the assumption of a duty
of care to any other person other than the client [Parklands]" and the
report further cautions any third party from "using or relying on the
facts, content, opinions or subject matter" in the report. Experts in
assessing economic costs and benefits have described the report as
incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading. Strategies such as this make
us skeptical of any genuine supervision of Parklands. We remain quite
unconvinced that the proposal will serve us or the community we live
in at all well and that we will be totally cut off from any say over
an event of such magnitude. BRONTE FIELD 5 BERRIMBILLAH CT OCEAN
SHORES

SGBCA submission is attached.

13.2.2018 To: NSW Planning and Environment From: Dr Andrew Benwell
(ecologist) PO Box 641, Mullumbimby NSW 2482 Cultural Events Site -
State Significant Development Application (SSD - 8169) Preliminary
Submission and request of extension Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to
register my objection to the EIS for SSD 8169 for permanent approval
and expansion of the cultural events site at Yelgun.. I wish to apply
for an extension of two weeks (longer if possible) to complete my
submission. I have set out the main dot points in my submission below,
as requested In my opinion the conclusion of the ecological monitoring
program, which underpins the EIS, that there were no significant
negative impacts on wildlife during the five year music festival trial
is invalid for the following reasons: * Impacts during the pre-event
construction period were not monitored or assessed prior to the actual
EIM (Event Impact Monitoring). * The bird sampling strategy was biased
with more control sites than impact sites. * Monitoring data was never
included in the monitoring reports for public examination. * Bird
monitoring was limited to Paperbark swamp forest on the floodplain. *
Impacts on uncommon or low frequency bird species, which make up the
majority of the avifauna were not assessed. * Lumping approach to data
analysis obscures site specific changes. * The experimental design
implicit in the monitoring program was poorly planned and flawed from
the outset. * There was no effort to collect systematic baseline. *
Quantitative evidence of negative impact on birds evident in many
results not discussed. * Inappropriately complex statistical analysis
methods in documents meant for the general public. There is
considerable evidence, direct and indirect, that conduct of a music
festival venue in the high conservation value locality at Yelgun will
have a serious, long-term, deleterious effect on the biodiversity of
the festival site property and surroundings, undermining more 30 years
of effort by the community, the State Government, Byron and Tweed
Shire Councils and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to conserve
the area's biodiversity for future generations. Can you please confirm
receipt of this preliminary submission and request for an extension.
Regards, Andrew Benwell (Dr)

The Burringbar Community Association Inc., has overwhelming endorsement
from its members and residents for support of permanency for North
Byron Parklands.

See the attached document for my objections.

Please see attached.

Please see attached.

Objection to Application No. SSD (8169) Australians for Animals NSW Inc
objects to any approval for a SSD . An approval sets an appalling
precedent, fails to take into account that Byron Shire is completely
incapable of dealing with more visitor numbers and the subsequent
destruction of this beautiful place. An approval is an open-ended
situation with no evidence of any proper investigation being
undertaken by the Department and a continuing refusal by the
Department and PAC to act on community research and concerns. Our
objections are summed up as follows:- Department of Planning &
Environment (DOPE) reports are biased and continue to support the
proponent whilst ignoring community concerns. Departmental planners
are demonstrably incapable of objective assessment of the development
applications. Bias has been consistently demonstrated throughout the
five year trial period. No analysis of costs of impacts to community,
infrastructure, the only Byron hospital, roads, sleepless nights,
traffic, clogging of Brunswick, Ocean Shores, Byron Bay. 15,000
ratepayers slugged with a 32 +% increase in rates to cover damage by
two million tourists plus megafestival patrons. According to the
latest census, Brunswick Heads has a population of 1,737, Ocean Shores
is around 5-6000 residents. The inability of these villages to cope
with a massive increase in festivals and patron numbers is self
evident. Failure of adequate monitoring relevant to conditions of
consent. 22 pages of breaches have been compiled by the EDO and
ignored by DOPE. Lack of any compliance audit for the five year trial
in spite of many requests by Australians for Animals NSW Inc and the
community Lack of safety audit of five year trial. Lack of Key
Performance indicators Audit. Failure to acknowledge Tweed Shire
Council's concerns. Mayor Milne has indicated the Council does not
encourage events of this size in the shire due to their ecological,
social impacts and safety issues Failure to acknowledge the concerns
of Tweed Shire Council and community representatives in relation to
flooding, the flood management plan inadequacies and the inability to
evacuate the current patron numbers in the event of a major flood
Failure to address Byron Council's resolution of August 4, 2017 ,
Byron Council's submission raising serious issues and removing the
consent authority from Byron Council. Thus allowing the State
government to run Byron Shire - an undemocratic precedent which has
created serious community concerns. Failure to address major concerns
by NSW police particularly in regard to problems with evacuation.
Police have advised the site can't be evacuated under 8 hours. In the
event of a catastrophe, can the NSW government guarantee there will be
no deaths, injuries and chaos Failure to address that the site is
subject of floods which can rise very quickly and a long history of
major bushfires. A desk top study is completely inadequate when the
record of flood and fire demonstrates major problems. The comment in
the previous Assessment under "Response to off-site activity" ignores
the police report indicating police do not have enough staff to
service Parklands and the community contradicting police assertion.
Failure to acknowledge increasing numbers of drug abuse and arrests at
the festivals. Reliance on flawed and highly inflated economic claims
by NBP in spite of contradictions to these claims in NBP's own
previous approval application and evidence provided to PAC
Commissioners demonstrating flakey figures. No balance sheet which
addresses the costs to the community. Refusal to acknowledge
infrastrucdture issues including lack of hospital beds at Byron (43)
and the pressure on emergency department to deal with locals and
massive tourist invasion. Locals in need of emergency care are forced
to queue for hours waiting for assistance. Failure to address Pacific
Highway gridlock and inability to access Byron hospital and Byron town
as a result of megafestivals. Failure to address major exceedances of
ticket sales for SITG and Falls festivals in violation of Condition
53. A small fine by DOPE provides no security or deterrent for future
abuses. Failure to ensure an independent audit of ticket sales.
Failure to address lack of adequate monitoring of patron numbers as
required by Condition 53. Inappropriate reliance by DOPE on NBP
information. Failure to address the complexities of the very
significant number of companies involved in the megafestivals and the
recent takeover by a US company which ensures even more difficulties
for the community in taking any action to protect the resources and
environment of Byron Shire. Failure to address the inappropriateness
of allowing these megafestivals to be declared State Significant
Developments when the companies are the beneficiaries and Byron Shire
residents pay the cost. Failure to address the lack of any legal
options available to the community in the event of such an
unreasonable designation and any subsequent approval. Failure to
address carbon emission taragets set by the NSW government and Byron
Council. Failure to recognize carbon emissions generated by the
significant proposed increase in events and patrons. Failure by DOPE
to take into account carbon emissions including buses, trucks, rubbish
removal, overseas flights, fuel and power usage, cars, vans, bands. An
extremely conservative analysis of patrons and staff numbers based on
36,000 with all arrivals coming from Sydney demonstrates 23,000 tonnes
of carbon emissions. One festival therefore emits a quarter of Byron's
estimated annual emissions Lack of any information on extent of
insurance coverage. Failure to address Lorne stampede and the outcome
as to whether criminal charges have been laid against the same
festival promoters Given the police designation of a potential
terrorist threat and the problems inherent in any evacuation, the
Lorne stampede created a precedent which should be examined. Failure
to acknowledge increasing number of charges of sexual abuse at Falls
Festivals. Concern that the DOPE has demonstrated reliance on
submission numbers supporting approvals when the Festival company is
clearly able to generate significant support by contacting patrons
with postcards of support to be sent to the department. More bias.
DOPE refusal to address Falls Festival 2017-2018 ticket sales and pre
sales of tickets all over Australia as a result of the DOPE assessment
for approval of modification to allow the festivals to continue for
another two years. KOALA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT. Appendix B is seriously
deficient in terms of any protection of koalas. AFA makes the
following points: There has been no attempt to address the cumulative
long term impacts to the koala population on the NBP site. Climate
change impacts, noise, chronic stress, disease and a complete lack of
any information on the sex and age of identified koalas renders the
KPM a useless and irresponsible document. Failure to acknowledge the
numbers of koalas on site according to the recent NBP commissioned
report given that the NSW Scientific Committee has designated koalas
from Tweed to Brunswick River as endangered. Noting that the KPM fails
to acknowledge the Save our Koala project undertaken by OEH. If the
DOPE allows this massive increase in festivals and patron numbers,
koalas which are designated as endangered under the Biodiversity
Conservation Act will be placed at risk. Citing the Koala Report by
Biolink, 22 koalas have been sighted at NBP. Thjs is a significant
number of animals given that koalas from Tweed Heads to Brunswick
River has been designated Endangered by the NSW Scientific Committee.
In the opinion of the Scientific Committee ( to use their own words),
" it is facing a very high risk of extinction in NSW in the new
future." . The Committee noted in its decision the following facts are
necessary for the endangered designation: . (i) the population or
habitat is observed or inferred to be severely fragmented; . (ii) all
or nearly all mature individuals are observed or inferred to occur
within a small number of location Has the DOP consulted with the NSW
Scientific Committee in relation to this application and its impact on
designated endangered koalas ? There is no indication in Appendix B or
in any report of the sex and age of the observed koalas on NBP site.
This information is obviously critical to any analysis of the impacts
on koalas of increased events and patron numbers. Can the DOPE or OEH
provide any scientific research which demonstrates that massive
numbers of people, loud noise for days on end, lights, disturbance to
habitats, interference with communication between koalas provides
environmentally supportive measures for the survival of an endangered
koala population ? * The estimate of 50,000 patrons fails to include
staff, security, stall owners, police and others who are there to
support any event. So this estimate is false and demonstrates again,
the bias by the DOPE. Nor is there any guarantee that the numbers will
not increase together with the frequencies. * At no stage, according
to NBP records, has an event of this size been staged at North Byron
Parklands, so no possible estimates can be made of the impacts on
koalas and other threatened and endangered wildlife. * What we do know
is that at least 20 koalas have died on the Bluefest site, a mortality
which has been attributed to noise and disturbance. * Any increase in
events and patron numbers has no baseline data on which to base any
likely impact. However commonsense would indicate that more patrons,
more events, more disturbances, more lights, more noise are unlikely
to create a peaceful environment for koalas or other wildlife. * No
independent monitoring of koalas has been undertaken, only by
consultants paid for by NBP who cannot be described as independent.. *
As there are no radio collared koalas it is not possible to identify
the movement of 22 koalas noted on site. Nor is there any information
given in relation to events which may be held during breeding and
dispersal season. * It is unreasonable to suggest that as a result of
more scats being noted on the site, numbers have increased and that
this is a result of festivals. Given the extent of development in the
area from Tweed to Brunswick River, the provisions of the Local Land
Amendment Act Codes which allow for private forestry, it is possible
that koalas are being driven out of habitats which no longer exist.
Noting that Requirement C21 Updated Koala Plan of Management)
requires:- " the KPoM must also address the operation of ongoing
events carried out at the site and the potential impacts that this
will have on areas of core Koala habitat and the existing population".
AFA submits that the ongoing events and potential impacts have not
been addressed and the omission of the issues identified below are
significant and further evidence of DOPE bias and provide reasons why
approvals for modification and SSD should not be given. STRESS AND
CHRONIC STRESS IMPACTS ON KOALAS. . * It is now possible to establish
the stress levels of koalas impacted by noise and other anthropogenic
causes. Dr Edward Narayan of the University of Western Sydney has
undertaken a considerable amount of research on cortisol levels in
koalas as a result of exposure to chronic stressors.
https://bmczool.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40850-016-0004-8 .
No study has been undertaken by OEH, NBP, or DOPE to ascertain stress
levels of koalas in the last five years nor is there any provision in
the applications or DOPE summaries for the two approval requests to
undertake the monitoring of stress levels. . Stress has impacts on
koala health lowering the immune system, leaving the koalas open to
disease. . . Disease - disease such as Chlamydiosis and Koala retro-
virus are present in koala populations and can lead to high levels of
mortality. The increase level of disease in some areas is considered
symptomatic of disturbance and cumulative impacts from the range of
threats koalas experience, particularly isolation of populations
leading to inbreeding. . Appendix B deals solely with habitat clearing
and dog attacks as potential impacts and threats completely avoiding
the issue of chronic stress as a result of fencing off potential
movements and now permanent security fencing. The document claims that
" it is unlikely that Koalas would be seeking to traverse the busy
event area". Again, this statement can be contradicted by the reports
of koalas found in shopping centers, shops, up poles, on train lines
and in many totally inappropriate places. . Further: " Impacts from
more generalized disturbance will be short lived and contained within
the event areas of the Parklands site". . This statement is nonsense.
Noise is not contained within the event area. Whilst the authors may
consider events which take days to set up and run for up to five days
are " short lived", the impacts on wildlife are highly unlikely to be
short lived. . Similarly, the assumption that somehow koalas will
disperse into " large areas of habitat available in the adjacent
Billinjudgel Nature Reserve and to the west of Parklands " are mere
fantasies with not a shred of published peer reviewed research to
support this claim. The implantation of permanent security fencing
which " outside of event times will be opened to allow movement of
koalas" is ridiculous. Once again, there is zero research on any
measure of this nature anywhere in published literature. As well,
scientists have established that noise is inhibiting communication and
that certain frequencies ( which are relevant to the megafestivals)
can cause problems in breeding season as male koalas attempt to
attract female.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045420
CLIMATE CHANGE. .AFA is deeply concerned by the omission of the
impacts of climate change on Koalas, particularly in an area which is
prone to heat-waves, bushfires and drought. The International Union
for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) has designated the koala as one
of ten most vulnerable species GLOBALLY to be impacted by climate
change.
http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/fact_sheet_red_list_koala.pdf
Mainstream media has regularly reported on koalas found drinking from
puddles in the road, swimming pools, ponds, backyard taps, anywhere
they can find water. Published research on Pilliga, once the heartland
of koalas demonstrates a massive collapse in the koala population
attributed to climate change. Yet Appendix B completely fails to
address this issue, disregards the potential impacts of a permanent
approval which ignores the increases in carbon emissions from the
increased events, patron numbers, and other sources and the increasing
likelihood of extinction of the species. Monitoring Objectives. Under
Conservation outcomes, the following statement is made : " Events will
not prevent the on-going use of the Parkland site by Koala." There is
not a shred of evidence to support this statement. Given the permanent
nature of any approval as a SSD, no amount of feed trees will
guarantee koala survival. And further :" Thee outcomes are also
consistent with the overarching management aim for the North Byron
Coast KMA which is to recover the important sub-population of the
Tweed and Brunswick Coast Population of the Koala. AFA has not been
able to identify any North Byron Coast KMA. Nor does the Byron Council
Koala Plan of Management suggest that holding megafestivals in areas
where koalas are found is likely to assist in recovering important
sub-populations. Monitoring Objectives. " ongoing monitoring of Koalas
at Parklands will be undertaken. It is predicted that the impacts of
the ongoing program of cultural events at Parkalnds will be minor and
temporary as evidenced by the results of extensive monitoring
undertaken during the trial period." This statement is unacceptable
scientifically as there has been no study which provides : * Whether
koalas are suffering from chronic stress * population dynamics of
koalas using the site * no study which identifies whether any koalas
are suffering from disease * no study which has identified whether
frequencies have inhibited reproduction and communication * No studies
which take into account the impacts of climate change on the species,
their food supply, the impacts which are likely to be experienced as
climate changes increase causing major problems for reproduction,
nutrition and disease. * No studies which are capable of predicting
the future or the impacts of multiple major events with the potential
for increases in patron numbers over 50,000. * No legal action
possible under State legislation. Koala surveys to be undertaken every
two years is unacceptable for a species which is listed as endangered.
Nor should monitoring be linked to surveys undertaken in the wider
region as guided by the BCC KPoM. Byron Council has not demonstrated
any increase in koala populations as a result of the KPoM and failed
completely to address the high mortality of Koalas on the BluesFest
site and in the Shire. Nor has any methodology been demonstrated as to
how these surveys would be linked, or undertaken or by whom. Who would
be financially responsible ? Any approval for a SSD should be
investigated by ICAC as the ongoing bias by the Department and the PAC
is highly questionable, flouts the Code of Conduct and raises issues
which need to be addressed by an independent body. Sue Arnold Sue
Arnold Co ordinator 15 February, 2018

See attached PDF

Splendour in the Grass were major partners of ELYSIUM - a laneway
transformation project in the heart of Byron Bay. Splendour's
financial support to our project was critical to the project going
ahead and assisted us in attracting other reputable sponsors and
private patrons. The funds enabled us to transform an unattractive
laneway through bold contemporary art, turning a generic service
thoroughfare into a vibrant place with a unique identity. Featuring
artwork by local nationally recognised artists, ELYSIUM showcases the
Shire's exceptional creative talent. Sydney and Berlin artists also
participated, collaborating with the local team and developing new
creative alliances and opportunities. Five aspiring artists were
provided with professional development skills through a mentorship
program.

Please see attached.

Attached PDF

The Far North Coast Zone PSSA supports the Nth Byron Parklands as a
fabulous community use facility within the shire. It provides
facilities and space that are currently not provided by council

See attachment

I am re-submitting - as important information came to hand and need to be
included. I also request that my previous submission to Pamela Morales
be replaced with this updated version .. called N Byron Parklands/2
Pamela - can you please confirm this has been done ... Many thanks --
Irene

I am a Social Scientist, resident of Mullumbimby and convener of
Mullumbimby Residents Association.

North Byron Parklands Cultural Events Site - Yelgun SSD 8169 and MP
09-0028 MOD 3 (Concept Plan), Tweed Valley Way and Jones Road, Yelgun
A SUBMISSION ON THE D.A. SSD 8169 and MP 09-0028 MOD 3 Concept Plan I
have read the DA and the Environmental Impact Statement and require
attention to issues that the DA and its reports presents. These issues
include the magnitude of the events proposed. The following points are
our key issues and will be elaborated upon in a subsequent submission
due on 2nd March. 1.I object to the magnitude of the proposal to the
SSD particularly as Live Nation has bought a controlling interest in
the Splendour in the Grass and Falls held on the NBP site. Live Nation
will not be accountable to Council and the local community. The two
major festivals staged on the site are 51% owned by Live Nation, an
American entertainment conglomerate. Permanent approval of this
proposal will put profits generated at Parklands into the hands of
that conglomerate, an entity that is not answerable to elected
officials or local residents. As we do not know the nature of the
festivals or events to be held, beside the events Splendour in the
Grass and Falls, once a permanent approval is granted modifications
could possibly be obtained thereafter. 2. The environment, which
encompasses not only the flora and fauna of the area but its human
inhabitants and their social welfare, will be compromised. Therefore,
the Precautionary Principle is not intact. Having the state of NSW
control the festival site is not consistent with the existing
PACapproved Concept Plan. After the trial period is over, Byron
Council is supposed to grant any further approvals for holding
festivals at the site. Rather than prepare for this, North Byron
Parklands requested that the NSW state government extend their trial
period and have now applied to become a State Significant Development.
These moves have allowed them to avoid Byron Council control. The
environment is the true state-significant asset in this part of the
state. Billinudgel Nature Reserve and Marshalls Ridge Wildlife
Corridor, into which NSW has invested millions of dollars over
decades, are the most state significant assets in the north of Byron
Shire. The proposed increases of site usage are significant. The
proposed increase in festival use of the site is far from the "few
days a year" that Parklands originally argued was their aim. Parklands
proposes two large, five-day events and three medium-sized, one-day
events every year. Each of these will require 35 days of preparation
and dismantling, bringing the total site usage time to 188 working
days or 52% of the year's 365 days. That does not include either the
weekend (non-working) days associated with event set-up and
dismantling and does not include the days devoted to "small" and
"minor" events. If this proposal is approved, NBP will be able to get
ongoing modifications 2 to increase the numbers of days and the daily
attendance still further. Their stated aim of 50,000 attendees per day
has to be seen as only the beginning. Approval of this proposal will
permanently change the nature of this ecologicallysignificant site.
Once the ecosystems and wildlife corridor are compromised with further
continuous degradation from chemical contaminants from 50,000
attendees per day using sunscreen lotions, insecticide, insect
repellent, cooking contaminants, motor vehicle and generator
particulate matter and rubbish seeping into the air, waterways and
soil, loud noise and massive vehicle and people movement on the site,
the ecological values will be slowly diminished and destroyed. In Sec
5.1 Impact avoidance and minimisation, Parklands consultants 'eco
logical' state; "Outside of event times, the proposed permanent
security fencing will be opened to allow movement of koalas. That is,
every 5th or 6th panel will be on hinges (acting as a gate) and will
be permanently open except during events. Each fencing panel is
approx. 2.5m long. The fence will also be set 100mm off the ground to
allow movement of smaller fauna." This is unacceptable in a regionally
significant wildlife corridor. (refer FNCRCP, 2010) The concept plan
approval outlines a number of requirements for future applications for
the North Byron Parklands project after the end of the trial period.
In particular, Term C1(1) requires that the performance of the trial
events must be addressed as part of any development application for
outdoor events after the trial period. It is noted that Term C1(2) of
the concept plan requires that any development application for outdoor
events after the trial period must be accompanied by an environmental
management and monitoring plan that details the management strategies,
monitoring regimes and regular reporting on the key matters associated
with the project (including noise, traffic and transport, flora and
fauna, bushfire, flood, surface water and event management). The site
is located in an area of significant ecological value, with
Billinudgel Nature Reserve immediately to the east of the site, a SEPP
14 wetland to the east and south-east, and the Marshalls Ridge
wildlife corridor extending through the central portion of the site. A
number of threatened flora and fauna species, endangered ecologically
communities (EECs) and critically endangered ecological communities
(CEECs) listed under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC
Act) and/or the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) have been recorded within or nearby
the site, as outlined in the following sections. Two vegetation
communities on the Parklands site also classify as endangered
ecological communities (EECs) listed under the BC Act. Four threatened
flora species have been identified as occurring on site, and a further
7 species have the potential to occur on site. 18 threatened fauna
species have been identified as occurring on site, and a further 4
species have the potential to occur on site. The biodiversity
assessment identifies 9 migratory species listed under the EPBC Act
that are either known to occur, or potentially occur, within the
Parklands site. The assessment identified 34 threatened species and 12
migratory species that either occur, or potentially occur, within 1
kilometre of the site. These species include many of the species
identified as occurring or potentially occurring on the Parklands
site. 3 Parklands is proposing to implement a number of mitigation
measures, including ongoing ecological monitoring and continued
habitat restoration and vegetation management, which to date has seen
the planting of 22,000 native trees on the site. The Biodiversity
Assessment Report states that ongoing monitoring and adaptive
management will be geared towards the enhancement of endangered
ecological communities and associated threatened species habitat via
vegetation management and bush regeneration. A proposal for an
operational monitoring program is included in Appendix N Biodiversity
Assessment Report Because of the proposed increase in the number of
event days and the number of festival attendees we are concerned that
the impacts on threatened species, populations and communities may
also increase and consequently we regard it as essential that the
ongoing ecological monitoring and the continued habitat restoration
and vegetation management is undertaken as proposed. 3. Gate A on
Jones Road, Yelgun In Appendix D - refer Sec 4.1 External Road Works
(pg. 5) it states; At Jones Road, the existing intersection at gate A
will undergo minor roadworks in order to accommodate the regrading and
consequent realignment of the existing service vehicle road to be more
suitable for buses. In Appendix P - Traffic and Transport Assessment
4.3 Gate A (pg. 23) it states; From Jones Road: used for service
vehicles, bus entry and VIP/performer entry. Parklands excavated a
tunnel through the Jones Road ridgeline so the heavy vehicles such as
buses and trucks would not have to enter via the dangerous Jones Road
intersection and would enter via Gate C instead and gain access to the
event site via the tunnel under Jones Road (Appendix C - Civil Design
Plans). WE OBJECT OUT RIGHT TO THE GATE A ON JONES RD, BEING USED FOR
SERVICE VEHICLES AND BUS ENTRY 4. Fire risks continue to be great,
especially since the festivals have numerous bonfires and are located
in a fire-prone area. 5. Combined value of the locality's residential
property of $3 billion is more state significant than the $30 million
Parklands plans Parklands claims that their intention to invest $30
million in the site makes them a state-significant development. But a
conservative estimate of the combined value of 4 just the residential
property in Ocean Shores North, South Golden Beach, New Brighton,
Ocean Shores, and Brunswick Heads is $3 billion, as a local realtor
has said. That $3 billion is surely more state significant than the
$30 million Parklands plans to invest in festival-site infrastructure
such as concrete platforms and wider roads. ONCE AGAIN, THE LONGTERM
ISSUES AND VARIABLE OUTCOMES ARE ENDLESS WITH A DEVELOPMENT OF THIS
SIZE AND IS SUCH, "A MAJOR CONCERN FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES".

Thankyou for granting me an extension of time to submit details of my
submission by March 2, the application is very complex and I
appreciate the time to provide meaningful feedback. I object to the
SSD 8169 North Byron Parklands Cultural Event Site and the
modification of the Concept Plan (MP09_0028 Mod 3 Concept Plan). The
reasons for my objection are as follows: The noise criteria proposed
are too high and do not reflect the intrusive nature of noise
associated with amplified music festivals at the frequency proposed.
The change in definition of patron from anyone holding a valid ticket
to anyone holding a paid ticket effectively provides no upper limit to
the number of people potentially on site at any one time. The proposed
increased frequency of usage negates the main mitigating measure
recommended in the 2010 Environmental Assessment to limit impacts on
threatened species on the site. The proposed northern patron
entrance/exit route to Wooyung Rd and through Tweed Coast Rd
Pottsville sends large quantities of traffic through Pottsville CBD
which has created a huge traffic problem in the past. The flooding
evacuation plan shows that the site cannot be effectively evacuated in
less than 10 hours for an event of 35000 patrons. Flood threat has not
been accurately represented in the application. The requirements for
the Flora and Fauna Management Program as conditioned under C20 have
not been completed. Multiple significant breaches of consent
conditions have occurred during the trial period. Multiple significant
ongoing breaches resulted in unsatisfactory performance during the
trial. Mitigation measures as required for sensitive receivers under
Condition C18 have not been enacted despite specific directives to do
so by DPE. Requirements under the approved Concept Approval have not
been met. The traffic conditions generated by one day events of up to
25,000 patrons have not been trialled during the trial period and have
the potential to impact negatively on levels of service available on
the surrounding road network. Ecological monitoring during the trial
period has failed to assess criteria identified in the Environmental
Assessment thereby invalidating the conclusions of ecological
monitoring programs conducted during the trial. Because performance so
far has been uneven, with many unpredictable problems and breaches,
permanent approval should not be granted, especially since the
proposed usage is more intense than the highest intensity of the
trial. If any further post-trial festivals are allowed, year-to-year
approval, by Byron Council, should be required, with Byron Council
having the authority to set new consent conditions as needed. (Council
approval of any post-trial festivals is specified in the current
Concept Plan.)

This year I worked as coordinator of a project called 'Taking Care of
Brunswick Heads during the Falls Festival' and I would like to share
my experience.