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

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