“You
are literally holding a front line between extinction and
survival.... We must stand strong together. You are mighty powerful.
You are the frontline. You are even bigger than this magic place,
Wallum, and together we are going to win this.” [Greens
State MP & Northern Rivers resident Susan
Higginson
addressing the March
Against Zombies
on 1 March 2024]
Torakina
Road, Brunswick Heads NSW, Lot 13 DP 1251383 and environs
Vegetation mapping of Lot 13 DP 1251383 and environs
Echo,
19 April 2024:
The
company behind the Wallum housing development in Brunswick Heads is
once again taking Byron Council to court, this time for allegedly
holding up its planned earthworks at the site in an unlawful manner.
As
thousands of locals continue their campaign to save the heathland
site from becoming home to 124 housing lots, Clarence Property has
lodged an appeal against Council’s ‘deemed refusal’ of its
stage 2 subdivision works certificate.
The
developer needs Council to issue this certificate, which is
essentially a procedural box-ticking exercise, before it can start
undertaking bulk earthworks at Wallum.
But
the process has been delayed by Council requesting additional
information from Clarence about stormwater management, and seeking
further consultation with the traditional owners.
The
developer is arguing that this delay amounts to a ‘deemed refusal’
of its subdivision works certificate because of the length and nature
of the delay, and has lodged an appeal against this refusal in the
Land and Environment Court (LEC).
‘An
application to the Land & Environment court is an increasingly
common approach that Developers look to take in order to preserve
their legal rights with local councils,’ Clarence Property CEO,
Simon Kennedy told The Echo.
‘It’s
not Clarence Property’s preferred approach; however, where a matter
becomes protracted or political, it may be the best way to resolve
the issue.’
Second
court case
It
is the second time Clarence has commenced proceedings against Council
in the LEC for deemed refusal of a subdivision works certificate in
the past three months.
On
the first occasion, which related to a construction certificate for
ecological rehabilitation works, Clarence halted its action against
Council when a slim majority of councillors voted to sign off on the
certificate.
The
February 8 casting vote by mayor Michael Lyon was supported by
councillors Mark Swivel, Asren Pugh and Alan Hunter.
They
argued part of the reason for authorising the works certificate was
advice provided by Council’s legal team, which suggested that
Council had few prospects of successfully defending such a case.
This
was largely because the development had already been approved by the
Northern Regional Planning Panel.
If
Council had chosen to pursue the matter and then lost, they suggested
Council could have faced a substantial legal bill that included
paying Clarence Property’s legal costs.
However,
there is strong support from the Save Wallum campaign, the community
and other councillors, to pursue legal action regardless of the
likely outcome.
They
argue that taking this step could encourage the developer to amend
its plans, or at least buy time for other avenues to bear fruit.....
The
Wallum site, located next to the Bayside housing estate, is home to
multiple threatened species, including the wallum froglet and the
wallum sedge frog....
On
the morning of Thursday 18 April 2024 at its monthly
meeting Byron Shire Council again considered the matter set
out below. As of Sunday 20 April the minutes of this meeting have not been
published on its website.
BYRON
SHIRE COUNCIL
STAFF
REPORTS - SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY 13.9
Ordinary
Meeting Agenda
18
April 2024 page 148
Report
No. 13.9 Wallum Subdivision DA10.2021.575.1 -
Response
to Council Resolution 23-454 -
Stormwater
and Cultural Heritage Site
Inspection
Plan
5
Directorate: Sustainable Environment and Economy
Report
Author: Chris Larkin, Manager Sustainable Development
File
No: I2024/260
Summary:
Council
considered a Notice of Motion 9.2 Wallum DA10.2021.575.1 referral and
assessment Agenda of Ordinary (Planning) Meeting - Thursday, 12
October 2023 and resolved under Parts 5, 6 and 7 of Resolution 23-454
to receive certain assessments of certain plans, and for those
assessments to be reported back to Council.
This
report responds to Parts 5(e) and (f) in terms of stormwater
maintenance management plan for the existing drain (Condition 12),
the Cultural Heritage Inspection Plan (Condition 18), Part 6 in terms
of further consultation with the traditional custodians of the
land and Part 7 in relation to further stormwater commentary around
Condition 11.
The
development has been approved in a number of stages. The matters for consideration in this report relates to three of the sixteen
conditions relevant to Early Stage 2 Bulk Earthworks.
Based
on the assessment below, staff recommend that Council notes the
report.
RECOMMENDATION:
That
Council notes the report Wallum Subdivision DA 10.2021.575.1 -
Response to 25 Council Resolution 23-454 - Stormwater and Cultural
Heritage Site Inspection Plan....
Put on the spot in state parliament last month the NSW Minister for Planning & Public Spaces Paul Scully pointed to his referral on 10 October 2023 of the question of historical development applications to the NSW Legislative Assembly Committee on Environment and Planning.
The Committee only announced its Inquiry into historical development consents in NSW and called for submissions on 19 March 2024 but makes no mention holding public hearings and is yet to publish any submissions it may have received to date.
This state parliamentary inquiry will do nothing to halt unlisted Clarence Property Corporation Limited - issuer of the PDS for Clarence Property Diversified Investment Trust (formerly Westlawn Property Trust) & Epig Lennox Property Trust - as it continues to swing its wrecking ball through what remains of natural landscapes in coastal areas of the NSW Northern Rivers region.
