Billinudgel.com

Mt Chincogan, Byron Bay

Objections to a Permanent Festival Site at Yelgun

Billinudgel Property Trust (BPT) owns North Byron Shire Parklands in Yelgun, Byron Shire. BPT wants to establish a permanent festival site on the property as a venue for the Splendour in the Grass music festival and similar events. They have taken their case to the NSW Planning Department, bypassing the local community.

Our group, a coalition of community associations and individuals, strongly objects to a permanent festival site at this location on these grounds:

Court Decision

The Land & Environment Court ruled in May 2009 that Byron Shire Council’s 2008 approval of BPT’s proposed trial Splendour festival at Yelgun was “invalid and of no effect”. It is difficult to see how the state could now rule in favour of a permanent festival site at this location, given this judicial decision about a one-off trial event.

Fire Risk

The risk of fire at the event site and in Billinudgel Nature Reserve is high, given that bonfires are planned by the event organisers and that smoking and camping on site are to be allowed. We are especially concerned about people tramping through Billinudgel Nature Reserve between the event site and the unpatrolled beach, as they are likely to do. The risk of fire in this area, as a result of unmonitored activity, is also extremely high.

Risk to Wildlife

The site at Yelgun is in the middle of a high conservation area that has been protected for decades by local and state governments and is adjacent to Billinudgel Nature Reserve, a reserve the government worked hard to establish. The noise and disturbance of tens of thousands of people repeatedly through the year will have a significant negative effects on the wildlife.

Flood Risk

Massive, rapid flooding occurs on the Yelgun site, especially where the promoters have planned to locate their campgrounds and their parking lots. Event attendees will be at serious risk in periods of heavy rain from the inevitable overflows of North Yelgun Creek, Marshalls Creek, and the Capricornia Canal, all quite near to the site.

Negative Impacts on Residential Amenity

The site at Yelgun is a quiet, rural, residential area populated by people who live there because it is a quiet, rural, residential area. It is adjacent to the rural and residential areas of Wooyung, South Golden Beach, Ocean Shores, and Billinudgel. Forcing a permanent festival site upon these residents condemns them to repeated intrusions of the traffic, noise, and other disturbances that are associated with mega-festivals. There is virtually no infrastructure in the north of the shire to accommodate large numbers of party-goers pouring into the area.

Anti-Social Behaviour in the Immediate Area

Drug and alcohol consumption is high among Splendour attendees. In fact, the sale of alcohol makes the festival especially lucrative for the promoters. A permanent festival site at Yelgun will result in a permanent “schoolies” atmosphere in the immediate area—something that current residents want no part of.

Negative Impact on Health Services

The number of attendees at mega-festivals and the heavy use of drugs and alcohol place a strain on local ambulance, hospitals, and psychological services during the course of the event. Given the past history of the need for emergency services during mega-festivals, many residents are concerned that their own health emergencies will receive less prompt attention as a result.

Negative Impact on Byron Shire’s Image

Allowing a permanent festival site at Yelgun will exacerbate the growing image of Byron Shire as “party central.”

Reduced Access to Public Thoroughfares

Traffic has increased substantially in the area during Splendour events, clogging roads in and around Byron Bay. The Yelgun site is even less suited to massive increases in traffic. The RTA had concerns about traffic issues when the proposal was for a single trial They will no doubt have concerns about multiple events at a permanent site.

Lack of Consideration of Indigenous People’s Concerns

Although Splendour promoters claim to have the support of “the Aboriginal community” for their plans at Yelgun, we know a sizeable number of indigenous people in the immediate area who are strongly opposed to the promoters’ plans. These people have not been consulted by the Splendour promoters; their voices have not been heard.

True Intentions of the Promoters

The aims of the promoters are simply make a lot of money from multiple mega-festivals on unsuitable property. They intend to benefit themselves substantially at huge expense to the property and those who live in the area.

Alignment with State and Council Plans

The plans to develop a permanent festival site at Yelgun run counter to Byron Shire Council’s recently-drafted Tourism Management Plan. The Tourism Management Plan stresses the need for greater diversity in the types of tourist attractions that should be developed.

Events Policy for the Shire

Byron Shire Council has been revising its Events Policy to better manage all events in the shire, from small-scale family-oriented sporting events to large-scale music festivals. Splendour’s proposal is not in line with the current thinking about events in the shire.

Approval Process

Besides objecting to the proposal, we also strongly object to the Splendour promoters asking the state government to become the consent authority in this matter. Their proposal has been controversial from the start. Substantial opposition exists in the community, and a majority of current councillors have expressed opposition to the earlier plans for a trial The court decision, too, was an important development. Splendour’s response to the substantial opposition and legal judgment should be to find another venue. Instead, they are bypassing everyone in Byron Shire in hopes of getting the state to force the development onto the community. This should not be allowed.

Extent of Community Opposition

Splendour promoters regularly refer to objectors as a “small, vocal minority”. However, the 33 groups listed below agree with the points in this document and with CFFS’s perspectives on this issue.

The Coalition for Festival Sanity

Supported by:

South Golden Beach Progress Association, Inc.

New Brighton Village Association, Inc.

Yelgun/Middle Pocket Progress Association

Pottsville Community Association

Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association

Hastings Point Progress Association

Save Hastings Point.com

Tweed Heads Residents and Ratepayers Association

Wooyung Action Group

Cabarita Beach/Bogangar Residents Group

Fingal Head Community Association

Murwillumbah Ratepayers and Residents Association

Tugun Alliance

Tumbulgum Community Association

Fingal Community Association

Cudgen Progress Association

Uki Village and District Residents Association

Tumbulgum Ratepayers Group

Tugun/Cobaki Alliance

Tweed Monitor

Australian Labor Party, Mullumbimby branch

Byron/Ballina Greens Party

Byron Ratepayers Association

Conservation of North Ocean Shores, Inc.

Caldera Environment Centre?

Byron Environment Centre

Byron Environment and Conservation Organisation

Friends of the Koala

Australians for Animals

National Park Association

Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales

North Coast Environment Council

Total Environment Centre