What We

Stand For

Housing Security

As a society, we have a responsibility to ensure that all community members have access to housing. We want to ensure families, key workers and the vulnerable can access homes as a fundamental human right.

 

The sad fact is, that so many people in our community are still struggling and are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, or are in rental stress. We need to continue to challenge our idea of what housing people may look like in the short-term until we can provide as many long-term options as are needed in our community.

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During this current Council term, Michael Lyon has advocated fiercely for housing equity and has fought hard to regulate holiday letting in the Byron Shire as a way to restore some balance to residential housing.

In addition, Council has worked hard to provide some short-term housing, and laid the foundations for the delivery of long-term housing affordability in our Shire.

This includes putting in place the creation of a Community Land Trust for Byron Shire last year. We still estimate that at least 2,000 lots will need to be put into this trust in the next 5-10 years to ensure those locals who need it have a home.

 

 

Our Policy

 

The Byron Independents Team will continue to:

 

  • Support the implementation of the 60-day cap as determined by the State Government in identified residential areas from September 2024, including ways to ensure compliance.
  • Lobby and be innovative in our approaches to secure land to a dedicated Community Land Trust (CLT).
  • Prioritise the follow up on voluntary contributions by those seeking to develop their lands for residential housing as a means for securing land for the CLT. Council has already put in place a voluntary scheme which allows those who are identified in the residential strategy to fast-track their applications by signing a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) whereby they agree to pass on 20% of the yield of lots from any given development.
  • Challenge our idea of what housing people may look like in the short-term until we can provide as many long-term options as are needed in our community.
  • Flag the old hospital site in Mullumbimby for inclusion in the CLT and reinstate the Mullumbimby Hospital Site Action Group to draft the Site Plan.

Definition

  • A Community Land Trust (CLT), in simple terms, holds the value of land with the community in perpetuity, so that when a resident moves on from this dwelling, they leave the value behind for the next resident that requires an affordable dwelling.

Byron Independents' ACHIEVEMENTS:

  • Moved the first housing emergency motion by a NSW Council. Mayor Michael Lyon moved a motion in 2021 to address the housing emergency in the short-term, which involved emergency accommodation for those that are in insecure housing or at risk of homelessness but with the ability to pay in a normal rental market.
  • Advocated for temporary pod villages to house those affected by the devasting floods in 2022 and facilitating three such villages in the Byron Shire covering all types of households including those living with a disability.
  • Advocated to the State Government to limit the impact of Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) across the Byron Shire. Byron Shire Council is the only Council who have managed to negotiate a concession from the State Government on holiday letting in the form of a 60-day cap across the Shire whilst allowing 365 days in tourist areas. Everywhere else in the State has either a 180-day cap or none at all.
  • Oversaw the establishment of an Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme, the first Council in regional NSW to create such a scheme that came into effect in January 2023. Combined with a Community Land Trust (CLT), this Scheme has the potential to resolve the housing crisis in the medium term by leveraging any new rezonings to ensure a dedication of land is made to lock in affordable housing outcomes in perpetuity. The Scheme also provides detail about how, where, and at what rate development contributions can be collected from landowners for affordable housing. The Scheme applies to Mullumbimby, Bangalow and Byron Bay.
  • Worked to help save the Byron Feros Village. Councillor Mark Swivel, also a solicitor, acted on behalf of the Byron Feros Village residents to ensure the Village remained an aged care facility providing housing and care for 40 residents. The outcome was the appointment of a new aged and care operator, St Andrews in January 2024
  • Completed a 20-year Residential Strategy that was first adopted by Council in 2020 but was never endorsed by the State Government. The new Residential Strategy 2041 provides a vision and framework for how we deliver future housing in our towns and villages over the next 20 years that was sent to the State Government in 2024 and has now been endorsed.
  • Creation of housing above Council owned carparks. The first of these will see 32 one and two bedroom units built in Mullumbimby, all of which will be affordable in perpetuity.
  • Mullumbimby Hospital Site. This has now been rezoned and will see up to 150 dwellings provided, including social and affordable dwellings. We recently received a $263,000 grant from the Federal Government to expedite the planning process and test the feasibility of various options and concept plans that have been developed during community consultation and the enquiry-by-design process.

Ecological Regeneration

Environmental protection, rehabilitation and enhancement are fundamental to all good planning decisions.

Byron Shire covers 56,642 hectares including 39 km of coastline and 438 km of rivers and is one of the most biologically diverse regions of Australia with wonderful nature reserves, national parks and ongoing private & public reafforestation projects.

 

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Our ecosystems include subtropical rainforest, wet & dry sclerophyll forest, coastal heath and shrublands, grasslands, coastal wetlands, estuaries, salt marshes and mangroves.

We are critically aware that Byron Shire faces environmental challenges with weeds, overgrazing, bushfires, floods, coastal erosion and surges, temperature increases, and tourism and housing pressures. As such, Environmental repair & enhancement, ecological integrity and climate change adaptation & mitigation will underlie all our policy considerations and planning decisions.

 

 

Our Policy

 

The Byron Independents Team will continue to:

 

  • Use our legislative and delegated powers to protect and enhance Byron’s biodiversity through the implementation of the award-winning Byron Shire Council Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2020-2030.
  • Advocate for the establishment of a Conservation Trust as proposed by Councillor Mark Swivel.
  • Strive for net zero emissions for Council emissions by 2030 and continue to ensure 100% of Council's energy needs are derived through renewable energy as they are currently.
  • Protect and enhance the 317 hectares of subtropical lowland rainforests remaining in Byron Shire.
  • Advocate that our Shire is in some ways an experiment, inspiration and test case of what an aware & informed community can do to address the challenges of maintaining and improving biodiversity in the face of climate change.
  • Support regenerative agriculture with a diversity of food production that fosters local resilience and believe we can be better custodians of the land than relying on the traditional models of cattle grazing on cleared land.
  • Promote the fact that large parts of the Shire were in pre-colonial times one of the largest subtropical forests in the world before governments incentivized major land clearing for timber, dairy and cattle farming. We acknowledge that much has been achieved in recognizing and rectifying that folly however a lot more is achievable and our community are excited by that prospect.

Byron Independents' ACHIEVEMENTS:

  • Initiated strategic plans that aim to repair and regenerate all riparian zones Shire-wide and to bring back the health of our waterways. Examples include: Council’s Commercial Activities on Coastal and Riparian Crown Reserves 2023; Heritage Park Mullumbimby Landscape Masterplan 2023; and Temporary Use of Land Policy 2022; and Floodplain Risk Management Studies and Plans for rivers and creeks across the Shire
  • Proposed amendment of the Byron Local Environmental Plan 2014 to apply environmental protection zonesCouncil has progressed 4 planning proposals to enable the rezoning of 100s of hectares of rural land into conservation zonings.
  • Implementation of the Bringing Back the Bruns program that includes Council planting of 5000 native plants along a stretch of the Brunswick River (April 2024).
  • Development of Guidelines for Vegetation and Biodiversity Conservation Management Plans (2024)
  • Worked collaboratively with stakeholders to implement koala conservation projects as part of the Byron Coast Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management including the Northern Rivers Koala Partnership 2023; Koala Vehicle Strike Policy 2022; Koala Habitation Restoration Project 2023; and Koala Monitoring Project 2021.
  • Prepared an EIS for major Byron Wetland Project for the degraded Sandhills wetland area on the fringe of the Byron CBD that is currently on public exhibition.
  • Progressed the establishment of Australia’s first Bioenergy Facility to be built at the Byron Bay Sewage treatment plant in the near future that will offer a longer-term and more environmentally sustainable solution for managing organic waste and generating our own renewable energy.

 

  • Finalised Council’s Climate Adaptation Action Plan.

Connected Communities

Our towns and villages deserve great public transport, cycle and pathways so that we can better connect.

 

Ease of mobility is critical to the strength of a community and its relationship with surroundings. There are of course, also numerous health, environmental and economic benefits for individuals and the wider community as a whole that naturally stems from ease of getting around.

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The current reliance on cars to get around needs to be addressed as our population grows and roads become busier and more congested. We need to encourage other transport options including walking and cycling.

There are many gaps in the Shire’s 89km of footpaths and cycleways (incl. shared paths) that need to be rectified to encourage safe and connected movement around the Shire for all abilities.

During 2024, Council prepared a Draft Active Transport Plan. The priority actions are to:

  • Increase active travel into the future.
  • Remove major barriers to network connectivity.
  • Design and deliver quality infrastructure that maximises safety and accessibility.
  • Provide supporting facilities that make it more attractive and convenient to walk and cycle.
  • Promote the use of bicycles for short trips.

 

Our Policy

 

The Byron Independents Team will continue to:

 

  • Advocate to state and federal governments for funding support for key infrastructure projects that enhance the Shire’s connectivity including support for the development of the Byron Shire section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail and other connecting walkways and safe cycleways identified in the Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan (2018) and Byron Shire Bike Plan (2019) – e.g. Marshalls Creek Walkway.
  • Assist community groups to prepare strategically aligned grant applications to enable delivery of more paths and cycleways.
  • Ensure that the current review of Council’s Pedestrian and Bike Plans prioritise key missing links in places like Ocean Shores and are then funded appropriately.
  • Work towards increasing public transport connectivity for locals and visitors including exploring a reliable and regular bus transport link between Ocean Shores, Mullumbimby and Byron Bay.
  • Continue investment in the repair and upgrade of roads and investigate ways to dramatically increase the drainage budget across the Shire.
  • Continue to advocate for State Government disaster recovery funding to undertake and complete permanent repair work in the hinterland, including in Main Arm, Huonbrook and Upper Wilsons Creek areas.
  • Work with Transport for NSW to ensure a solution to the traffic chaos at the Ewingsdale interchange is implemented as soon as possible.
  • Investigate the provision of a ‘Park & Ride’ hub to access Byron Bay and thus ease congestion on Ewingsdale Road.
  • Advocate for dual lanes on Ewingsdale Rd with dedicated bus and cycle lanes.
  • Allocate sufficient funds from the operational budget of Council for the maintenance of the pedestrian and cycleways network.
  • Ensure that Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Advisory Committee and Local Traffic Committee amend road design to support safe cycling and pedestrian accessibility.

 

Byron Independents' ACHIEVEMENTS

 

  • Mayor Michael Lyon and Councillor Mark Swivel have advocated support for the Byron Shire sections of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail that resulted in a decision by Council in August 2023 to move forward with planning and approvals to implement the Rail Trail.

 

  • Finalised Moving Byron 2022 to 2042 that forms part of Council’s Integrated Transport Strategy.

 

  • Prepared a Draft Active Transport Plan in 2024 that reviewed and combined the Bike Plan and the Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan that were developed in 2018 after extensive community consultation.

 

  • Prepared a Draft Active Transport Plan Survey and Map to allow the community to provide feedback and find information about what Council currently have programmed and to enable community input to change priorities.

 

  • Commenced work on Stage One of the Byron Bay Drainage Upgrade Design Project. The upgrade to drainage is estimated to cost more than $40 million and will require additional grant funding support from state and Australian Governments.

 

  • Completed the construction of the Murwillumbah Rd raised crossing upgrade in Mullumbimby

 

  • Construction of footpaths across the Shire have commenced including: the Rifle Range Intersection Footpath and Tincogan Street pedestrian crossing and footpath upgrade.

 

  • Repairing flood damage in Huonbrook and Upper Wilsons Creek - some repair work has started while ongoing monitoring of large landslips is ongoing.

 

  • Design of paths and cycleways across the Shire including: the Bangalow Road Shared Underpass Upgrade; Byron Street Shared Path, Bangalow; Bayshore Drive Shared Path, Ewingsdale; Raftons Road Shared Path, Bangalow; and Lighthouse Road Shared Path Upgrade, Byron Bay.

Vibrant Places and People

Our arts and cultural sector and creative industries support connections between people and place and contribute significantly to our local economy and wider Northern Rivers region. 

 

Arts, Culture and Creative Industries also play a key role in building strong, resilient and cohesive communities.

 

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Preparation and implementation of Place Plans for the Shire’s towns and villages is important to ensure Byron Shire is a great place to live and visit.

Place Planning is important as it provides a process to guide and support a community to establish a clear vision for their town and village and prioritise and think through projects that may contribute to achieving that vision.

 

Definition

 

Place Plans are usually developed collaboratively between community members and council staff and contain a set of guiding principles, vision, themes and actions related to provide strategic direction for: streetscape upgrades, transport and access, planning controls, resilience, safety, events, character and community buildings.

 

Our Policy

 

 

The Byron Independents Team will continue to:

  • Advocate for the commencement of Place Plans for Ocean Shores, South Golden Beach and Brunswick Heads as a priority.
  • Support the implementation of Place Plans for Byron Bay, Bangalow, Mullumbimby, the Byron Arts and Industry Estate and Federal
  • Champion implementation of the Arts and Culture Action Plan 2024 and advocate for our community in fulfilling its objectives.
  • Acknowledge the broad contribution of all the professional and emerging artists, practitioners and community groups to the culture of the Byron Shire and its economy.
  • Recognise the significant contribution of our local traditional custodians to the arts, cultural and natural landscape of Byron shire in the past, present and future.
  • Support and encourage youth in exploring their own creative expression to contribute to their communities.

Byron Independents' ACHIEVEMENTS:

 

  • Implementation of the Byron Bay Masterplan – Council has worked with the Byron Masterplan Guidance Group to plan and deliver important projects identified in the Plan including: the Byron Bus Interchange (2021); Byron Bay rail corridor restoration and Railway Park Upgrade (2022; Sandhills Skate Park and Recreation Precinct (2023); and upcoming work on the Sandhills Wetlands Project (2024).

 

  • Place based plans have also been completed for Bangalow, Mullumbimby, the Byron Arts and Industry Estate and Federal in consultation with their communities and guided by the Place Planning Collective. This Collective is made up of community members, staff and Councillors and meets regularly to guide the implementation of the Place Plans.

 

  • Allocated funding for the Ocean Shores place plan in 2024-25, covering New Brighton and South Golden Beach as well as Ocean Shores.

 

  • Town Centre Planning Controls Review (2024) that resulted in amendments for land at North Belongil, Bangalow and North Beach Byron as well as consultation for DCPs associated with biodiversity and tree management.

 

  • Resolved on free parking permits for residents across the Shire once the Brunswick Heads scheme comes into force in October/November 2024

 

  • Approved a tender of $6.5 million for the redevelopment of the Byron Hospital site into a facility that will serve the social and educational needs of the community. With input from a Community Advisory Group, the plans for the 2,500m2 site are for it to be repurposed to home organisations across four critical sectors – education, community services, creative industries and health. The site is planned to be fully operational in 2024.

 

  • Supported the Arts and Creative Industries Forum (Nov 2022) to brainstorm ideas for the creative future of Byron Shire with key collaborators and organisations.

Our Relevant Experience

  • Councillor Mark Swivel is highly active in our arts community as a comedian and creative.
  • Dr Meredith Wray is a Board Director of Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA) and has also an advanced level of knowledge of place planning gained through work in and with local governments.
  • Michael Lyon is a regular attender of gallery openings and has purchased many works of art from local creatives.
  • Jeannette Martin is a keen painter and has worked with local creative organisations to facilitate their growth.

Sound Financial Management

Good governance is underpinned by a strong financial position that provides the investment in key infrastructure, programs and public facilities that our community deserves.

Our Shire has a very small population and rate base which limits Council’s capacity to provide the services it would like to offer its community. We have to rely very heavily on grants and support from Federal and State Government especially for infrastructure projects.

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It is widely recognised that the impact of tourism on our Shire is profound. While our large tourist numbers support local businesses and employment, this does not translate into money received by Council.

Further, after many years of lobbying, there has been no indication that a tourism levy or bed tax will be allowed.

 

Recovery from the February/March 2022 flood disaster is still an on-going challenge and requires state and federal funding support to deliver infrastructure repairs.

 

It is worth noting that increasing land values do not have any impact on the amount of money Council receives from rates.

Fully costed financial policies and ways to generate the necessary revenue to deliver lasting benefits to our Shire will be released shortly and include:

 

  • Developer Contributions
  • Pay parking policy
  • Attention to grant applications
  • Addressing cost-shifting from State and Federal governments.

 

Our Policy

 

The Byron Independents Team will continue to:

 

  • Advocate to the State Government to provide support funding given our low-rate base and important contribution to the NSW visitor economy.
  • Explore viable options to increase Council’s revenue funding.

 

  • Work with the local visitor economy stakeholders and State Government to explore support for the establishment of a tourism levy.
  • Identify ways we can support Staff to prepare successful grant applications.

 

Byron Independents’ ACHIEVEMENTS:

 

  • Implementation of pay parking in parts of Brunswick Heads (from September 2024) as a way of improving the turn-over of parking, especially in the town centre and raise funds to support infrastructure development.
  • Engaged a new Grants Officer to strengthen successful grant outcomes.
  • Prepared a Recovery Action Plan 2022 to 2024 that responds to the disaster events of February and March 2022.

Sustainable Tourism

Byron Shire’s visitor economy is important and needs to be sustainably planned and managed to ensure a balanced approach to achieve on-going positive economic benefits, conservation of land and marine environments and protect our host communities.

 

For 2022/23 the contribution of tourism to the Byron Shire economy was estimated at $965.7 million and generated 1966 direct jobs. (https://economy.id.com.au/byron/tourism-value).

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Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the Byron Shire visitor economy, travel and tourism has been re-activated and is predicted to increase around the world. Post pandemic, consumer research supports the increasing desire of travellers to seek sustainability commitments of destinations.

 

Byron Shire received around 2.4 million visitors of which half were daytrips.

Byron Shire has a reputation as a ‘green’ destination and should aspire to Sustainable Destination Accreditation that is globally recognised.

 

Being certified means that a destination complies with the highest social and environmental standards and a framework to guide sustainability policy initiatives.

 

Other North Coast destinations that have achieved Sustainable Destination Accreditation include Bellingen and Coffs Harbour.

 

A more strategic approach to destination management planning is also required that requires Council to work collaboratively with the Shire’s tourism industry and communities to develop a collaborative vision for sustainable tourism and events for the Shire and its destinations into the future.

Dr Meredith Wray, an experienced destination management planner and researcher, has joined the Byron Independent team to help lead this approach.

 

Definition

Sustainable tourism is defined by the United World Tourism Organisation as:

‘Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities’.

Best practice sustainable destination management planning takes into consideration how a destination is sustainably managed, developed and marketed.

 

Our Policy

 

The Byron Independents Team will:

 

  • Work collaboratively with the local tourism industry to further improve destination management planning for the Shire’s destinations (not just Byron Bay).

 

  • Take the lead to aspire to achieve globally recognised Sustainable Destination Accreditation that links to Council’s broader sustainability and place-based plans and projects and local business sustainability initiatives.

 

  • Consider how Council can best support a sustainable visitor economy – g. establish an expert based Visitor Economy Advisory Group to co-create agreed strategies with industry to achieve sustainable tourism destination accreditation and destination management, development and marketing initiatives.

 

  • Continue to drive strategic and sustainable planning for tourism and events across the Shire.

 

 

Byron Independents’ ACHIEVEMENTS:

 

Under the stewardship of Mayor Michael Lyon important advocacy, planning and delivery work has been undertaken during this Council term on the following key policy issues that have helped to lay the foundations to achieve sustainable tourism outcomes.

 

  • Advocated to the State Government to limit the impact of Short -Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) across the Byron Shire. Byron Shire Council is the only Council who have managed to negotiate a concession from the State Government on holiday letting in the form of a 60-day cap across the Shire whilst allowing 365 days in tourist areas. This is important to achieve sustainable tourism into the future by protecting residential amenity and providing diversity in accommodation choices for visitors.

 

  • Business, Industry and Visitor Economy Strategy – consultation has been undertaken to inform the development of this Strategy and is due for completion in late 2024. It will be important that Dr Meredith Wray is involved in the review of the draft plan to ascertain what further strategic work may be required.

 

  • Progressed the preparation of an Events Strategy (to be finalised in 2024) to guide the running of small to medium events across the Shire.

 

  • Delivered a Volunteer Event Organiser Training and Support program (2024) for event volunteer managers and community groups.

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