Welcome
Our Vision is to create a world class sustainable events site.
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Moving forward we envisage:
- • a site that enables best practice waste and water cycle management;
- • a venue that supports the local economy;
- • a venue that celebrates the areas natural and human heritage;
- • a venue that both protects and celebrates the areas indigenous heritage;
- • the site being used for large events no more than 12 days per year;
- • the creation of a wildlife corridor linking the Billinudgel Nature Reserve
and the Mount Warning Caldera
Background
The Byron Shire hosts many cultural arts and music festivals each year which support many of the key actions in Byron Shire Council’s Cultural Plan. Unfortunately the Shire currently does not have a permanent space for large outdoor events leaving organisers with a limited choice of temporary site options.
For example, Splendour In The Grass was held for nine years at Belongil Fields on Ewingsdale Road in Byron Bay. Belongil Fields is privately owned and the property is currently undergoing a rezoning process for residential development. This means it will soon be unavailable for use as an event site.
This knowledge prompted the search for a permanent venue for Splendour in the Grass – one that could potentially also accommodate other music and cultural events.
The producers of Splendour in the Grass and a small group of individuals, including Brandon Saul, formed the Billinudgel Property Trust, purchasing 256 hectares of land in the north of the Byron Shire.
The property has been named North Byron Parklands. It is considered a potentially suitable site because of its size, its minimal number of neighbours and its position adjacent to a motorway interchange.
A Development Application for a trial event in 2009 (Splendour in the Grass) was approved by the Byron Shire Council in July 2008. The Byron Council’s decision was then challenged in the Land and Environment Court by the group Conservation of North Ocean Shores (CONOS).
On 6 May 2009 Justice Brian Preston found fault with Council’s technical processing of the application and revoked Byron Shire Council’s approval for the trial event. He said that Council should have issued consent for both use of roads and a place of assembly, whereas they only issued consent for a place of assembly.
North Byron Parklands is now seeking approval as a permanent sustainable event venue through the NSW Government’s Part 3A ‘Major Projects’ division. Substantial studies are currently being undertaken. Reports will then be prepared and submitted to the NSW Government. After that time a public exhibition period will be conducted as part of the process.
download the PDf file Summary of Propsal
Parklands - Local Context Map
Parklands - Early Design Plan
In late 2009 The Byron Shire Council put forward their Draft Events Policy and Draft Events Guidelines. The limitations placed on events through the two documents were considered so restrictive that Splendour in the Grass chose to temporarily relocate to the site of the Woodford Folk Festival for the 2010 tenth anniversary Splendour in the Grass event.
