Welcome
Our Vision is to create a world class sustainable events site.
-
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.
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. Since that time Byron Shire Council has withdrawn their Draft Event Guidelines until further consultation has occurred. The Draft Events Policy, however, is on public exhibition until March 19 2010.
We urge people to consider writing to The Byron Shire Council by 19 March 2010 to object to the Draft Events Policy. Our specific issues with the Draft Policy are:
1.0 2.6 - Any organization seeking Council’s support must ensure that events or festivals do not adversely impact upon the traditional tourist peaks of Christmas and Easter.
Whilst North Byron Parklands has no intention of hosting an event at Easter, avoiding the entire summer school holiday period is not seen to be practical or necessary. Parklands’ 660 acre site provides space to camp the majority of patrons for a large event onsite. The site provides space for car parking for the majority of festival patrons for a large event. A comprehensive transport management plan would ensure that patrons are provided with frequent shuttle bus services to and from the site servicing a network of bus stops throughout the Northern Rivers and the Gold Coast. Such a service will significantly reduce private vehicle traffic associated with the event.
2.0 2.7 – Council supports only two large events (ie up to 16,500 patrons) annually, as well as a number of smaller type events and festivals.
North Byron Parklands is proposed as a sustainable event venue. The site is not sustainable with only one large event (Splendour in the Grass) annually. Our own guidelines, let alone those of Byron Shire Council and State Government, ensure that the benefits to the local community by way of business, employment, community grants and cultural opportunities outweigh any residual cost to the local community by way of compromised amenity.
Having said this, the site’s superior characteristics in terms of noise mitigation, traffic management and environmental opportunities mean that any negative impact on the local community will be minimal. Our proposal for a trial event was so that we could demonstrate this.
The proposal for Parklands is for up to twelve days of major events (over 10,000 people) a year. Splendour in the Grass would occupy three of these days.
3.0 2.7 - Council supports only two large events (ie up to 16,500 patrons) annually, as well as a number of smaller type events and festivals.
Splendour in the Grass is currently approved for 17,500 patrons and is bursting at the seams with this capacity. The long held vision for Splendour is to expand the festival to include a broader range of arts and cultural activities that appeal to a broader demographic. Whilst young people would still have a sense of ownership of the festival it would become more attractive and accessible to children as well as adults over 30 seeking a range of music and arts experiences.
Splendour’s sponsorship of Splendid ($150,000 over three years) is a part of this vision. The demand for the expansion of both arts experiences and demographic accessibility has been strong for some time yet Belongil Fields could not accommodate this expansion.
Further, our extensive reports including environmental and traffic reports clearly demonstrate that the North Byron Parklands site can comfortably accommodate well in excess of 17,500 patrons for a camping event. Whether this be a scout jamboree, a music or healing festival. Capacity should be based on tangible realities such as how much noise will be generated and how this will be mitigated, how the environment will be affected and how this will be managed, how much additional traffic will be generated and how this will be managed, etc. We have done our homework. We are not asking for favours, we are asking that the extensive analysis undertaken be considered in a practical light.
For Further Information
download a PDf file about the Parklands Background
