THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 30 #03 Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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CAB AUDIT
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Byron businesses reject paid parking Hans Lovejoy
Discontent rumbled throughout a meeting over paid parking on Monday night. Held by the town’s chamber of commerce, Byron United, around 50 Byron Bay business owners gathered to hear plans by Council’s general manager Ken Gainger, with support from Crs Chris Cubis and Alan Hunter. And it’s a tough wedge – pressure from the state government means that Byron Shire Council has to generate revenue to be ‘Fit For The Future,’ a regime which ‘demonstrates that [councils] are financially sound, operating efficiently and in a strong position to guide growth and deliver quality services into the future.’ Of the two options presented, paid parking is Council’s preferred, with it potentially being rolled out across other towns. The other option was dramatically increasing rates to make up the $2.7m shortfall. So what are the parking plans? Four dollars per hour is proposed
as a universal rate (on and off street) and would apply to the CBD. A residential parking scheme would complement paid parking around the CBD perimeter, with two vouchers available to households. A $100 pa locals exemption for all shire residents would replace the existing $25 coupon, which would be based on registration numbers coded into parking machine technology. A boom gate is even suggested for the beachfront carpark. But it was parking provisions for business owners and workers that caused the most consternation. The crowd was told there are plans and reports underway to turn Crown land on Butler Street, the current market site, into a permanent carpark. But the nominated fee of $80 per month was too much, some business operators said. While Mr Gainger asked for further discussion with a roundtable of business operators, Cr Rose Wanchap made an impassioned speech, warning of empty shops if this were to go ahead.
netdaily Erosion at Clarkes Beach
Online in
www.echo.net.au/erosionaffects-clarkes-beach-access
Thoughts for Vanuatu
Pocket School Kindigarteners Asali and Noah showing some of things collected by students to send to Vanautu. Principal Will Glasson says the school raised $382 for Rebuild Vanuatu over the last term. Mark Russell from www.rebuildvanuatu.com says sports gear and equipment will be sent over to some of the schools. You can make a donation online to the project at www.rebuildvanuatu.com. Photo Jeff Dawson
CSG buyback deadline passes Chris Dobney
Tough crowd: a paid parking forum Monday night was largely unimpressed with Council’s plans to introduce $4ph and a $100 resident voucher for Byron CBD. Photo Jeff ‘Can’t Find A Park’ Dawson
A petroleum export licence (PEL) buyback promise announced by the coalition government in the last days of the recent state election campaign appears to have been broken. In the run-up to the NSW election, all three of its northern rivers seats were in doubt as a result community concerns about CSG.
And just days before the election, Lismore MP Thomas George (Nationals) announced the controversial PEL 445 licence – which covers much of his electorate – was a target of the hastily implemented scheme. That scheme lapsed at midnight Monday. CSG Free Northern Rivers spokesperson Dean Draper told The Echo, ‘the main thing we’re after is
some certainty. This has been going on for so long now and the community is uncertain what’s happening. ‘We need Mr George and the deputy premier Troy Grant to tell us exactly what’s going on, not only with PEL 445 but with the other PELs in the region – particularly Metgasco’s.’ Q Read more on this story at