Byron Council votes on cabins proposed by family of Greens candidate

When Byron Council considered plans for farm stay cabins at a Brunswick Heads property things became a little heated between political rivals.

Things became heated when a hopeful councillor spoke against plans for a six-cabin farm stay development this week.

The proposal for six cabins and a central facility at 219 The Saddle Road in Brunswick Heads went to a vote at Byron Shire Council’s planning meeting on Thursday.

Former councillor Peter Westheimer, who is running as a candidate on mayor Michael Lyon’s ticket at the upcoming election, expressed concerns about the proposal during public access.

Mr Westheimer urged the council to refuse the proposal “to ensure (the council’s) liability is managed”, because the “traffic safety charade needs examining with fresh eyes” and because it was “not in the public interest”.

Peter Westheimer (second from right) is running for council on the same ticket as Women's Village Collective founder Sama Balson, current mayor Michael Lyon and Councillor Jeannette Martin.

The property in question forms part of Byron Rainbow Farm which also has frontage to Gulgan Road and is owned by Koresoft Pty Ltd, the company behind the development application.

That company is run by the family of Greens council candidate Matthew O’Reilly.

He is not listed as a company director but according to his campaign material he has managed the farm for a decade.

Councillor Basil Cameron pressed Mr Westheimer on why he addressed them about the farm stay proposal without mentioning his candidacy.

“Do you think by not making a clear declaration you might be creating a perception amongst the community that you do have an interest in this matter, a political interest?” Mr Cameron asked.

Mr Westheimer denied this.

Byron Shire councillor Basil Cameron.

“I’m not attacking anybody; there’s no political agenda here,” Mr Westheimer said.

“Because I’m running for council, I have re-immersed myself in some of the issues that are coming up before council and I see this as an issue where the whole veracity of council and its decision-making is threatened.”

Councillor Paul Spooner criticised Mr Cameron’s questioning and stressed the proponent was Koresoft, not Mr O’Reilly.

The council’s staff recommended development consent be granted.

“It is recommended that the matters relating to access and egress from the site can be appropriately managed,” staff said in their report.

“The driveway entrance is to be designed and constructed to direct traffic northwards towards the Gulgan Road Interchange, and for traffic to approach the site from the same direction.”

In response to traffic safety concerns, the staff said it would be up to the property operators to manage and enforce “guests’ driving behaviour”.

Greens candidate for Byron Shire Council, Matthew O'Reilly.

Mr Lyon said since the last time they discussed the proposal, the council obtained external legal advice to indicate it would not be liable for traffic concerns relating to the property access.

The council’s legal counsel Ralph James confirmed this.

According to a statement of environmental effects lodged with the development application, the cabins will “provide farm stay accommodation buildings” as “temporary affordable and accessible accommodation of between two weeks and three months to local agriculture, sustainability, natural resource management and conservation students and interns”.

Byron Rainbow Farm is an existing intensive agricultural operation.

Koresoft Pty Ltd also owns a timber plantation in Myocum as well as several properties in the Brisbane region.

A majority of councillors ultimately voted to approve the cabins, although they asked for mezzanine storage levels to be removed from the plans of each cabin and restricted guests to two adults per cabin.