Rainbow Temple: Beloved Byron icon under threat, owner Guy Feldmann and Lismore Council locked in mediation

A Sydney legal battle could determine the fate of the iconic seven-storey Byron Bay Rainbow Temple and a man-made 65m tunnel. Read what’s happening.

A Sydney legal battle could determine the fate of the iconic Byron Bay Rainbow Temple as a council seeks to demolish the building and a man-made tunnel, home to a “clew of glow worms”, over safety concerns.

Guy Feldmann’s Rainbow Temple, in Rosebank, northern NSW, about 35km west of Byron, has long provided shelter to backpackers.

Mr Feldmann bought the land in the 1970s and built the temple up seven storeys, floor by floor.

It can now be revealed Lismore City Council has taken him to Sydney’s Land and Environment Court over alleged development breaches.

However, both parties remain locked in mediation talks, according to Mr Feldmann.

“I never put anything on paper, I just built (it) intuitively,” he said.

In court documents obtained by this publication, the council’s lawyers alleged Mr Feldmann built extra floors without consent and that the structure lacked fire-safety measures.

Guy Feldmann has been in dispute with Lismore City Council over the structure known as the Rainbow Temple in the Byron Bay hinterlands since 1992. Picture: Gianni Francis

The council wants Mr Feldmann to demolish the temple to the ground floor, fill in a 65m long man-made tunnel built under the property, and cover costs.

Mr Feldmann said the tunnel was built “merely out of a sense of exercise and adventure” and was home to “a bat colony and a clew of glow worms”.

He said no one has ever been hurt at the temple – “not even a splinter” – but he “understood council’s concerns”.

“The delay in the court case has given us time to see how we can meet both the needs of the council and the community,” Mr Feldmann said.

“It’s been a place of refuge for so many beautiful young people who come here and they get a breath of life.”

Mr Feldmann at the property. Picture: Gianni Francis

Tim Goodman, who is advising Mr Feldmann and liaising with the council, said planners were asking for compliance with a development application approved in 1992, in which the lower three floors of the building were green lit.

“Council claims that at least one of the buildings may not comply with structural requirements, that there is a danger from bushfires, that at least one building is not being used for its approved usage and other noncompliance matters,” he said.

Mr Feldmann said he believed the building was structurally sound and hoped negotiations could appease the council.

He revealed he was also undertaking a building information certificate and planned to set up a crowd-funding site to raise funds to “finally have the temple recognised as a positive attribution to the region”.

Mr Feldmann previously revealed costs of the works sought by the council “could be more than $200,000”.

Council wants all floor, bar the ground floor demolished over safety concerns. Picture: Supplied.

The temple has long been popular with backpackers. Picture: Liana Boss

The council’s lawyers have sought safety assurances and pushed for much of the building to be bulldozed, according to court documents,

The council wants Mr Feldmann to install “bushfire control measures” and firefighting equipment for compliance and for the structure to only be used in accordance with consent.

A Lismore City Council spokesman said the adjournment allowed time for Mr Feldmann to draft consent orders, which council would then consider.

“Council remains hopeful that litigation associated with the ongoing unlawful development on the property, can be resolved without the matter proceeding to a contested hearing,” the spokesman said.

The case is due to return to court in late July, after mediation has ceased.