TOPICS IN CONTROVERSY

LEP PRess Release

PRESS RELEASE 4/3/06. Public position of BBG regarding the LEP.

We appreciate that there will be some good news in the current draft. However there appear to be some things in there, which may require community discussion.

Unfortunately this draft was released over the Xmas/new year break where many of our community were away on holidays, preoccupied with the family festive period or in the case of business and staff, had our collective heads down. February is when things are quite and Byron Shire people can pause and focus on such things as this LEP.

Many in the community have expressed concerns that the draft is very hard to read and really requires the combined expertise of both a professional planner AND lawyer to understand fully some of its ramifications.

In a shire that requires social and economic impact studies on almost everything, one has to be surprised and then concerned that this LEP has been drafted without any consultation with the local community (including the business community) and WITHOUT any social and/or economic impact study being done?

To add further to the confusion, the BBG understands that the LEP will have to be redone in two years time to bring it in line with the new state wide LEP which all NSW councils will have to work within.

So why now? Why the rush? Why the lack of consultation? Why no social and economic impacts study?

Byron village has a population of some 7 thousand residents; it also has the highest unemployment rate in the state, currently at 12.9%. Collectively the Byron Business Group employs around 2000 people, we do have some concerns regarding this LEP, which may or may not be ideologically driven. As business owners and managers, we all have invested in this town and shire and have mortgages to service. We cannot ignore the commercial health of Byron Bay village and shire, nor can we ignore our grave concerns for the continuing welfare and employment of our staff.

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