BYRON SHIRE COUNCIL
13.14 - Attachment 4
BSC File No: #E2015/8660
Your ref: 2319
Contact: Luke Blandford
20 February 2015
Luke Blandford
Town Planner
Planit Consulting
Sent via email to info@planitconsulting.com.au
Dear Luke
Proposal for Development Application 10.2014.743.1 and request for conditions regarding sale of Council land for the development proposal
We refer to your letter dated 2 February 2015 regarding the proposal to purchase Council land for the purpose of development application 10.2014.743.1.
As was noted in Council’s letter to your clients of 27 June 2013, while Council resolved in 2003 to authorise the then General Manager to dispose of various strips of operational land, including Lot 944 in DP 241810, this action was closed by subsequent Council resolutions.
Should Council wish to sell the land, it will again be necessary for the Council to resolve to do so. As your client will appreciate, Council has an obligation on behalf of the Byron Shire community to notify it of any potential sale of Council land. This will allow the community to have its say on the proposal.
In order to progress a report to the elected Council, you client will need to make a written response to council’s letter dated 27 June 2013 seeking to progress the proposed acquisition the land in question. Once received, council staff will prepare a report seeking a resolution of Council.
It is important to distinguish between Council as the consent authority for the proposed development and Council as the owner of land required to be purchased for the development to occur. Although any investigation into the sale of the land may occur concurrently with the development assessment, these are distinct processes.
Until the investigation regarding the sale of the Council land is completed, it is not appropriate for Council to include consent conditions regarding purchase of its land. Any development consent conditions should not be seen to pre-empt the decision of the Council regarding the sale of land, nor the ability of the broader Byron Shire community to have its say on any proposal.
Please contact me if you wish to discuss this matter further.
Yours sincerely
Trish Kirkland
Manager Governance Services