BYRON SHIRE Mayor Simon Richardson says changes to parking at Seven Mile Beach at Broken Head are aimed at stopping illegal camping and protecting the sensitive environment at Seven Mile Beach.
Cr Richardson claims suggestions that this action has been taken to improve the amenity of local residents are baseless, despite a statement by Shannon Burt, Council’s Director of Sustainable Environment and Economy, in which she says there have been discussions with 30 Seven Mile Beach Road residents.
It is also not yet clear why Council would need more than a hundred No Parking signs and a couple of dozen boulders in order to cull only a “handful” of car park spaces.
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Cr Richardson says the removal of car park spaces is to prevent illegal camping in the area.
“There have also been a number of bushfires in recent months because people are lighting campfires, and when cars are parked illegally along the narrow dirt road, access for Emergency Services is severely restricted and this becomes an issue for public safety,” Mayor Richardson said.
The increasing numbers of day trippers and illegal campers at Seven Mile Beach, leaving their rubbish and using the area as a toilet, are spoiling the area for locals and future generations.
“Sadly, tourists on social media promote Seven Mile Beach as an unspoilt tourist destination and they are turning up in ever increasing numbers and seemingly going out of their way to trash the place they came to enjoy,” Mayor Richardson said.
“These illegal campers have no regard for the environment, or for locals, and are happy to leave their rubbish everywhere,” he said.
“Something drastic had to be done to change the behaviour of illegal campers and improve parking and public safety and Council has been working closely with the NPWS, Police, the Rural Fire Service and local residents to find solutions to what are very complex issues,” Mayor Richardson said.
“The parking restrictions have upset locals, and Council and other stakeholders have developed an action plan that will be discussed at the meeting on the 14 December.
“I understand that some locals are cranky but I am sure they will also agree that the situation in the Broken Head Nature Reserve cannot be allowed to continue to get worse.
Deploying the old tried and true ‘they said’ tactic – and not naming the people involved – Cr Richardson said, “People are telling me that they are concerned that the popularity of the Byron Shire is disenfranchising many residents who feel they are being robbed of their lifestyle.
“It is Council’s aim to work out a long-term solution to access issues at Seven Mile Beach with the rights of locals and the protection of this sensitive environment to be at the forefront of any decision,” Mayor Richardson said.