Draft Byron Shire Rural Land Use Strategy



The public exhibition of the Draft Byron Shire Rural Land Use Strategy has now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who made a submission or provided feedback. Your submissions are now being reviewed and will be reported to Council for consideration to update the draft strategy.

The draft Byron Shire Rural Land Use Strategy (Strategy) provides a 20 year strategic framework to guide future land zoning and use, protection and or development of:

1. Our Rural Environment

2. Our Rural Economy

3. Our Rural Community

4. Our Rural Infrastructure

The draft strategy is informed by the current planning framework (commonwealth, state and
regional), Council’s adopted ‘Site Suitability Criteria and Mapping Methodology’ and ‘Policy Directions Paper’ and early community feedback.

Specifically the draft Strategy aims to deliver:

  • an enabling framework to allow the community and Council to get on with delivering improved outcomes in our rural areas
  • a platform to acknowledge the good work of rural landholders and community groups who are already sustainably managing our rural land
  • opportunities to reward rural land owners who undertake significant environmental restoration works on their land by allowing sympathetic development to coincide with these works
  • flexibility to embrace community driven sustainability initiatives in our rural areas
  • rural lifestyle living opportunities that aim to achieve full cost-recovery in the delivery of essential road infrastructure

The draft Strategy contains a vision, policy directions and a corresponding set of actions to deliver the policy directions. It also includes a number of local stories to showcase innovative responses to rural land management, environmental restoration, produce growing, value adding products and services and promoting our rural qualities.

The draft Strategy recognises that while rural lifestyle living remains a relevant part of the housing mix, it represents primarily a ‘lifestyle choice’ with most of our Shire’s future housing needs to be provided by our urban villages. As the majority of the Shire’s future population growth will be housed in our urban areas, it is vital that any potential urban land is not used for this form of settlement. Therefore the draft Strategy focuses on enabling future rural lifestyle living opportunities in areas that are relatively unconstrained from development, have a strong potential to build on and strengthen existing communities and have reasonable access to major town services. Such opportunities can only be realised in locations where an acceptable standard of road infrastructure can be provided at no cost to the wider community.

This Strategy will replace the 1998 Byron Rural Settlement Strategy once it is adopted by Council and endorsed by the State Government.


The public exhibition of the Draft Byron Shire Rural Land Use Strategy has now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who made a submission or provided feedback. Your submissions are now being reviewed and will be reported to Council for consideration to update the draft strategy.

The draft Byron Shire Rural Land Use Strategy (Strategy) provides a 20 year strategic framework to guide future land zoning and use, protection and or development of:

1. Our Rural Environment

2. Our Rural Economy

3. Our Rural Community

4. Our Rural Infrastructure

The draft strategy is informed by the current planning framework (commonwealth, state and
regional), Council’s adopted ‘Site Suitability Criteria and Mapping Methodology’ and ‘Policy Directions Paper’ and early community feedback.

Specifically the draft Strategy aims to deliver:

  • an enabling framework to allow the community and Council to get on with delivering improved outcomes in our rural areas
  • a platform to acknowledge the good work of rural landholders and community groups who are already sustainably managing our rural land
  • opportunities to reward rural land owners who undertake significant environmental restoration works on their land by allowing sympathetic development to coincide with these works
  • flexibility to embrace community driven sustainability initiatives in our rural areas
  • rural lifestyle living opportunities that aim to achieve full cost-recovery in the delivery of essential road infrastructure

The draft Strategy contains a vision, policy directions and a corresponding set of actions to deliver the policy directions. It also includes a number of local stories to showcase innovative responses to rural land management, environmental restoration, produce growing, value adding products and services and promoting our rural qualities.

The draft Strategy recognises that while rural lifestyle living remains a relevant part of the housing mix, it represents primarily a ‘lifestyle choice’ with most of our Shire’s future housing needs to be provided by our urban villages. As the majority of the Shire’s future population growth will be housed in our urban areas, it is vital that any potential urban land is not used for this form of settlement. Therefore the draft Strategy focuses on enabling future rural lifestyle living opportunities in areas that are relatively unconstrained from development, have a strong potential to build on and strengthen existing communities and have reasonable access to major town services. Such opportunities can only be realised in locations where an acceptable standard of road infrastructure can be provided at no cost to the wider community.

This Strategy will replace the 1998 Byron Rural Settlement Strategy once it is adopted by Council and endorsed by the State Government.