Splendour moves to Queensland | NSW News | Breaking State News in New South Wales

Logical conclusion & welcome in Queensland! It will be so much easier sailing and full focus on the event!
Sad for Byron and its many Splendour supporters and beneficiaries, I thoroughly feel with them. But hey, this has to be the FINAL straw to action for a CHANGE in Byron! Things have seriously gone way too far there! This is Australia, and Byron’s attitude of locking & kicking people, events and enterprises out is selfish and un-Australian.

With Byron Shire so full of creative and visionary people the tragedy is so many are not supported and move elsewhere, to Byron’s detriment. The brain drain, the jobs drain, the economic drain, the community drain and now The Splendour drain. Let’s hope we can get them back.
How do we get leaders that help foster and build community rather than destroy it?
The Splendid organisers have shown themselves to be leaders in event management and shown incredible support to local environmental initiatives, local youth groups and the community as a whole. No wonder Woodford is happy and excited to embrace this wonderful event. Many of Byron do too but the NIMBYs rule the roost here, our tragedy!

Queensland is celebrating, incl. an official address from Premier Anna Bligh:

"This is great news for Queensland music lovers and locals who will reap the benefits of such a big event," she said.

"This is a huge coup for Queensland. It's a winning combination of festival atmosphere and some of the best music talent around."

"And I can think of no better place than the beautiful surrounds of Woodford, where we have the hugely successful Woodford Folk Festival every year."

Interesting detail in the Courier Mail: “Splendour organisers have signed a two-year deal to be at Woodford”. Probably 2 years to start with...

When do we hear an official Byron or NSW politician with a statement??? As always too little too late!

splendid.

Byron Bay was a whaling village in a swamp - it was turned into a habitable village by earlier citizensand the whaling was displaced. It was the dynamic growth of a community - now those with the loudest and "green" voices" and I use this term advisedly, and chardonnay wrists - want it to remain the town of their dreams - never mind what anyone else wants. The mayor was thrilled and exctied and encouraging when the orginal idea to set up Yelgum as an events site was muted. Great for the community! Jobs and opportunities for the young! Well now its bugger everyone except political expediency.
Splendour is a gentle community conscious and community connected event which attracts sweet young people from all over the world and gives back to the community in spades - Byron you are so stupid - think very carefully at what you may lose!

To say goodbye to one of the best events in byron, would have to be one of the worst things to do in our community.
Byron is the HOME of Splendor!
Every year, Splendor brings 6 Million dollars to our community. To help us grow as one. Give jobs to our kids, work for our local businesses. Why would you want to take, or support something that could kill our town? Please, please keep our splendor on our grasses!

It is an absolute travesty for Byron and all the folk that try and carve a living in a magical part of the world that only has tourism to sustain it. The community continues to be stifled and repressed by a council who, in their zealous approach to sustainability, have become little other than a bunch of despots that will ruin the lives of many struggling in their businesses post GFC. Come north, James, you can do anything you like in the Banana State!

The reason that Splendour is having difficulty getting a DA approved is because it is not just FOR ONE SPLENDOUR FESTIVAL BUT FOR SIX OF THE THINGS ! and it is right adjacent to a wetland/nature reserve and wildlife corridor.
You just do not get it that we, as Byron residents have democratically elected a Council that cares about our local environment and listens to it's community and this community does not want pissed people in it's streets year round. Our Events Policy is allowing this to happen twice a year - yes, two major festivals per year. How much more do the greed people want. How muuch more do you want to trash our town. ?

We don't need a relentless onslaught of rock festivals month after month, which is what Splendour hopes to bring to Byron Shire with a permanent festival site. Let's wish them well as they head north to a much more appropriate site and concentrate now on encouraging a wide range of new arts and cultural events that will have low impacts on residents and wildlife, benefit businesses, and give the artists a boost. The loss of Splendour hardly means the end of arts and cultural events for Byron!

Mangomac: If every iconic town would turn as selfish as NIMBY-Byron and elect an anti-visitor Council then travelling would become a very sorry affair…
ddn5216: Like with everything else NIMBY-Byron style, (fake) lip service is given to all sorts of things (arts, business, cycle ways, etc) until someone actually puts up a proposal to do something… then all hell breaks loose, as it always does in NIMBY-Byron and a relentless opposition makes short history of the ‘culprits’. (Fake) lip service then starts again… and the game repeats.
If you folks at least could be honest about what you REALLY want: No business, no visitors, just the DOLE office next door!

"a relentless onslaught month after month"??? Oh my, John Howard would be proud of such rampant fear-mongering based on over-emotive language guaranteed to strike the right knee-jerk nerve in gullible and easily-manipulated members of the community. Not to mention contrived and plucked out of the air fabrications, ie "six of the things". Having six Splendour size and style festivals a year in the one location in a country area is just such nonsense it's laughable. It's similar to suggesting that the Bay could carry six multiplex cinemas...or Mullumbimby could support six supermarkets (now there's a funny thought). The other funny thing is that the development of Ocean Shores, South Golden Beach etc would not be allowed under current development guidelines. In fact, there was a bit of resistance to the development of the relatively new suburb of Fern Beach (in the NE corner of the SGB/NOS area and on the opposite side of the Billinudgel Nature Reserve to Yelgun), but now some people who live there are agitating against Splendour, which is a bit rich when as far as I know the only built structures the Yelgun crew have planned for the yelgun site are composting toilets etc. Now how many of those residences adjoining the nature reserve have cats and dogs that roam freely in the reserve?? Not to mention all the local kids on motorbikes bashing through there. Maybe some of those aspects should come under the same microscopic scrutiny as Splendour??? Finally, the Splendour mob have planted thousands of trees in parts of the much-vaunted wildlife corridor that were just open paddocks Despite the opportunity to help improve the wildlife corridor, I'm told not one objector turned up and helped put a seedling in the ground at tree-planting days held there (over and above what a regen crew have been doing). That speaks volumes.

Buckle65: Well said! NIMBY’s never been ones for fair play… what they allow themselves, and are prepared to allow others is often planets apart. Plus a bit twisting of the truth… o well, all helps the cause. Byron, despite all its ‘sophistication’ has always been a place where reckless manipulators and minority 'screamers' had an easy game to run havoc with public opinion… it is therefore so very important that good folks to speak up and put an end to that nonsense.

"concentrate now on encouraging a wide range of new arts and cultural events" - do you mean events like the Evolve Arts Festival here in '08?? It was loudly lauded by Jan B as being just the right fit for Byron. http://www.echo.net.au/archives/23_18... Then the stories emerged (as printed in this paper and others in the area) about how performers, suppliers and workers didn't get paid. The Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra almost folded, but was saved by two big fundraisers on the Tweed. Didn't hear another thing about it from Jan of course. No disrespect intended here to Evolve's organisers, whose heart was in the right place and who got burnt big time (as did the abovementioned artists et al), but the point is that running successful events is not the cakewalk that many naive souls think it is. Half-baked events might spring up in the short term, but I can tell you now they won't last.

Successful long-term events are all based on mature business principles that makes them economical sustainable.
That has always made them ‘suspect’ to the ruling NIMBY’s.
Without a profound change of attitude and approach, Byron will indeed remain a sad case of a place with absolutely exceptional potential that is largely wasted.
It’s got virtually everything to create a very special place with its own identity, but where I differ from the current direction is that I believe in pro-active engagement, NOT re-active retreat.

The Woodford Featival site in QLD is an ideal site for Splendor as this is a well planned and sited designated festival site. Yelgun on the other hand has major issues that can never be overcome....the site is almost entirely surrounded by nature reserve and critical wildlife corridor, the flora and fauna occupants of which WILL be affected by the Splendid music and the large numbers of patrons. There are also a considerable number of Indigenous sites within proximity and we should all be mindful of their need for protection for ever. Splendour has many wonderful plans for their future and these will always be thwarted by the Yelgun site...those protecting this site will persistantly continue to ensure it is protected and rightfully so....... They are not NIMBYS but highly educated and informed people who care about our common heritage.
Splendour organisers need to look at Woodford as a permenant site rather than continue to try and potentially cause destruction to the highly sensitive Yelgun site.....How much more money needs to be wasted in court battles to prove that the priority on the Yelgun site has to be with the Environmental sensitivity of the place and its Indigenous Heritage. The Occupational Health and Safety Issues at Yelgun are also considerable, especially Flood, Fire, Snakebite and Mosquito bite, not to mention the midges. Byron will loose out if the festival ever goes to Yelgun in any case as the majority of patrons come from the North and will probably not bother to treck from Yelgun into Byron. Splendour would have the opportunity to expand as it pleases at Woodford...Yelgun is way too sensitive to have a one off festival, let alone continual ever enlarging ones. Woodford got too big for its initial Maleny site and had to establish its Woodford site to allow for growth. In an ever increasing environmentally conscious world Splendour should utilize a well sited existing festival site rather than even contemplate putting at risk the highly sensitive Yelgun environment. Continuing to persue Yelgun shows a real lack of truely green credentials on the part of Splendour and this is something patrons will consider when contemplating tickets,

Sally333: Only difference between Yelgun and Woodford is the attitude towards the festival, they are both quality sites to hold festivals. Woodford is simply not in your backyard, that’s all.
There has been a lot of disasters created in Byron’s north under the name of ‘protecting the environment’ and the main group that initiated environment court proceedings (CONOS) against Splendour also been on the forefront denying the Ocean Shores community its rightful sports fields.
Human needs seldom count as seen with the dreadful Lot 107 saga, where the wishes of over 90% of the local population of Ocean Shores that supported Lot 107 went to dust when they were robbed of the very field that was purposely purchased for long overdue sports fields at Ocean Shores. The promised replacement NEVER eventuated and up to this day Ocean Shores would be the only community of its size in Australia not having appropriate sports fields on its own.
Instead, the local schools & parents have to bus & drive the kids around. That much for looking after the environment, LOL.

Byron created splendor, but it has outgrown the town. The organizers want to make it something that is different to what made it special. Why should Byron change to suit? It has already changed a long way from what made it special in the first place.

Should it become just another Gold Coast just because people can make a dollar? There is an appropriate venue for splendor close to Byron, close to all the supporting services that are needed for the current number of people, but perhaps it can't cope with the number the organisers want to expand the event to. The event organisers have simply got too greedy. If you want to go to the size they want, then maybe it is appropriate you move to somewhere that can cope.

Watch for another event created in the Shire to fill the hole that is left when Splendor leaves. Remember Byron made Splendor, Splendor did not make Byron....

Final note here before I ‘disappear’ again… provided I do not have to respond to any ‘malicious’ news or comments: I do respect everyone’s opinion on matters concerning Byron and sincerely apologize for any unintentional 'hurt' in ‘the battle of opinions’. I have ‘strong opinions’ on things, because my HEART is here. I do love Byron sincerely, despite the fact that it may not always sound like that. I believe in the place, if only it would be allowed to move FORWARD, create its future, rather than linger in doom and disaster on a path of ‘RETREAT’.
We have lived in the Byron area for 17 years and have lost 2 highly successful businesses there. The iconic River Thai to a highway upgrade decision 6 years too early, as well as on the ‘wrong’ route. The necessary Gecko Thai Café upgrade (strong public demand) due to BSC’s decision not to grant full approval due to an on-paper car-parking ‘technicality’, while at the same time the applaudable Brunswick Village theme replaced numerous car parking spaces with welcome outdoor dining and pedestrian areas… In search of a larger venue we became ‘economic refugees’ on the Tweed Coast, before finally moving on to Noosa.
As such we do speak ‘firsthand’ and do know local factors exceptionally well. We do have an extensive ‘armour of documentation’ to support our case, incl. many thousands of photographs and documents.
Living in Noosa certainly is a breeze, being a pretty ‘normal’, wonderfully pro-active place where one is at ease just moving with the flow. We certainly appreciate Peter Garrett’s decision on the Traveston Dam (as well as the efforts of the community!), support the long overdue cleaning up of the Noosa River (victim of state Labour amalgamation politics) and would welcome a bit more ‘creative’ debate on solutions to better local government performance hindered by the forced amalgamation, that went a bit too far. Then again, with the new ‘Super’-Councils at least the base is laid for the much anticipated abolition of States! Saving us in excess of $30Bpa, a staggering amount that could very well be used to really advance this great country of ours, Australia! We also love the much discussed ‘Noosa roundabouts’ the only mature way of driving, as we love just about anything we have found here.
We wish Byron well in the hope that it moves out of its minority dictated ‘strangulation’ and faces ‘the music’ by moving FORWARD, pro-actively! There are a lot of good folks at Byron ready to make a positive contribution, so pls allow them of having a say as well as a go!
We need a nationwide comprehensive discussion to determine how far a community, in particular a community in an iconic position, can create laws and practices on its own. I certainly support every community’s right to protect its own destiny within a national framework of acceptable terms. After all we are a nation! Not a land of ‘claimed interests’, one would hope

So what do you suggest happens to the land at Yelgum - put cattle back onto it, a pig farm maybe - Do you imagine the land was bought in the first instance without some consultation with and support from the Mayor? Give it some thought. Why do you think the parties went ahead with the purchase of the land. Let the Byron Bay council buy [at commercial rates ] it back then and turn it into a park - the trouble of course is that the Byron Bay Council is broke - they've spent so muchof the local's money in lit gation there's nothing left for sewerage works or other public works for community projects.
The mayor has acted treacherously in this matter.

In response to new comments: In my humble opinion, if there is a political ‘leadership’ in Byron, NOW is the time to consider becoming pro-active (for once for god’s sake!) and negotiate Splendours permanent departure from Yelgun, if that is what Council really wants. What is BSC prepared to offer to move Splendour on? While the ‘powers that are’ certainly had some influence for Splendours choice of Yelgun, now is the time to come ‘clean’ and show leadership. BSC certainly is in no capacity to purchase the land at ‘commercial rates’, but the money ‘hanging’ certainly allows reasonable solutions ANYTIME. So I do appeal to BSC and interests opposed to Splendour to brainstorm a realistic negotiation platform and ENGAGE with Splendour. Show LEADERSHIP for once please!

The land certainly would lend itself for a low-density eco subdivision that could entail all sensitive lands to be donated to NPWS… plus an 'eco-bible' full of conditions, as usual. Provided the Splendour crew is allowed to re-coup costs, and a reasonable profit for the hassles and investment, then that should signal a ‘workable playing field’(a total rarity in Byron), for the ones that seek amicable, pro-active solutions.

So, may we have some constructive comments here from the opposing camp?

Woodford: I am certain Splendour will feel at home in QLD, no doubt about that!

The offered Byron solution, mentioned by ‘robertc’, being probably Ewingsdale Rd sports fields, that still have to be built despite of many millions promised in grants. Hmmm… an idea I entertained myself… but, as I hear it seems to be a proposal with plenty of question marks (no surprise here), most notably the one in the forefront: who can work with an ‘erratic’ BSC… that does not know what it wants tomorrow???

Again… Good luck Byron!

we do not need festivals the size of splendour in byron especially as they want more than one per year. Byron shire is a small place and cannot handle continual large inflows of people, especially drunk, drugged festival goers.
The shire already gets 1.6 million visitors a year just from your regular tourists. The residents need a break sometimes, a lot of your letter writers are from business's in the bay, they only are concerned about bums on seats and the bottom line as most business's are.
Small festivals are fine but large multi perenial festivals should be kept near cities or sites like woodford where they can handle them .
Most residents are fed up with the continual surge of people coming to a small town for 2 or 3 days just to party.