2009 was set to be the year Splendour In The Grass would relocate to a larger site in Yelgun, but all did not go to plan. According to Byron Shire News, the festival’s resolution to return to its familiar stomping ground in Belongil Fields this July has been greeted by relief by CONOS [Conservation of North Ocean Shores].

Late last year, CONOS challenged Byron Council’s decision to allow Splendour a trial run at Yelgun in ‘09. The resulting court proceedings have been so drawn-out that Splendour organisers “were running out of time” to ready the Yelgun site “should a positive outcome be achieved”. With these time constraints in mind, the festival diverted plans back to Belongil.

CONOS president Bob Oehlman has chalked it up as a win for the ecosystem at Yelgun. “It’s a reprieve for this area – a reprieve for the fauna and environment,” Oehlman told Byron Shire News. “We are not against the event as such, just the area where it was planned to be held.

“It goes to show that Splendour can hold the event somewhere else without having to impact on sensitive land at Yelgun and without forcing the pandemonium of the event on the communities in the north. A lot of people don’t realise the impact it will have on the community.”

Despite these ongoing conflicts, North Byron Shire Parklands general manager Mat Morris is confident Splendour In The Grass can try out its new home in 2010. “We hope to be able to host the festival as a trial event at North Byron Shire Parklands [in Yelgun] in 2010,” he told the paper.

Keep your eyes glued to inthemix’s Splendour In The Grass festival page for all the latest info on the 2009 event.