Splendour & Falls Fest Venue North Byron Parklands Secures 20-Month Trial Extension

North Byron Parklands — home to both Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival's Byron leg — has secured a 20-month extension to its five-year trial period, ensuring the events remain in place for the time being.

The trial period kicked off in 2012 and was originally set to end on New Year's Eve this year, though that's now been reassessed to continue through till August 2019.

As a result, punters planning on heading to both this and next year's Falls Byron events, as well as Splendour 2018 and 2019, can rest assured that the festivals will still be held at their existing grounds.

"The decision announced today provides certainty, not only for the two world-class festivals held at this site, but for hundreds of local businesses and individuals who generate income from these events," North Byron Parklands general manager Mat Morris said in a statement.

"The decision also reflects the ongoing improvements to performance across a range of key areas such as traffic and noise. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the thousands of people over the years who have contacted me voicing their support for this amazing project."

The news comes as the grounds makes preparations to submit its final application to become a permanent venue for sustainable music, arts and community events, which, Morris said, includes the formalisation of a "substantial" land swap.

"This will see approximately 25 hectares of ecologically significant land added to the Billinudgel Nature Reserve," he said. "We look forward to finalising our plans to become a permanent, world-class sustainable venue."

The Parklands had been seeking approval for the trial-period extension since March, with the promise that the proposed modification "would address all relevant environmental and amenity matters associated with the trial period extension, and allow the continued monitoring of the performance of the events over this period".