Plans for a shopping centre and underground car spaces in the southern end of the Byron Woolies carpark will be reworked after a meeting was held between the developer and Council last week.
Mayor Simon Richardson says the meeting was ‘an earnest, open and extremely fruitful discussion’ with the Jonson Street shopping centre developer and his team.
‘From the meeting came the agreement for further discussion on design and ecological sustainability improvements. With the master planning of Byron Bay town centre underway this year, both the developer and council are committed to ensuring this building reflects and even leads how we want Byron to look, feel and interact with our community.
‘I thank Robert Badalotti and his team for their genuine willingness to create a development that is financially viable while reflecting community aspirations,’ said the mayor.
Cr Richardson added that after listening to community feedback, Mr Badalotti said he recognised there was a desire for a softer building that impacted less on the central location.
‘As part of the Byron Shire community, we have a responsibility and keen willingness to getting this building right and we look forward to presenting an alternative design’, Cr Richardson added.
No mention was made of community concerns relating to radioactive sands buried under the existing car park that locals fear could be spread during excavation.
The plans will be resubmitted for community and Council feedback.
Yay. Sanity prevails. Let’s face it – Byron Bay is unique. Development is fine, as long as it doesn’t undermine the granular landscape of our town centre and our earthy, tangential image.
Thank goodness!! Let’s hope the reworking will be more in balance with the current community and natural beauty of Byron Bay.
a mall? in byron bay? oh my god… the council has virtually destroyed Byron in the last 15 years and now it seems they are pushing with a major attempt to finally ruin the place completely by turning byron into everywhere else… thats the problem with travelling these days. No matter where you go, its been made to look the same as everywhere else…. This mall should see byron bay in its death throws in a very short time, as if it wasnt already, thanks to the profiteers in council turning the place into a bad version of the gold coast…. the council has removed one third of the parking spots in the last 5 years in order to garner revenue by forcing people to use their “lets pay to be here” carpark and now it seems like all they are concerned with is profit as the expense of the town, its image and its people… coupled with the councils utterly absurd plan to buld a new suburb and put an extra few thousand cars in town, this truly is the final straw… bye bye byron… you will be missed…
Yikes… Some gold coast developer has been tripping in Vegas…