I have very serious misgivings about the proposed ‘Amendment to LEP 2014’, namely ‘Byron Bay Town Centre Activation of Public Spaces’.
This proposal will allow ‘start up retail, creative pop-ups, shared office space and market stalls. Portable or demountable single-storey structures will be allowed to set up on the railway land running parallel to Jonson Street and any laneways leading to town as well as Lawson Street South and the Rails car parks (really).
The proposal allows for 14 days to be extended to 52 days. One can only imagine how this could escalate until we have a hawker on every corner. Who is going to monitor these activities? Will council outsource, as is their wont, and who is going to monitor the monitors?
What will be the impact on our established businesses. They are paying high rents and in some cases rates and have paid for the professional fitting out of their premises. Anyone can set up nearby selling similar merchandise with minimal overheads.
Where is the voice of Byron Chamber of Commerce, are they concerned for their members?
With our renowned Writers Festival, the Beach Hotel and the arrival of top class resorts such as Byron at Byron, Elements and unique enterprises like The Farm and numerous restaurants catering for all tastes and incomes, Byron has become an international tourist destination.
Tourists are coming here in droves for our beautiful natural environment, our friendly and laid-back lifestyle and our increasingly diverse retail sector. They do not come here for ‘sideshow alley’
Ruby Menzies, Suffolk Park
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
