With revenue down 50 to 90 per cent for some shops on Lawson Street compared to this time last year, local business owners are doing it tough as the Byron Bay Town Centre Drainage project continues to dig up the street.
The works have been going on for several months and are scheduled to finish by the end of November. The road in front of businesses on Lawson Street, between Middleton and Fletcher Streets has been dug up with significant impacts on businesses, their financial viability and customer base.
‘We are 90 per cent down,’ Byron Bay Deli owner Litsa Sahawneh told The Echo. ‘We’ve had to turn fridges off, we are carrying minimal stock because no one is bothering to walk down here due to the noise and dust, and we can’t put on any staff so it is impacting local employment opportunities.
‘Yesterday I sold three cups of coffee. I feel like I’m still twitching when I get home from all the noise and vibrations.’
Other shop owners and workers on the street agree, saying the noise from machinery, vibrations and dust are turning people away.
‘We’ve got product vibrating off the shelves,’ said Richard Melhado who runs Atlas Homme.
‘We are down 50 per cent in the last six weeks on this time last year.’
Byron Shire Council (BSC) told The Echo that staff have been checking in with businesses ave been troubleshooting any issues including dust and noise complaints on site with the construction contractor to minimise these impacts as much as possible, and keep shopfront visibility open for local businesses.
‘At this stage the works on Lawson Street are due to be completed by the end of November. This is allowing some contingency for wet weather,’ said a BSC spokesperson.
‘Council have sent someone to talk to us and they have reminded the contractors to damp down the dust but at the end of the day we are a small business and we are the ones impacted by this work financially,’ said Richard’s partner Kate Deliyiannis.
‘We are not making ends meet and no one is compensating us for the loss of trade that is a direct result of this work.’
Significant downturn
Kan Kingkew from Success Thai said that they had also experienced a significant downturn in business. ‘We have been around for 19 years so we have had a lot of locals continue to support us,’ Kan told The Echo. ‘But tourists just don’t come down here with the road works taking place.’
‘What baffles me is that they had all winter to get this work done, it would have been the perfect time,’ added Litsa.
‘October is the school holidays, it is a key trading time for us and other local businesses and we have had zero custom as a result of this decision. We are trying to push our online shop and cheese boxes but we are currently asking our suppliers for payment plans and trying to negotiate with our landlords who also need to readjust the price of rents to share the cost impacts of this decision.’
Richard said they are just trying to remain positive. ‘It will look clean and fresh when it is done and we hope to see the light soon.’
So if you are heading to Byron take the time to look down Lawson Street and support some local businesses who are trying to stay afloat during this challenging time.
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