Residents and business owners in Brunswick Heads voiced concerns around the downturn in business at the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting, held last Wednesday at the Bruns Picture House.
The board invited councillors to attend – David Warth, Janet Swain and Jack Dods were present.
It was a constructive and mature discussion around the serious issues facing the town, namely the negative impacts of pay parking and the large number of campervans parking in the heart of town.
The meeting heard that there are small businesses on the verge of going broke and closing.
And according to one long-term elderly local, ‘I’ve never seen this town so unhappy’. Around 60 people were in attendance.
BVC revenue down
Chamber President Peter Wotton started by informing all present that the Brunswick Heads Visitors Centre (BVC) is a not-for-profit organisation and has not received funding by governments or Council since opening 13 years ago. It relies on membership and events to generate sufficient income, he said, including Bruns merchandise sales, to sustain their business model.
‘Since the introduction of parking meters, our revenue has plummeted and is now not sustainable’, he said.
To keep the doors open, he asked Council’s General Manager, Mark Arnold, for a financial lifeline.
‘Thankfully, Council has now approved a modest lifeline of funds to help the Visitor Centre for this year’, he said.
‘It’s been a tough year. We lost the management of the Brunswick Heads Memorial Hall [to Council]. These funds were vital to our budget, worth $12,000 pa’.
He also said that there had been no Mullum to Bruns paddle this year, owing to the new Brunswick Surf Lifesaving Club premises being under construction.
Mr Wotton believed the downturn in the local economy was directly related to Council’s installation in September 2024 of pay parking meters, a sentiment that was supported by residents and business owners.
Around two weeks ago, a slim councillor majority, led by Cr Jack Dods and supported by the Greens, moved to reintroduce a $55 per year parking permit for residents from July 1. 2025. Crs Lyon, Pugh, Swain and Warth voted against.
Data disputed
Underpinning the decision was parking data provided by Council staff.
Visitor Centre Marketing and Membership Manager, Cherie Heale said that in a previous meeting with 23 chamber members and Council, the chamber members explained the downturn.
‘Council’s reply was that they have done their own in-house research, and said the implementation of parking meters wasn’t affecting the local Bruns economy’.
‘We know that small businesses are being affected’, she said, adding, ‘we felt dismissed’.
Cr Dods said that the data, which was geo-located specifically for the town and averaged out, was provided by senior staff.
‘It said on average [the economy] was two per cent up’, he said, with which the gathering clearly disagreed.
Cr Dods admitted after questioning that no local businesses were approached for the data.
The data was also based on information provided by banks. It was pointed out there is no longer a bank in Brunswick Heads.
‘Unless there are door-to-door surveys’, one business owner said, ‘this isn’t a true representation of the local economy’.
Cr Dods said that revenue was down 15 to 20 per cent across Byron Shire, with other chamber presidents reporting similar figures. ‘Part of the problem is that landlords don’t give a shit’, he said.
And while generally sympathetic, councillors present said that for anything to change, the other councillors need to be convinced.
One business owner made the remarkable claim that they parked their car in the town for three weeks during business hours to see if they would be fined.
They were not.
‘I don’t feel confident that pay parking is being enforced’, they said.
Problem campers
The meeting also heard from residents that there are 30-40 vans parking nightly. ‘They open their vans’ backdoor to the roadway and use gas cookers’, one said.
Others spoke of vanpackers defecating in public and private areas, blocking driveways, and entering private residences, and taking residents’ water and electricity.
‘Police told us it’s a Council issue, unless it’s a disturbance’, one resident said. Another business owner said vanpackers were not being fined. ‘What are the compliance teams doing?’ they asked.
Cr Warth said he was working with Cr Lyon on a Council notice of motion (NoM) to direct more compliance to the vanpacker problem.
He is calling for Council to gain authorisations to issue fines on Crown and Transport NSW land.
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