The challenging economic times, road and drainage works, and the increasing number of chain stores in Byron are calling into question what the future of the town of Byron Bay will be, according to local businesses.
‘One big problem with Byron is it has lost its identity,’ said Yulli’s Byron Bay restaurant owner Karl Cooney, reflecting on what Byron is and where it is going.
‘At the moment, it doesn’t know if it’s a groovy, calm, chill hippie town, or if it’s a upmarket, high-end, sort of Gold Coast kind of joint. It doesn’t know what it is right now.
An identity crisis
And I think that’s a little bit of a challenge, like there’s an identity crisis. It used to have this real uniqueness about it. And there was a reason that people came here because they felt different, and they walked away feeling different.’
Byron visitor Karen Morris agreed telling The Echo, ‘We come here twice a year. We’ve noticed that the shops have become more mainstream which is a bit of a shame. The shops and character of the town was always a point of difference. We’ve seen a number of unique stores in the town close and that point of difference is going.’
During the last six years factors challenging for businesses include: Covid; the increasing number of chain stores; higher rents; a tough economic environment; and, the impacts of drainage works that saw Byron’s Lawson Street virtually closed and shops see a drop in business of 50 to 90 per cent.
‘We couldn’t find the leases we wanted and moved the business three times,’ explained Helen O’Carroll from Bay Active who has decided to close her shopfront in Byron.
‘When we moved to Lawson Street in May 2024, we thought we’d found our forever retail home, instead we opened to roadworks from that time until November.’
‘The impact of these works on the little stores along Lawson Street was simply devastating, someone describing the scene as “Armageddon”, not exactly the retail vibes our customers are looking for.
‘Some stores were offered a 50 per cent reduction in rent, we weren’t so fortunate. Our landlord declared that if we couldn’t weather the impact, our business was not viable. Turns out he was right, because we couldn’t recover from that period of a prohibitive trading environment.
A stark reminder
These Council works served as a stark example of how out of step Byron Shire Council (BSC) is with small businesses. Independent small businesses are the heavy lifters creating the unique offering Byron is known for.’
Other businesses, like Yulli’s were luckier with local landlords understanding the challenges they met with the roadworks taking place.
Sue and Arthur Cookson, who will have run Cobblers in Byron for 31 years this November, said that there has been a significant change in the businesses in the town.
‘More recently we’ve seen an influx of multinational corporate organisations and that is changing the nature of the town. Even 10-15 years ago there were mostly family-owned businesses. Now that is changing.’
Bay Active’s Ms O’Carroll agreed telling The Echo that, ‘the landscape has made a shift in direction where we don’t fit anymore. We are now trading alongside towering chain stores that produce enormous quantities cheaply offshore, which retail for prices we can’t match. Our collections are made in Sydney and Melbourne, in an ethical, transparent supply chain and have always been built to stand the test of time, rather than to be thrown into landfill after a few wears.’
Reclaiming the soul of Byron Bay
With empty shops, chain stores and the high cost of paid parking many locals and businesses are wondering how Byron can reclaim its soul.
‘In the last six years, our rent has gone up by 50 per cent. Meanwhile our annual turnover for the past two years has been its worst in 12 years,’ said Sue and Arthur.
‘Paid parking has had a big impact on Byron. Byron used to be a meeting place where you had people from Ballina, Lismore, Kyogle, Nimbin, Mullumbimby. There has been a change in atmosphere, there is no busking, local shops are being edged out and there is a lack of character. Paid parking is too expensive at $5 per hour particularly in the current financial climate. You find people are browsing and then they run out of the store to sort out the parking rather than making a purchase.’
So what does the future hold?
‘The way Byron will come back is if we focus on the creative energy that’s already in the town,’ suggested Karl.
‘Everyone’s still here and plenty of people want to do things with a creative focus – like Mario from Howl and Moan Records, Christian from the Bangalow Film Festival – there are all these creatives who could be fostered and do something at a bigger level, then there’s potential for the town. I think a creative initiative group would be great along with the removal of red tape to allow creative initiatives and fostering creativity.’
‘Bring back the individual stores, the buskers, reduce the parking fees and breathe some life back into Byron Bay,’ said Sue and Arthur.
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