The Byron Bay Public School P&C have expressed concern over the proposal to serve liquor to up to 545 customers, with 40 staff, from 10am until 2am as part of development application (DA 10.2025.32.1) by Merivale, run by CEO Justin Hemmes, at 111–115 Jonson Street, Byron Bay.
The proposal is for the Hemmes’ Totti’s and Jimmy’s Falafel restaurants.
President of the P&C, Laura Cima, said that the ‘proposal raises concerns about the potential safety of our students and families’.
The proposed licensed venue is approximately 70m from the school. Byron Shire Council’s policy on ‘Liquor Licensing and Approval’ 2023 states that, ‘Council may not support any application proposing to locate a licensed premise within 100 metres of a school, childcare facility, place of worship, hospital, aged care facility or residential area.’
There are also two churches that are less than 100m from the site.
An initial DA (10.2023.488.1) was submitted in 2023 for the Cheeky Monkeys site’s development at 115 Jonson Street for 180 patrons. This was approved with conditions that included maximum patronage, use of the facility as a restaurant and not as a bar, pub or other entertainment venue, restrictions on trading hours and no use of the outdoor courtyard areas at the back of the premises.
Merivale subsequently had these conditions removed in 2024 and then lodged the current DA which seeks to expand the operations across an area from 111 to 115 Jonson Street, all owned by Merivale.
‘This is not about opposing development – it is about appropriate development in appropriate locations and planning for the future use of the facility in the years and decades to come,’ explained Ms Cima.
‘In our view this proposal to significantly increase size and scope of the development raises concerns,’ she told The Echo.
Traffic and parking impacts
Another concern raised is the impact on the parking in the area with Ms Cima highlighting how challenging it already is to get a park to collect children from the school when there is no patronage of the site.
‘They are not supplying any extra carparking and didn’t include any mention of the school in their traffic management plan. None of the DA’s supporting documents reference the school’s proximity or the potential impacts on more than 400 children attending this school daily.’
However, speaking to The Echo, CEO Justin Hemmes said that Merivale was not significantly increasing the number above the previously allowable patrons across the various sites, one of which was a licensed restaurant (Jonsons).
He also said that the 111 Jonson Street site would retain its midnight licensing while the former Cheeky Monkeys site would retain its previous 2am licence. ‘We’re not changing the licence, because it’s an existing asset,’ Hemmes said.
‘We are good neighbours, we are respectful, and we manage our businesses well. We are changing from a nightclub environment to a lovely family-friendly restaurant, and we’re keeping the existing buildings and the fabric of the building, and we’re going to make them in keeping with the bar, and there’s no new structures or new developments.
‘We want to be good neighbours, and we want to be good custodians of the property.’
Hemmes said that their ‘original Totti’s has a beautiful outdoor courtyard which butts up against a block of apartments and we’ve had no issues with sound. We’ve had no complaints and no problems whatsoever.’
Addressing the issue of parking Hemmes said that they are integrating the rear carpark on the block while also seeking to put in place a shuttlebus for the greater Byron area.
The application is currently under assessment by Council staff and ‘some works undertaken on the site have been the subject of recent enforcement investigation and action,’ said Shannon Burt, Director Sustainable Environment and Economy.
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