Byron Bay has always had a unique character with creative energy, a slightly rebellious streak, and buildings that, for the most part, feel like they belong in a relaxed Australian coastal town.
Lately, as the big developers increasingly turn their attention our way, something curious is happening. Apparently, the curve has been abolished. Every new development seems to arrive as another collection of enormous cuboids: flat walls, square windows, hard edges, and all the architectural flair of a shipping container convention.
Drive around town and you could be forgiven for wondering whether our architects have recently graduated from the Minecraft School of Design. Perhaps it’s time we started a GoFundMe to send them on a European holiday. A few weeks wandering the streets of Paris, Barcelona, Rome, or Prague might remind them that buildings are actually allowed to have curves, arches, ornamentation, and, dare I say it, personality.
Development is inevitable, blandness isn’t.
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. 
