‘ Y O U D E ST R OY E D O U R L A N D . G I V E U S A T R E AT Y.’ – L I D I A T H O R P E The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 39 #20 • October 23, 2024 • www.echo.net.au
Byron businesses struggle to survive roadworks
Aquarius launches Byron Bay Film Festival
Aslan Shand 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 told (BSC) The Echo that staff have been checking in with businesses ▶ Continued on page 3
Lyon’s second alleged charge of intimidation ▶ p2 %22. 12:
BBFF co-directors Osvaldo C Alfaro and J’aimee Skippon-Volke with Matty Hannon, who made the film The Road to Patagonia, at the festival’s opening night after party held in Otherworld. Wendy Champagne’s film Aquarius, after the festival of the same name, launched the ten-day cinematic binge fest. Photo Jeff Dawson
Mullum’s local water supply is thrown a lifeline Paul Bibby Will the controversial decision to close Mullumbimby’s local water supply at Lavertys Gap be reversed by Byron’s newly-elected mayor and her fellow councillors? This is the question that will be answered at Byron Council this week. In what promises to be a colourful meeting on Thursday, Mayor Sarah Ndiaye will move a motion proposing that any decision on the
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town’s water supply be deferred for two years while alternative options are considered. This would at effectively reverse the decision to make the Rous water supply Mullum’s sole water source, at least for now. ‘It was clear from the community consultation that the decision wasn’t reflective of our community’s wants or values,’ Mayor Ndiaye told The Echo ahead of this week’s meeting.
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‘It went through during the very last Council meeting of the term, on the strength of the then mayor’s casting vote. ‘In talking to people during the campaign, and looking at the feedback we received through public consultation, it was clear to me that people of all different ages and backgrounds have a strong connection to Lavertys Gap.’ Under Mayor Ndiaye’s motion, Council would do the necessary
Make your home and garden into amazing spaces ▶ p19
short-term repairs needed so that Mullum can continue using the Lavertys Gap supply, while there are further investigations into alternative water sources that could supplement this source. This includes the possibility of off-stream storage, or finding a new ground water source. But Council staff strongly oppose any further delay in switching to the Rous supply on both ▶ Continued on page 4
Byron’s Arts and Industry Estate is a bustling hub of creativity ▶ p20
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