The upgrade to Byron Bay’s town centre drainage system is due to start in September, which will reduce the impacts of flooding to residents and businesses throughout central Byron Bay once complete. 

Christopher Soulsby, Manager Assets & Major Projects, said Council was pleased to be starting work in the town centre.

“We are excited to be making upgrades to the Byron Bay town centre drainage, as we know this will make a big difference to a lot of people. Not only will we see a reduction in the impacts of flooding, we’ll also see improvements to footpaths on large sections of Byron Street,” said Mr Soulsby.

“While the most significant works are happening in Byron Street, during construction, there will be disruptions to the way people move in and around the town centre.

“We have spent over 12 months talking to the businesses who will be directly impacted by these works and will have measures in place to reduce dust and noise impacts, such as construction hoarding.

“Traffic and pedestrians should follow detour and traffic control in the work areas. We are also encouraging people to sign up for email updates on the project web page so that they can receive direct notification of upcoming works and impacts.

“We are nearing completion of the Sandhills Wetland and are already seeing benefits of the recent Lawson Street (East) works. Completion of the town centre drainage upgrade works are essential to further reducing flooding in the town centre,” added Mr Soulsby.

The Preferred Byron Bay Drainage Strategy project, which includes parts of the Byron Bay Drainage Upgrade, has been awarded almost $26 million from across all levels of government. This includes almost $13 million from the Australian Government through the Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program and Preparing Australian Communities Program, with a further $7 million provided through the jointly funded Australian and NSW Governments Infrastructure Betterment Fund under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

Council will need additional funding to complete construction of the remaining stages of the Byron Bay Drainage Upgrade including Fletcher Street.

People can get more information and sign up for email updates on the project web page: www.byron.nsw.gov.au/Byron-Drainage