The Byron Farmers Market will move back to Butler Street Reserve permanently on 2 December, just in time for Christmas.
For two and a half years the market has been held at the Cavanbah Centre after Butler Street Reserve was temporarily closed in 2019 when work started on the Byron Bay bypass.
The EPA have given approval for the Byron Farmers Market to return to a small, stable section of Butler Street Reserve following over 2 years of on-site contamination investigations.
“It’s great news for the operators of the market who have been very understanding about the delay and we know they are itching to get back to Butler Street Reserve,” Ms McGarry said.
There have been significant changes in the Butler Street precinct in recent years including the bypass, the new rail corridor park and the bus interchange.
These changes mean market goers can now walk and cycle across town more easily from Jonson Street through the shared zone next to the Byron Bakery and across the rail tracks to Butler Street.
The solar train is also operating from Bayshore Drive, stopping across the road from the markets.
For those who do need to drive to the market, parking changes will be in place including one hour parking in Somerset Street on Thursday mornings as there will be no parking on the actual reserve, the exception being stallholder vehicles.
“At this stage, the community market is not going back to Butler Street Reserve because it is a bigger market requiring the whole Reserve,” Ms McGarry said.
“We are continuing to work with the EPA to try and return as much of the Reserve as possible to a mix of community uses including markets, parking and green spaces, however these investigations are ongoing and we need to work through the process with the EPA to determine if this can be done safely.”
“Council is looking forward to seeing the farmers market return to Butler Street Reserve from 2 December and we thank the market managers, stallholders and customers for their patience over the last several years,” she said.
