Byron Bay’s Singhs Tyre and Mechanical forced to shut due to lack of staff, soaring rental costs in northern NSW tourism hub

Byron Bay’s Singhs Tyre and Mechanical has shut due to a lack of suitable staff and soaring rental costs. Workers “can’t afford to live” in the increasingly exclusive holiday hub. Here’s what the owners had to say.

Long-running Byron Bay family business Singhs Tyre and Mechanical has been forced to close due to a lack of suitable workers and soaring rental costs in town.

Owner Brad McCormack, 59, and his wife Lorriane McCormack, 57, of Suffolk Park have been running the shire business for 25 years.

Mr McCormack said 99 per cent of the Jonson St business’s customers were locals who he and his wife have come to know by name. The closure has brought tears to the eyes of some, he said.

New owners have taken over the property and Mr McCormack said the lease “was just unacceptable” for the business. Unfortunately, a new lease could not be locked in.

“The rent had gone up quite considerably and there’s now a six-month demolition clause in the lease, so effectively they can move us on with only a few month’s notice,” he said.

Owner's Lorriane McCormack and Brad McCormack of Singhs Tyre and Mechanical in Byron Bay know many customers by name. Picture: Savannah Pocock

“The demolition clause is what scared us the most because we’d be coming into work every day thinking today could be the day they could tell us to get out.

“You can’t make plans, you can’t replace equipment, you can’t keep lots of stock and it becomes a real issue.”

The clauses give a landlord authority to terminate to take on repairs, renovations or reconstruction of a leased premises.

Mr McCormack said the costs of the tenancy spiked by almost 30 per cent – but he understood rents were increasing across town.

“Look, I’m not ragging anyone at all. It’s their business, they own the premises,” he said.

Lorriane McCormack and Brad McCormack - still smiling in adversity. Picture: Savannah Pocock

Mr McCormack said “we don’t have millions of dollars” and mechanics looking to work in town were “working class” people.

He said the rise reflected “the rental prices in Byron” generally, both for businesses and residents.

“ … realistically, if you weren’t born and bred in Byron and got into the housing market in the 90s or early 2000s, most people who earn a $100k a year can’t afford to buy a house,” he said.

“It’s been the past two or three years where we’ve seen a decline in staff, and it’s not only our business.”

“They may be able to buy a house but they can’t afford to make the payments.

“If you don’t already live here, it’s too expensive to come and rent here … so there are no new people in our industry coming to town.”

Mr McCormack said it felt like bustling Byron “has millions of people moving here every day”.

“But they are all spending two, three, four, five million dollars on a property – and they are not coming to work in a tyre shop or be a mechanic.”

He felt like it was a wider issue across the region, where housing is in great demand.

“It’s not just Byron it’s the whole Northern Rivers,” Mr McCormack said.

The Singhs group is a franchise and Mr McCormack said he was not the only store battling.

Singhs Tyre and Mechanical Byron Bay. Picture: Savannah Pocock

“I talk with all those guys from Lismore, Kyogle, Casino and Ballina regularly and everyone is struggling to stay open because of staff, especially Lismore,” he said.

“There’s a combination of things – we can’t get staff, the rents are going crazy … Everything is getting rezoned and sold for multimillion dollars.

“We just can’t do it anymore.”

Mr McCormack said “there’s a rental crisis around the whole bloody country” and the impacts were widespread.

“There’s not a lot of new young people who are working coming to the town. I don’t know where their money has come from over the years but they’re still driving around in a Tesla, Porsche or Range Rover,” he said.

Owner Brad McCormack of Singhs Tyre and Mechanical in Byron Bay thanked customers for their unwavering support. Picture: Savannah Pocock

“We had a young fella’ a couple of months ago who moved to town. He was renting one room and it cost him $450 a week.

“He was causal and he was earning about $1000 a week and he said ‘once I pay for fuel, food, clothes and rent there’s nothing left’.

“So all of a sudden he was gone as well. He had to move back in with his mother.

“We’re a tourist town and you go into town in the middle of tourist season and it’s still half empty. Every second shop has no one in it.”

Mr McCormack had tears in his eyes as he thanked his customers for their support in a video last Thursday.

“Hello to all our customers. We’re closing our doors this afternoon … we really just want to say thank you to all you guys supporting us for so long,” he said.

“As you know we brought our kids up here and they’ve all turned into good humans, so it’s pretty emotional for us.

“So thank you everyone.”