Old Byron Bay Hospital development input sought

Big changes are being made at Byron Bay’s old hospital site as community members have their say in its future. Here is how to get involved.

Social Futures workers Sacha Dartiguevanve and Isan Boehning at the site of the old Byron Bay Hospital.

The community hub that will call the old Byron Bay Hospital home will feature a patchwork of services to meet diverse needs.

That’s why Social Futures, the organisation tasked with running the facility when it opens, is looking for an advisory group to help shape what it’ll look like.

Social Futures CEO Tony Davies said major remediation work still needed to be done on the site, which was the town’s hospital until it was replaced with Byron Central Hospital in 2016.

Social Futures was appointed as head leaseholder in a council resolution earlier this year in a major step in the progress of the project since Byron Shire Council purchased the property from the NSW Government for $1 in 2019.

The old Byron Bay Hospital site has remained in community hands since the council purchased the Shirley Street property for $1 in 2019. Picture: Christian Morrow

“The building needs significant work to bring it back to a usable standard,” Mr Davies said.

“For example, the entire roof needs to be replaced.”

That work – expected to be complete by the end of 2023 – will be the responsibility of Byron Shire Council.

Social Futures’ management of the site will kick in when the redevelopment is complete.

But Mr Davies said his organisation had already started work.

Social Futures is seeking people to be a part of the planning process.

“What we want to do is make sure what we have at the site reflects the needs and aspirations of people in Byron,” Mr Davies said.

“There are lots of ideas about what could be done.”

Social Futures CEO Tony Davies. Picture: Marc Stapelberg

The vision for the site involves melding community services, a university, cultural organisations and charities that could create “a thriving centre for purpose” that is “bigger than the sum of its parts”, Mr Davies said.

“We are particularly keen to hear from people in Byron with a long history of involvement in community organisations and we also want social impact and business representatives to come forward,” he said.

He said the Arakwal Corporation would be involved in the group “as a matter of right”.

“They really have to have a say,” he said.

Mr Davies said he hoped to have eight people involved in the advisory panel.

“What we want to do at this point is really work with a group of community people to get the right tenant mix in the site and they’ll also help shape the ongoing management model,” Mr Davies said.

It is expected a longer-term management group will be established later on.

Mr Davies said he hoped to get the hub operating quickly after remediation.

“What we hope will be able to happen is that as the major remediation work comes to an end we can start preparing the tenancies so people can move in as soon as possible,” he said.

Byron Shire Council has lodged an application for redevelopment of the old Byron Bay hospital site on Shirley Street.

Members of the advisory group will meet four times a year beginning in November, for up to two years.

The positions are voluntary.

For more information click here.