Furious Brunswick Heads locals rebel against $25 parking system

Furious locals from an idyllic coastal town are worried they are becoming the “next Byron Bay”, with new parking meters charging $25 a day.

New parking meters in the coastal NSW town of Brunswick Heads have been vandalised as tensions rise over Byron Shire Council’s polarising new decision to introduce paid parking.

The town, a smaller neighbour to Byron Bay, is home to just a few thousand residents, many of whom are furious at the move to install meters on the main street.

“I’m not an advocate for vandalism, but maybe that’s indicative of just how angry people are,” local resident Sid told A Current Affair on Tuesday night.

Twenty parking meters were sprayed with paint over the weekend as fed-up locals took it upon themselves to send the council a message.

Under the new system, locals can apply for a resident permit and park on the street for free. However, they are still expected to follow the hourly limit.

Out-of-towners, on the other hand, will be slugged a whopping $25 a day to park.

New parking meters in the coastal NSW town of Brunswick Heads have generated controversy.

Out-of-towners will be slugged a whopping $25 to park.

“No, don’t like it. I’d prefer to walk several hundred meters rather than put $5 in this little baby here,” one visitor said.

The system has left several locals furious at the cash-sucking measure, complaining that their quiet coastal lifestyle was being tainted with revenue-raising machines reflective of Australia’s larger cities.

One person said the meters were a sign Brunswick Heads was “moving in the direction” of Byron Bay, which has in recent years become overly-commercialised and flooded with influencers and billionaires.

‘You are ALL being robbed’.

Locals aren’t happy.

Byron Bay’s transition from an idyllic coastal retreat into a behemoth that charges rents similar to inner-Sydney has been a major topic of conversation among locals in northern NSW.

Byron Shire Council, however, says that compliance with the new system has been “generally positive” and that the decision followed years of discussions and community input.

“There had been many discussions, meetings and intercept surveys done over several years leading up to this decision,” a council spokesman said.

“Staff will be reporting a proposal to Council...... (in late 2024/early 2025 to seek approval) for how the Brunswick Heads Parking Scheme money will be spent”.

Originally published as Furious Brunswick Heads locals rebel against $25 parking system