$500K Boost set to Bring More Events to Byron Shire Streets
A major NSW Government grant will help make it easier and more affordable to stage live music, arts, cultural events and community gatherings across the Byron Shire.
Byron Shire’s streets are set to become more event-friendly, with Byron Shire Council securing $500,000 through the NSW Government’s Permit/Plug/Play Program.
The funding, led by Transport for NSW, is designed to remove some of the cost and complexity involved in staging street-based events, opening up new opportunities for live music, arts, cultural activities and community gatherings across the region.
Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye welcomed the announcement, saying the investment would help remove barriers for local event organisers while creating more opportunities to activate public spaces.
“This is really exciting news and will reduce the cost and complexity of delivering street-based events in our towns,” Byron Shire Mayor, Sarah Ndiaye said.
Event-Ready Streets for Mullumbimby
Mullumbimby will be a key focus of the investment, with new infrastructure planned to make its streets easier to use for events and activations.
Council’s Team Leader Place Planning, Andrew FitzGibbon, said this would include plug-in water and power infrastructure, helping create event-ready streets and reducing the logistical demands faced by organisers.
But the benefits of the program will extend beyond Mullumbimby, with improvements to event approval processes, guides, templates and systems to be introduced across the Byron Shire.
“At the same time, a raft of process improvements to event approvals, guides, templates, and systems will be made Shire-wide,” Mr FitzGibbon said. “All of these changes and improvements will make things easier for organisers, generate more local events and activations across the Shire, and support community gatherings and cultural enrichment for us all.”
Making Local Events Easier
The Permit/Plug/Play Program is a NSW Government initiative supporting councils to reduce the financial and administrative barriers associated with delivering street-based events.
By streamlining approvals and investing in permanent enabling infrastructure, the program aims to make it simpler for communities and event organisers to bring public spaces to life.
It forms part of the NSW Government’s broader Vibrant Streets Package, an investment of more than $40 million aimed at revitalising public spaces and supporting local economies.
For the Byron Shire, Council hopes the changes will lead to more events while also increasing their diversity and quality.
“Street-based events play a vital role in activating our local centres, bringing people together and supporting local businesses. By reducing administrative and financial barriers, the Program is expected to increase the number, quality and diversity of events happening across the Byron Shire, which would be a great outcome,” Mr FitzGibbon said.
With new infrastructure on the way and simpler processes planned across the Shire, the $500,000 investment could help provide the foundations for more music, creativity and community connection to spill out onto the streets.
Permit/Plug/Play is a $18.8 million multi-round NSW Government grant initiative that supports participating councils across NSW to reduce the cost and complexity of delivering streets-based events.
Building on the success of the $8.5 million pilot round, the new $10.38 million grant round will support 24 NSW councils with funding of up to $500,000 to reduce the cost and complexity of delivering street-based events by streamlining approval processes and internal workflows and investing in enabling place infrastructure.
The initiative is a part of the NSW Government’s Vibrant Streets Package, an over $40 million investment in transforming streets into thriving local places to support the community, businesses and the creative sector.