The Birds of Bradley Street - Postscript

Back in October 2006 I carried a story - the Birds of Bradley Street - talking about the way in which a remarkable group of women including tree changers had brought about economic renaissance in the previously depressed New England town of Guyra.

I see from the Armidale Express (17 January) that Guyra's growth has continued, with Mayor Robyn Jackson reporting that council had approved $75 million in development applications over the previous two years. Council was determined to maintain this.

" We feel we're on a roll," Mayor Jackson said. "We feel we can take advantage of lots of industrial situations now. There's more industrial land being opened up in Guyra. We're feeling we're on a wave and want to go ahead with that."

One difficulty that smaller towns like Guyra face is that growth can run up against short term constraints, in particular limited housing stocks.

In Gurya's case, stock and station agents in Guyra have reported that property prices are rising dramatically as the district experiences a population boom. They say there is also a critical shortage of good rental accommodation, good units and homes on acres. This will ease in due course as higher returns attract new real estate investment.