An Economic Impact Assessments prepared by Dimasi Strategic Research (DRS), dated Janaury 2004 and presented to Ballina Shire Council to support the development application for Ballina Central on the Tinkerbell Caravan Park Site is the source of our demographic information.  The report identifies the trade catchment and key socio-characteristics for the proposed development and the main points are as follows:-

Trade Catchment Definition

The Main Trade Catchment Area (MTA) comprises the combination of the Primary Trade Area (PTA) and Secondary Trade Area (STA).  The MTA for the Site development was defined as follows:-

i. A primary trade area which comprises the urban area of Ballina and the adjoining urban area of Lennon Head.
ii. A secondary sector primarily to the west and south of the primary sector which includes the other populated areas of the Shire of Ballina, in particular the townships of Wollongbar, Alstonville, Wardell and Pimlico.
iii. A secondary sector to the north which includes the Shire of Byron.

Additional business will be drawn from beyond this main trade area, including from the Lismore/Goonellabah area to the west.  Residents of Lismore and Goonellabah who may wish to access a Big W store, particularly for special occasion shopping, would be able to visit the site within a drive time of less than 30 minutes.

Population

As at Census 2001, the population within the MTA for the site proposal was 67,280, with the population within the Primary Sector at 23,380 persons.

Between 1996 and 2001 population growth averaged 1.6% annually across the MTA and averaged 1.8% annually within the primary sector.