THERE are growing concerns about house prices and holiday letting in what was once a sleepy beachside haven.

Byron Bay has certainly changed a lot over the years.

Once known for its whaling industry, butter factory and relaxed surfing culture, the town is now a hotspot for celebrities ‒ and it's increasingly unaffordable.

According to realestate.com.au, the median house price is now $1.5 million, and the median weekly rent is $755.

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Byron Shire Council is still desperately working to secure a local framework for short term holiday letting, including a 90-day cap on non-hosted holiday lets.

Deputy Mayor Michael Lyon said the shire was quickly becoming a place for the rich, and expressed concerns the town would be "destroyed".

We asked our readers: Is it too late to save Byron Bay?

Here are some of the responses.

Tess Cooper: "Byron's only for the rich and famous, oh and criminals. Been going downhill for years."

Peter Armstrong: "Forty years ago you knew everyone in town."

Sylvia Silson: "All the rich people of Byron can save it."

Justin Dono: "It was too late to save Byron Bay 10 years ago."

Steve Kite: "Typical. Rich, snotty-nosed (people) stuff every town they have gone to. As if people will pay to park in a town full of overpaid nobodies. Town has been on a downward spiral for years, thanks to out of control backpackers and famous floggers."

Antonia Staff: "Rich destroy what they came for.

Brett Pearson: "Beautiful spot, overgrown by fools."

Brooke Cotten: "Couldn't pay me to go there."

Linda Scott: "We would go down for breakfast/lunch, it was good. Now we don't bother. Too hard finding a park, it is not nice anymore."

Lisa Hecimovic: "A real shame as we have some of the most spectacular country here on the North Coast."

Dawn Loschiavo: "I used to live at Byron Bay back in the 60s. Wouldn't live there now for free."

Stewart Bateman: "If you have lived on the North Coast for more than 30 years and didn't realise Byron Bay was lost and overrated (and) overpriced, you're not awake."

Sandra Mcleod: "A yuppie town now. Won't go there unless necessary, hate it."

Tanya Lee: "Been that way for many years, way overpriced, but so is Ballina. It's ridiculous."

Monica Wilcox: "Affordable housing disappeared years ago, so its residents diversity was disappearing years ago."