The "King Prawn" which adorned the Yamba Shopping Fair pylon sign for over 20 years has been replaced.  Last Wednesday on Ramornie Cup Day, a new contemporary-style pylon sign was erected.  The new sign is not quite as large as its 'rusty' predecessor.

The centre is owned by the Westlawn Property Trust.  The Trust's portfolio manager, Peter Burge said "The artwork on the new pylon sign is designed to mimic the rolling waves of Yamba's pristine beaches.  This theme has been continued onto the new tenant directory board and ancillary signage throughout the centre."

Mr Burge said "The erection of the new pylong sign is the culmination of a 3 stage upgrade and extension to the centre which started in 2003.  The overall cost of the works is in the order $6 million."

Stage 1 saw the re-tiling of the mall and the replacement of the original toilet amenities.

Stage 2 saw the creation of an external food court with additional shops and carparking.  The shopping mall was further improved with air-conditioning and a fully monitored fire alarm system.  Also, all specialty shops benefited from a new air-conditioning system which replaced the previous water-cooled system.

Stage 3 saw the addition of the Target Country store with additional carparking and a new turn in lane from Yamba Road.  This work included upgrading the Yamba Road footpath and cycle way.

The Yamba Shopping Fair is the largest shopping centre in the Clarence Valley outside of Grafton.  The addition of the Target Country store has increased its appeal to Maclean residents and reduced the need for travel to Grafton for discount department store shopping.

Mr Burge said "In the last 6 months the shopping mall has been further improved with the installation of security cameras and a lighting upgrade.  The improvements are designed to provide a better shopping experience."

"It is pleasing that the tenancy mix has continued to evolve in line with the upgrade.  The range of goods and services on offer at the Yamba Shopping Fair is better now than at anytime in the centre's history.  Surprisingly, we currently have a couple of shop vacancies in the 30 square metre to 150 square metre range" said Mr Burge.