Forest bike trail proposal supported
WAIKAIA
A MOUNTAINbiking trail set to boost the economy and attract riders of all abilities to Waikaia has been given the goahead.
Ardlussa Community Board member Hilary Kelso opened the public forum at the Southland District Council services and assets committee meeting this week with a proposal to establish a mountainbiking track in the Waikaia Forest.
‘‘Cycling in New Zealand is a growing, multimilliondollar activity that will bring huge economic, social and cultural growth, not to just Waikaia and the Ardlussa broader area but to the whole of Southland.’’
The community board had preliminary discussions with Queenstownbased trail builder Tom Hay for the initial master planning and trail design work for the communityled initiative.
At this stage, 50km of trails catering to a range of abilities had been proposed and initial planning was expected to cost about $20,000.
The complete network was anticipated to be constructed over several years as funding and volunteer resources became available.
‘‘We have been doing our homework . . . one key point struck me, we, as a community board, needed to take responsibility for the development and growth of our area.’’
Councillors agreed unanimously to allow for public access to the Waikaia Forest for the development and operation of mountainbiking trails, on the condition of formalising an agreement with land manager IFS Growth Limited.
A trust would be established, which would be responsible for the trail activity, and a memorandum of understanding entered between the council and the trust.
Mrs Kelso said the track would bring many opportunities to Waikaia and neighbouring areas, including new cycling businesses, hot pools and hospitality, as well as diversification opportunities for existing businesses, and land and home owners.
Waikaia resident Colleen Morton said it would provide meaningful benefits to young people and those with disabilities.
‘‘We need things for people who excel outside of the classroom . . . [we want to] include young people in the planning [process].’’
Cr Ebel Kremer commended the presentation and said the council would have to consider how it managed the surrounding forestry block to avoid harvest damaging the trails.
‘‘It ticks a number of boxes . . . I can certainly see economic benefit for the community and also districtwide.’’