| 9 July 2019 |
The West Coast Council is pleased to present the draft Mountain Bike Trail Strategy (MTB Trail Strategy) to the community for comment.
The draft MTB Trail strategy identifies a considered and well-researched strategic approach to both initially building the Mt Owen trail network and generating an increase in tourism visitation and business development opportunities in the future.
Substantial funding has now been received from the State Government, as well as an additional commitment for further Federal Government funding. This places Council in a strong position to not only begin to make substantial progress on completing a world class trail network on Mt Owen, but to also undertake some quality marketing for the region as a whole to target mountain bike riders and thereby enhance visitation to the West Coast. Further feasibility work on other potential trail developments in Zeehan and for other areas around the region will also be on the horizon, maximizing the beneficial impacts for the whole of the West Coast.
Mayor Phil Vickers said, “This exciting strategy is the result of almost a year of detailed planning and investigations by the Council into the emerging Mountain Bike phenomenon and the benefits this industry is capable of generating in regional areas of Australia. The Council wants to get the approach right for the community in order to fully reap the benefits of a potential increase in tourism visitation, and what has emerged during this process is that the West Coast of Tasmania is extremely well-placed to be building some iconic MTB trails that do not currently exist in other parts of Tasmania or even Australia. The Council is excited about fully developing this opportunity in the next few years, in partnership with both the state and federal government.”
The expert advice contained in the MTB Trail Strategy strongly suggests the best approach is not to duplicate existing mountain bike development in other areas in Tasmania, but rather to be innovative and embrace the wild nature and rugged terrain and topography the West Coast is well known for.
The draft MTB Trail Strategy is a start point for the community and other stakeholders to engage on. This document is not the final definitive approach, nor does it contain final trail designs. Final trail designs will be developed through an EOI process and subsequent competitive tendering process in coming months and will be subject to full feasibility assessments. Rather, this strategy is a broad outline of concepts and themes that are based on in-depth research and advice to date.
Community support and input is crucial for this strategy to take root and grow the benefits this industry would bring to our region. West Coast Council invites the whole of the community to read and provide comment on the strategy. It can be found here.
Specific Answers to commonly asked questions that you might have can also be found here.
Please provide your comments by 2nd August 2019 via email: wcc@westcoast.tas.gov.au or call Council’s offices on 6471 4700.