Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Venture Hawke's Bay are excited that the bid for government funding for the 'Landscape Trail' through the scenic Tukituki Valley south of Hastings has been successful.
They were advised today that funding of $1.89 million for the Landscape cycle trail has been approved by the Minister for Tourism.
"It's an excellent result for Hawke's Bay and the trail will be a major attraction for local people and visitors to really enjoy an iconic New Zealand landscape," said Regional Council Chairman Alan Dick. "It's a great achievement by the staff and others involved in successfully completing the huge amount of work required to get the bid through this rigorous process."
Councillor Neil Kirton says that the cycle trail funding is a result of extremely effective and hard work put in by Venture Hawkes Bay staff together with the Regional Council's staff. He said there is likely to be significant business and employment spinoffs from the Landscapes trail, if the success of the Otago Rail Trail is any indication.
"It's great news that we can go ahead with this trail. We are anticipating this will add a significant number of jobs in cycle trail related businesses in Hawke's Bay. The Landscapes Trail has the potential to become the North Island equivalent of the Otago Rail Trail," he said.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council Operations Group Manager, Graeme Hansen says that the trail will cater for new or casual cyclists as well as experienced cyclists, and will be a comfortable ride for most people.
"There are some final details we need to sort out with affected parties before we can announce a date when construction work will start, but we are looking at a spring/summer construction," he said.
A bid for funding for a second 'Water Trail' around Ahuriri Estuary requires further work to get land access rights over the whole trail. The Regional Council has been advised this trail will be reassessed by the Ministry of Tourism once land access criteria have been met.
