THE BUNDANOON OVAL MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL –THE FACTS AND SOME ACTIONS
Plan of Proposal | Trail Features Diagrams | Community Mail Out
As you may be aware a cycling trail is proposed to be built around Bundanoon Oval and Jordans Crossing.
This page provides the facts on the project. It was felt important to prepare this info as a campaign of serious misinformation and negativity is being carried out primarily by a couple of property owners bounding the oval who would appear to be against sport and recreation on the main sport and recreation oval in our town.
If you feel this facility is a worthwhile addition to the town then it is vitally important you make the Councillors and General Manager of Wingecarribee Shire Council aware of your feelings. They are interested in what you have to say in order to determine the Development Application for the Oval. At present the majority of the communication the Councillors and staff have received has been negative. We do not think this negativity reflects the feeling of the community. We need you to show Council how we really feel.
Contact details are below.
Status
On the 24th of August Councillor Larry Whipper proposed a notice of motion for the Ordinary Meeting of Council to halt the processing of the Development Application for the proposed Trail, while a Plan of Management for Bundanoon Oval and Jordans Crossing is prepared.
Highlands Trails spoke against the motion and Annie Pidgeon from ‘Looking After Bundanoon’ spoke in support of the motion.
The motion, while keenly discussed, was carried, thus delaying the determination of the Development Application by at least 6 months. This will mean, at best, that the Development Application for the Trail will take a total of 12 months before it is voted on in Council.
The Plan of Management being prepared by an independent consultant. That consultant has met with Stakeholders such as The Brigadoon Committee, Tennis Club, Cricket Club etc to determine the long term future and priorities for the Sporting Precincts in Bundanoon.
One of the items considered within the Plan of Management will be the provision of the Mountain Bike Trail. Highlands Trails will now need to clear two hurdles; the first being the integration of the proposed MTB trial into the Plan of Management, the second being the Development Application for the Trail itself.
We ask supporters of the Trail to take an active interest in the progress of the Plan of Management and take the opportunity during the community consultation phase to demonstrate their support for the proposal by doing one of the following:
1/ Write to the Parks and Property Department (who are responsible for the preparation of the Plan of Management) and register your support for the Trail. Address :
Wingecarribee Shire Council PO Box 141 Moss Vale NSW 2577 peter.byrne@wsc.nsw.gov.au2/ Sign a petition in support of Trail. Petition
3/ Complete the WSC Bundanoon Oval Plan of Management Community Questionaire by 12th October. Either in writing or online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/bundanoon
Please keep an eye out for the above and support this proposal.
Background
In April 2010 Highlands Trails proposed a biking trail around Bundanoon Oval/Jordans Crossing to provide a mountain biking facility particularly for children in the area. Highlands Trails (www.highlandstrails.com.au ) is an incorporated community association that advocates for, builds and maintains trails in the region. This includes building and maintaining the renowned Wingello State Forest trails (15km of purpose built trail and 50km of waymarked routes). The majority of Highlands Trails are Bundanoon residents.
Mountain biking (MTB) is a key attraction now in the Southern Highlands both for tourism and for locals of all ages who have taken to the sport in droves. Many children in Bundanoon and surrounding areas are taking up the activity. MTB has been run at the Bundanoon School as an After School Activity and 150 kids – primarily from the local area – took part in the Kids Fling last November. The project aims to provide kids and adults with a safe and fun environment to develop these skills.
The idea was first discussed with Council officers in the Winter and Spring of 2010 following a presentation of the idea at Council’s Bicycle Working Group in June 2010. The proposal was discussed with a number of Councillors early this year and was presented to Council’s Sport and Recreation Committee in February 2011. The response to the idea was positive at every turn.
Initial discussions indicated a simple User Agreement could be put in place for the trail construction. In March 2011 Council changed this to require a full Development Application. Then in August 2011, Council again changed its position and placed the DA on hold while a Plan of Management is prepared for the entire Oval.
Who Is the Trail For?
The Trail has a key focus as somewhere for kids to play, ride, stay fit and pick up skills. Often parents have to take the kids and bikes to somewhere like Wingello State Forest to ride in a safe environment away from traffic. Having a fun trail in the middle of town at the main sports oval means that local kids (and adults) can ride safely off road with parents supervising if required. Obviously such a trail is for everyone but it is specifically for the kids that the idea was born. The trail, whilst built with bicycle riders in mind, may also be used by walkers, joggers etc. For background, the majority of adult mountain bikers are in the 35-50 age group , the majority being professionals.
It seemed to make sense to locate the trail at the town’s primary Sport & Recreation Oval which is already home to Tennis, Rugby, Cricket, Swimming, Bowls, Netball, Athletics, BMX and cross country running. Additionally It is our belief that the more users the Oval attracts, the more patronage our Community owned Club will receive. As many residents know, the Club needs greater support to remain viable. A family out riding the trail may well be tempted by some food or refreshment at the end of their activity.
This trail has been targeted at beginner riders and children in an effort to promote physical activity with children that is not necessarily confined to team sports and is available locally. There are other obvious benefits such as providing more opportunities for families to frequent the Oval and the clear social and physical benefits that having a mountain bike track in town would bring. The Southern Highlands, Bundanoon especially, are becoming more renowned for the cycling culture it fosters amongst residents and visitors and this project would be another step forward in this area.
Confusion & Construction – The IMBA Trailbuilding Workshop
From 16-19 April Bundanoon proudly hosted a major workshop on sustainable trailbuilding. This national workshop, in the planning for 6 months, was run by IMBA (the International Mountain Biking Association www.imba.com), the peak body for sustainable trailbuilding worldwide. It was presented by one of IMBA’s primary instructors who came over from the USA along with the IMBA Australia Director. The workshop was attended by representatives from a number of Councils across Australia along with NPWS, Australian Conservation Volunteers, trailbuilding businesses and trail advocates. Participants were from SA, QLD, Vic, WA, NSW and also included representatives from the Hong Kong government.
This workshop was designed around working on the Bundanoon Oval project. It was an unqualified success with Bundanoon again showing a warm welcome to our visitors.
A month before the workshop, Council ‘moved the goalposts’ so to speak, requiring a Development Application for the project when formerly they had indicated that a User Agreement would suffice. A DA was submitted in March but it was obvious that process would not be complete in time for the fast approaching Workshop. Understanding this, Council drew up a User Agreement to cover the 4 days of the Workshop. This allowed construction of trail and trail features in a defined area of the Oval. Despite having notified adjoining residents of this, some took it to mean the Oval Trail was going ahead even though there was no approved DA in place. A condition of the User Agreement was that any features would be removed should the DA be refused.
Funding
The trail planning, construction and signage is all to be self funded. That is, no funds have been requested of Council. Some $5000 is already available from fundraising initiatives for the trail and local businesses, community groups and members have offered labour and material.
The Trail – Route, Re-vegetation & Planting
The attached aerial photo shows an indicative line for where the trail could go. The idea at the outset was to try and maximize the length of the trail to maximize the trail experience and fitness benefits. We fully understand that many residents will not understand the sport of mountain biking and its requirement for length and variety. The primary area for features and more concentrated trail is in the area from the Netball Court down to the boundary of Jordans Crossing and east of the existing multi use concrete trail. This was the area worked on during the workshop (if you do go to check it out please note the work was limited by the terms of the workshop user agreement and is therefore incomplete).
Council advised us that they wish to reduce the amount of mowing in much of that area and to re-vegetate it with native plants and grasses. The Bundanoon Oval Trail has, as part of its plan, the planting of many hundreds of plants for this express purpose.
The Campaign Against the Trail
In an effort to ensure the community was well informed, in mid March we hand delivered letters setting out the idea of the trail and the forthcoming workshop to residents adjoining Bundanoon Oval/Jordans Crossing.The various community groups involved in the trail wanted to engage with these residents and open up channels for further communication.
To some extent this notification has worked against the trail. Whilst there is support for the trail from many adjoining residents, others have commenced a widespread campaign of misinformation regarding the nature of the trail and its purpose. It goes without saying that we absolutely acknowledge their right to voice their opposition. However there is undoubtedly a certain amount of scaremongering going on and some tendency to be selective with the facts. For our part we are happy to discuss the detail of the trail and hear any counter arguments in a mature discussion space. Examples of the sort of campaign material circulating is available for viewing. It goes under the slogan ‘Looking After Bundanoon’ from the same people who campaigned against a Telstra Mobile Tower going in at the Bundanoon Club. These residents adjoin both the Club and the Oval.
The campaigners have contacted many at Council (Councillors, General Manager etc). The reality is that, despite the rather colourful language – ‘’No to MTB Trails in Bundanoon Park” – the drivers of the campaign insist they are in favour of the trail as long as it stays to the east of the existing multi use path.
The nub of the objections to the Trail appear to be as follows:
- The Trail should not use the land west of the existing multi use trail.
- The Trail should not go on the existing multi use trail. The claim is that bikes will somehow run into other users of the trail. This trail is, of course, already used by bikes as are thousands of similar multi use trails across Australia
We are happy to consider the route of the trail and would prefer a mature discussion about this rather than a public campaign against something that was always up for discussion. That said, we do believe philosophically that people who buy a property adjoining a Sport & Recreation facility should expect activity of a Sport & Recreation nature.
The Campaign for the Trail
We have been advised by Council to rally those who are in favour of the trail. We very much want to stick to the facts and not fight against a campaign of misinformation. to that end, we need as many residents to send emails or letters to the General Manager and ALL Councilors whose contact details are shown below, expressing support for the proposal. Whether from adults or children, whether for yourself , your kids, grand kids or our visitors.
Council Contacts
If you believe the Bundanoon Oval Trail is a positive thing then please write, ring or email ALL the Councillors along with the General Manager
Letters
Address to ‘All Councillors & The General Manager’and mail to:
Wingecarribee Shire Council, PO Box 141, Moss Vale, NSW 2577
Councillor Contacts
Juliet Arkwright – 0438 249180, Juliet.arkwright@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Jim Clark – 0428 213939, jim.clark@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Duncan Gair – 0409 039731, duncan.gair@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Ken Halstead – 0418 746138, ken.halstead@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Jim Mauger – 0427 491322, jim.mauger@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Graham McLaughlin – 0408 244915, graham.mclaughlin@wsc.nsw.gov.au
David Stranger – 0427 293090, david.stranger@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Paul Tuddenham – 0408 637071, paul.tuddenham@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Larry Whipper – 0407 932922, larry.whipper@wsc.nsw.gov.au
General Manager Contact
Jason Gordon – jason.gordon@wsc.nsw.gov.au
Please also pass this information onto as many friends and contacts as you can, encouraging them to also contact the councillors expressing their support. These people do not necessarily have to be from the Shire itself but could be supportive of more facilities for cycling or for healthy activities
The arguments for and against the trail go to the core of whether we wish to build a community for the future, to accept change in sporting preferences, to provide for all generations, to provide for residents and visitors alike. The Bundanoon Oval MTB Trail is another key project for the go getting , vibrant community of Bundanoon.
For any further details on the project please contact Danien Beets on 0418 431625, info@highlandstrails.com.au
Loading ...