Toowoomba council terminates federal funding deal for escarpment mountain bike precinct, club wants to take over project
The Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club wants to take control of delivering the $6.6m masterplan for 70km of trails along the escarpment, after the council terminated a federal grant.
Council
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Toowoomba’s mountain biking community has called on the council to hand the responsibility of developing the troubled escarpment mountain bike master plan to them, after it was revealed millions in federal funding for it was terminated at the TRC’s request.
The $6.6m Great Divide Mountain Bike Destination project, which would have created nearly 70km worth of trails along the Toowoomba escarpment and turned the region into a tourist attraction for the sport, now has virtually no funding just four years after it was first greenlit by the council.
At the same time the council announced in November that it was delaying the project due to external pressures and changes in scope, it can be revealed the TRC had ended a $3.3m funding deal between the federal government for the master plan delivered through the 2021 Building Better Regions fund.
It then applied for money under the BBR fund’s successor, the Labor Government’s Growing Regions fund, where it was unsuccessful.
Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club president Troy Meehan has now urged the council to fund the detailed design process before handing it to the group to deliver piece-by-piece over several years.
“We want them to find funding (in the next budget) for the completion of the detailed design for Jubilee Park, down to a detailed construction plan,” he said.
“We’ve asked them to share it with us to attempt to do as much as we can.
“We’ve just delivered $880,000 worth of upgrades (to existing trails) through a federal/state grant funding.
“We’ve proven to council that we’re able to do large-format projects, so we’re taking the reins.”
The council’s environment and community general manager Nick Hauser confirmed it had terminated the deal, saying the removal of Redwood Park from the master plan following a pushback from concerned residents had forced major changes.
He also said the TRC had not advanced the tender for the design and construct stage due to the same reasons.
“Late last year, TRC announced that further work was required on the project configuration and design to improve emergency response access and resolve final trail placements following the removal of Redwood Park from the trail network,” Mr Hauser said.
“As a result, council made the decision not to proceed with a design and construct tender due to the additional work required.
“Due to the extra time required to resolve outstanding design and configuration issues, the Building Better Regions funding was unable to be acquitted as the Australian Government would not extend the funding period.”
Mr Meehan said while the council was correct that the project would not have been delivered on time given the constraints, he believed it could have been staged to keep the funding deed alive.
He also said the termination of the funding would make it difficult for the council to secure new federal grants for the same project.
“Our read of the tea leaves is the Cressbrook Dam took priority and they started pulling everything back,” he said.
“They said they’re going for a revised federal grant, and we all know once you’ve had a failed project, that goes against you when you go back for any other project, let alone the same one.
“If they had essentially sectioned the project off, they could have worked for a design for Jubilee as its own stage (and modified the grant funding).”
Letters from both Infrastructure Minister Catherine King and mayor Geoff McDonald, sent to Groom MP Garth Hamilton and sighted by News Corp, detail how the council requested a termination of the grant funding back in August.
“Depending on the design outcomes, completion of the project may require land acquisition or more significant road traffic designs dependant on where the trail will exit in the Lockyer Valley Regional Council area,” Mr McDonald wrote on December 13.
“Initial discussions with the Australian Government indicated that there was a provision to extend the funding up to the end of 2024, but that would still not provide adequate time to deliver the project in full.”
Ms King’s letter to Mr Hamilton confirmed the same thing, while indicating that as of January 22 the termination agreement had not yet been signed.
“I would recommend you encourage the council to liaise with the (government) to mutually identify an appropriate extension to see the project through to completion,” she wrote.
It comes days after Mr Hamilton slammed the council’s leadership over delays to the $25m Railway Parklands project, where he questioned the organisation’s ability to deliver projects.
The council has said it would “reconsider” its approach to the CBD project, earning a rebuke from Mr Hamilton over its ability to reach key milestones on the precinct’s development.
The two delays arrive as the TRC looks to reshape its 2024-25 budget and take on up to $300m in debt to help pay for the Cressbrook Dam spillway upgrades — slated to cost upwards of $270m.
Mr Meehan said while the latest news was disappointing, the club was fully invested in realising the master plan in some way.
“We were at the stage to put Toowoomba on the map, but it’s hard to see when you have it in your fingers, it’s very disheartening,” he said.
“It’s been a death by a thousand cuts (but) we’re not going to let this go.”
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