Friends of the Grampians Rail Trail treasurer and projects co-ordinator John Pye said the group was putting together its grant application with the help of the council.
“The reality is that council needs to be on board with it, because they’re not going to give $300,000 to a community group that’s got $3000 in the bank,” he said.
“There’s a short window for this grant, but I believe it’s quite possible.
“We’re doing things like getting letters of consent from GWMWater and DEECA – Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
“I’ve been in conversation with the landowners of a road reserve that we want to use, so we’re lining up all those ducks.”
Mr Pye said the current management structure of the trail presented issues in the grant-application process.
“We had a meeting last month looking at how to manage the trail, because most rail trails are either council-run, or they’re run by DEECA,” he said.
“A lot of those trails still have a ‘friends of’ group that assists, but doesn’t actually manage the money or the public liability and that sort of stuff. We’re one of the unique rail trails where we do the lot. We run the community infrastructure independently of anyone.
“The issue is that if we’re going to have a 35km rail trail, then we need a sustainable management model. Otherwise, volunteers can be all enthusiastic initially, but once you start managing 35km of trail, it can fall over.”
If the group was successful in securing the grant, Mr Pye said the benefits to the region could be enormous.
“This goes through bushland, it goes through conservation reserve, it goes through a wetland, it goes through open, grassy red-box woodland,” he said.
“There’s a section in the proposal where you can see the Grampians escarpment for two kilometres as you’re riding along.
“When I go through and look at criteria for what an iconic rail trail is, this ticks all the boxes.
“That means it attracts a whole new cohort of people, including international visitors. It has the potential to be like the Grampians Peaks Trail.”
Mr Pye said tens of thousands of visitors brought bikes to the Grampians region each year but had ‘nowhere to ride’.
“It diversifies tourism from the perspective of providing another activity that people can do. They might end up extending their stay,” he said.
“It will make Stawell a bit of a hub as well, because it will be one end of the trail.”
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman agreed accommodation providers would benefit from a trail extension, noting the 77-room LOAM Hotel, currently under construction on the Western Highway, was only a few hundred metres from the trail’s Stawell terminus.
“The hotel is scheduled to open in June and will give those visitors a new pathway into other parts of the Grampians National Park and give them reasons to ride and explore,” he said.
“I’ve met the owners and talked to them about the rail trail and bikes, and they’re excited about it.
“There’s an already well-established rail trail in place, and I think the extension into Halls Gap would add a real signature experience for our destination.”
Mr Sleeman said Grampians Wimmera Mallee Tourism had thrown its support behind the funding bid.
“We’re always looking for new things to champion as a destination, and that extension would provide visitors in Halls Gap an opportunity to connect into Stawell and help realise the opportunities that tourism has for all parts of the region,” he said.
“We know, with the addition of electric bikes particularly, there is an older demographic that stays longer and is more immune to increases in interest rates and fuel costs. They will continue to travel through challenging times, and that market loves bike riding.
“Extending the trail isn’t about the distance, it’s about connecting the communities, unlocking visitation and turning what is already a great regional asset into a must-do experience.”
Independently of the grant application, Mr Pye said Friends of the Grampians Rail Trail had secured sponsorship from company RWE Renewables Australia.
“One of the things with financing a community group is that you can regularly get money for projects, but you can’t get money for things like emergency maintenance or covering volunteer worker insurance,” he said.
“That’s what makes sponsorships like this special – that it’s not tied to a project specifically. It gives you a fair bit of flexibility to keep the group functioning. Without it we would’ve had about $400 in the bank – that means we would be unable to do emergency repairs.”
At last week’s Northern Grampians Shire Council meeting, Cr Jenny Greenberger outlined a meeting with Friends of the Grampians Rail Trail members and Rail Trails Australia officials.
“We had an excellent evening talking about some of the amazing rail trails around the state and what a valuable asset they are in the community.That’s an exciting development that we look forward to supporting,” she said.
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