The Batemans Bay Coastal Headlands Walking Trail will connect Batehaven's Observation Point with Malua Bay's McKenzies Beach upon the expected completion in 2023.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
However, not everyone is happy with the walk, with one local resident slamming the Eurobodalla Shire Council's handling of the project.
Glen Davis lives on the headland between Edgewood and Surf Beach, and the trail will lead right past his property's boundary upon completion.
"The path goes right alongside it, between it and the clifftop," he said.
"The walkers use the pathway now, which is fine, and some of them have dogs who will wander through the yard, but that's not a problem.
"The Council is about to spend $6 million (on this project), and they haven't said exactly how they'll spend that money.
"It's some kind of upgrade (to the existing trails), but what it'll do to usage and the locations are not yet clear."
Mr Davis had concerns over the use of the money set aside for the project.
"The money is one issue, it's come mostly from federal sources and is supposed to be for bushfire relief," he said.
"The actual words used (on one of the grants) are 'for bushfire recovery, response, and preparedness in NSW'.
"That's not what they're spending this money on, this is some pipe dream from 10 years ago.
"Problem number two is the land. The purposes are two fold: provide public access to the beaches and headlands, and protect developments from rising sea levels and water damage.
"Those are the other purposes for this money, and the pathway isn't consistent with either of them."
Mr Davis worked as the CEO for the Northern Grampians Shire in Victoria before retiring to the Eurobodalla Shire, meaning he has a good insight into the workings of council.
With his background, Mr Davis doesn't believe Council did enough community engagement in the lead up to last month's start of construction.
"They asked for responses, then ignored them and went ahead with what they were going to do anyway," he said.
"They've done no market research, no qualification of cost benefit, no economic analysis, they just hope it'll attract more traffic.
"Moving forward, at the very least I'd expect them to do a cost/benefit analysis and to reconsider whether they will really get the kind of benefit they should be from spending $6 million on what is supposed to be for bushfire relief.
"When you think of the damage and how many people are still living in temporary accommodation, why are we spending money on a walking path?"
A spokesperson from the Eurobodalla Shire Council said the trail was "almost entirely funded via external funding", the majority from a fund specifically to assist the economic recovery of bushfire-impacted regions.
"(The Council) received $5.25m from the Commonwealth and NSW Government's Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund - a fund for projects that deliver significant economic benefit to bushfire-affected regions," they said.
"$672,000 was from the Building Better Regions Fund - supporting projects that involve construction of new infrastructure, or the upgrade or extension of existing infrastructure in regional areas.
"$145,000 was from the Bushfire Regional Tourism Fund - support fire-affected regions with recovery efforts, and to encourage international and domestic visitors to come back to the regions.
"$75,000 was from the Stronger Country Communities Fund - for grassroots projects that reinvigorate our rural communities."
The project also received contributions from Rotary Club and the Council.
The spokesperson said the project was based on a concept approved by the council back in 2010, but rejected Mr Davis' assertion that there had been no community consultation.
"Consultation has been undertaken with community groups, landowners and other stakeholders during the planning stages of this project," they said.
"After the injection of funds from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, detailed planning was able to commence to connect and formalise the trail itself, which already exists in many spots along the headlands.
"In October 2021, Council wrote to and invited feedback from landowners that are located directly adjacent to the trail.
"In-person meetings and follow up responses in writing and via phone have been undertaken with various individual residents prior to construction starting."
The spokesperson said Council had also completed market research in the planning stages of the project.
"Council undertook a Nature Based Tourism Feasibility Study in 2019," they said.
"This study examined market trends and identified the substantial growth in nature-based tourism.
"Across Australia, nature-based tourism is stimulating new investment, creating jobs and providing sustainable growth within regional communities.
"Market research shows the aspect visitors to the Eurobodalla liked most from their stay was the natural environment - beaches, national parks, coastline and beautiful scenery.
"The Nature Based Tourism Study identified that while Eurobodalla has the natural assets to become an outstanding nature-based tourism destination, actions like improving access to the natural assets with appropriate infrastructure (such as trails and lookouts) were required.
"The Coastal Headland Walk was identified as a key product to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the local tourism industry, to ensure diversity and resilience.
"It places emphasis on the need for quality visitation not quantity, creating higher year-round yields. The overall recommendation is to reposition Eurobodalla as a diverse, coastal adventure playground."
Finally, Council reiterated its commitment to bushfire recovery, and said they are still following the Eurobodalla Recovery Plan.
"Council's role role throughout the recovery process has largely been as a facilitator, rather than a "funder", of bushfire relief," the spokesperson said.
"Our recovery/relief work is too extensive to list - the latest summary of the various activities that Council has undertaken so far was presented to Councillors in July 2021.
"Council continues to implement its Eurobodalla Recovery Action Plan and work alongside community groups, government, business associations, private entities and not-for-profit organisations on Eurobodalla's recovery."
Joel Erickson
Contact me at j.erickson@austcommunity.com.au or 0447 796 748.
Contact me at j.erickson@austcommunity.com.au or 0447 796 748.
