COFFS COAST MOUNTAIN BIKE NETWORKPROJECT OVERVIEW 2017

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The Coffs Coast Mountain Bike Park Network is all about positioning the Coffs Coast as the primary ‘go to’ mountain bike destination on the eastern seaboard of Australia.

The project will result in the development of approximately 120km’s of world class mountain bike trails and associated facilities on the Coffs Coast creating new jobs, tourism infrastructure and increased overnight visitation.

This exciting new development will draw people to the region either for recreational tourism or as a major draw card to attracting new lifestyle settlers to the area. The trails will provide a core element for numerous industries fueling local economic growth and are in accordance with a number of NSW Government’s priorities.

The project will provide a new recreational attraction which will be fully accessible to all sectors of the community. New trail development will cater to riders of all levels of mountain bike experience, from school trips and family adventures, to national and international mountain bike tourists.

The trails will also provide a platform to host State, national and international events, and provide a headline tourism attraction for the Coffs Coast.

The Coffs Coast Mountain Bike Park Network will utilise NSW State Forests under a permit system. There are currently three approved mountain bike parks and there is an opportunity to develop a further six sites which will link and showcase the regional diversity of landscapes and forest features.

The network of mountain bike parks will be complemented by over 500km of forest road scenic tours which will provide an additional network of biking options. Together with secondary roads, the network will develop as an interconnected web of biking opportunities that will also serve as a network of forest drives and picnic spots.

THE PLAN

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SNAPSHOTCREATION OF A NETWORK OF 120KM’S OF WORLD CLASS MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS 4 CUSTOM BUILT MOUNTAIN BIKE PARKS TRAILS TO SUIT ALL ABILITIES DEDICATED HAND CYCLE & DISABLED ACCESS TRAILS TOILETS & PICNIC SHELTERS

EASY ACCESS & PARKING FROM PACIFIC HIGHWAY

SIGNPOSTED NETWORK OF STATE FOREST TRAILS

500KM NETWORK OF INTERLINKING FIRE TRAILS

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JACKS RIDGEMTB PARK

DORRIGOMTB PARK

THE NETWORKEXISTING TRAILSPine Creek Mountain Bike Park30km+ beginner to intermediateMount Coramba Gravity Park5km+ intermediate to advancedJacks Ridge Mountain Bike Park15km+ beginner to intermediate

PROPOSED NEW MTB TRAILS & PARKSWedding Bells MTB ParkBucca State ForestBruxner Park State ForestNewry State ForestIngleba

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WEDDING BELLSMTB PARK

MOUNT CORAMBAGRAVITY PARK

BRUXNER PARK SF

NEWRY SF

JACKS RIDGEMTB PARK

INGLEBA SF

DORRIGOMTB PARK

COFFS HARBOUR

URUNGA

BELLINGEN

NAMBUCCA HEADS

WOOLGOOLGA

SAWTELL

TO BRISBANE

TO SYDNEY

THE NETWORK

PINE CREEKMTB PARK

COFFS COAST MOUNTAIN BIKE NETWORK

BUCCA SF

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THE COFFS COASTThe Coffs Coast Mountain Bike Network Project covers the three local government areas (LGA’s) of Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, and Nambucca, which for the purpose of this proposal come under the title “Coffs Coast”.

The region’s scenic landscapes are all located in close proximity, including the iconic Gondwana World Heritage Rainforest area at Dorrigo, the Solitary Islands Marine Park, National Parks, and numerous flora and fauna reserves. The Coffs Coast terrain and topography provide an excellent foundation for building adventure tourism and in particular mountain biking. All of the trails proposed through this project are within NSW State Forests.

By car the Coffs Coast is 550km from Sydney and 427km from Brisbane.

The Pacific Highway upgrades have resulted in reduced travel times between the major centres and these times will reduce further once the project is completed by the proposed date of 2020.

By rail there are two daily services from Sydney and Brisbane to Coffs Harbour run by NSW TrainLink.By air Coffs Harbour is serviced by four commercial airlines (Qantas, Virgin, Tiger and Corporate Air), which provide numerous flights from all the major centres and regional locations on a regular basis.

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SNAPSHOTDIRECT FLIGHTS FROM SYDNEY, BRISBANE & MELBOURNE

5HRS FROM SYDNEY BY ROAD

4HRS FROM BRISBANE BY ROAD

DAILY RAIL SERVICE TO EAST COAST DESTINATIONS

INTERNATIONAL MARINA

EXTENSIVE ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS

EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF STATE FORESTS

INCREDIBLE RANGE OF GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES

WORLD HERITAGE NATIONAL PARKS

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Mountain bike destinations in relatively remote areas in New Zealand and Tasmania currently attract large numbers of visitors without the diversity of supporting visitor infrastructure that the Coffs Coast has to offer. Our proximity to major population centres, and the established tourist destination of the Coffs Coast puts this region in an ideal position to capitalise on the emerging mountain bike tourism market.

There are an estimated 2,081,200 cycling participants in Australia over the age of 15 years (ERASS, 2011). Cycling participation in Australia has also experienced a 45% growth over the last 10 years (ERASS, 2011). Participation is also strong in Australia’s key tourism markets such as New Zealand, where cycling participation is 22.7%, within which mountain biking is a key sector, with over 202,000 mountain bikers in New Zealand alone.

This project has potential to grow and diversify the Coffs Coast economy including:

Extending the benefit of this emerging tourism sub-industry to the Coffs Coast.

Contributing to the development of a local wilderness and wild country adventure industry.

Diversifying the existing tourism product and visitors to the Coffs Coast.

Stimulating direct and indirect employment opportunities.

Tourism currently injects $490m into the region and attracts 1.6 million visitors a year (Destination NSW 2014).

Mountain biking is a year round activity and the Coffs Coast has the best climate to facilitate year round access, assisting to overcome seasonality in the tourism industry.

Will provide a “bridge’’ to help attract visitors to adjoining regions.

Recreation and social benefits of a safe off-road riding experience Advances local, regional and state health strategies by providing an opportunity for healthy outdoor activity.

THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS

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ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND

Mountain biking generates $10.2m direct expenditure annually. In a town of 25,000 residents there are five bike shops and over 200km of trails. Over half of the visitors to Rotorua come specifically to go mountain biking. More than 50,000 riders are using the Great Lake Trail after just three years of operation.

CRESWICK MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL

The Creswick Mountain Bike Trail feasibility study anticipates daily visitor spends of $150 for overnight stays, and $50 for day visitation (Victorian 2016 figures). They further anticipate non-local visitor numbers to increase by 60,000 in response to the development of 50km of new trail network, with a direct visitor spend of $6,750,000 (based on 30,000 day visitors, 25,000 single night stay and 5,000 two night stays). Using a standard economic impact multiplier for tourism-related development of 1.9 x, they also project the indirect economic benefits of the new trail infrastructure to exceed $12,000,000.

CASE STUDIES

COFFS COAST MOUNTAIN BIKE NETWORK

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PROJECTTIMELINE

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YEAR ONE• CONSULTATION, PLANNING,

DESIGN AND GOVERNANCE• DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL

MOUNTAIN BIKING STRATEGIC PLAN

• INFRASTRUCTURE & FEATURE DEVELOPMENT AT EXISTING TRAILS

YEAR TWO• UPGRADES AND NEW TRAIL

DEVELOPMENT WORK AT WEDDING BELLS, JACKS RIDGE, PINE CREEK AND MT CORAMBA.

• PLAN CONSULTATION• MARKETING & PROMOTION OF

NETWORK

YEAR THREE• DEVELOPMENT WORK COMMENCES

IN THREE NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE PARKS

• COMPLETION OF NEW TRAIL DEVELOPMENT

• EXTENSIVE MARKETING & PROMOTION OF NETWORK

• ONGOING TRAIL MAINTENANCE

YEAR FOUR• COMPLETION OF ALL ONGOING

DEVELOPMENT• FINALISATION OF INTERLINKING

SIGNAGE• ONGOING TRAIL MAINTENANCE

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Coffs Coast Mountain Biking Development Alliance is a strategic alliance between the Coffs Coasts MTBA (Mountain Biking Australia) Affiliated Mountain Bike clubs & the leading Independent Mountain Bike Retailers.

MOUNTAIN BIKE CLUBS:

Coffs Harbour Cycle ClubClarence Valley Mountain Bike ClubNambucca Valley Cycle Club

INDUSTRY PARTNERS:

Woodsey’s Wheels, WoolgoolgaBob Wallis Cycles, Coffs HarbourVentoux Cycles, Coffs HarbourRainbow Cycles, Coffs Harbour

STRATEGIC & TECHNICAL PARTNERS

Geolink Environmental, Coffs HarbourGHD Environmental, Coffs Harbour

WHO ARE WE?

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PREPARED BY:COFFS COAST MOUNTAIN BIKING

DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE Inc

Contact: info@coffscoastmtb.com.au

COFFS COAST MOUNTAIN BIKE NETWORK

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