Central Coast Council will move ahead with the development of a Mountain Biking Plan for the region as community feelings on the matter remain divided.
Administrator Rik Hart resolved at the December 14 meeting to continue formulating the plan, with the number of unauthorised trails a continuing cause for concern.
Hart accepted the Mountain Bike Feasibility Study Discussion Paper which was presented following community consultation earlier this year.
Four speakers addressed the public forum prior to the meeting, two in favour of proceeding with the plan and two expressing grave concerns that Coastal Open Space System (COSS) lands were not specifically excluded from consideration as trail sites.
Suspended Deputy Mayor Jane Smith agitated for COSS lands to be removed from the table.
“I support Council working with the MTB community and other stakeholders to provide facilities – however, environmentally sensitive lands such as the Coastal Open Space System should be excluded from consideration,” she told Council.
“The recommendation in the report does not reflect the importance that our community places on the COSS.
“It is by far the most significant planning decision for this region.
“It was visionary when it was established in 1984, (over 35 years ago) – award winning and unique in NSW.
“The COSS strategy has been in place with the primary objective of protecting the biodiversity values of these natural areas.
“It is about 70 per cent complete and there is still work to do.
“Mountain biking beyond what is currently permitted on fire trails is not compatible with the COSS lands.”
Smith suggested that the disused Kincumber Waste Facility site would be an ideal site for a mountain bike riding facility.
Community activist, Joy Cooper, also spoke in support of excluding COSS lands.
“Land-owners have donated their land to be put into COSS and ratepayers had a levy on their rates for the additions to COSS – we do not support in any way the use of COSS to allow this damage to occur,” she said.
“COSS should be quarantined from any further environmental damage and there should be urgent remediation of the current damage.”
Long-time resident Jonathan Curtis said he had been a mountain bike rider for 10 years.
“Spending time in the bush, building a personal connection to it, has been critical for my physical and mental health and is an intrinsic part of what MTB is,” he said.
“The data and community feedback produced by the feasibility study clearly indicate the unmet demand for MTB trails, and that fire and management trails do not constitute MTB.”
He urged Council to plan for a sustainable trail network on the Central Coast and said while unsanctioned trails have the potential to cause environmental damage, there are several in the LGA which quite clearly have less impact than that of authorised walking and management trails in terms of their contribution to erosion and other processes that can degrade the environment.
“We can look to various locations around Australia and the world where MTB has been embraced to produce economic, public health, community cohesion and environmental benefits,” he said.
Central Coast Mountain Bike Club (CCMTB) Secretary Leif Arnebark said the “shift in language and perspective within Council” emerging through research and understanding of what mountain biking is was heartening.
“I look forward to continuing to work constructively with Council staff, State Government and other stakeholders to progress a strategy and ultimately a trail network that meets community needs,” he said.
He said there was not one single metre of sanctioned mountain bike trail on Council managed lands, despite 30 years of asking.
“Unsanctioned trails are an expression of community need,” he said.
“Well planned trails can be built sustainably – any wear impact is mitigated by trail design, not by who the end user is.
“Mountain bikers have a very similar ecological footprint to that of bushwalkers, making mountain biking one of the most ecologically sustainable forms of recreation available,” Arnebark argued.
Hart said the discussion paper was important in identifying the concerns of those in the community regarding balancing the protection of the environment with the growing popularity of the sport and the benefits it can bring to the region.
“Council recognises the positive benefits mountain biking can have on the health and wellbeing of many groups within the community,” he said.
“It is important however that as a community we look to reduce the number of unauthorised trails that can potentially compromise natural environments and heritage sites.
“I believe this is something we can achieve by working toward implementing more sustainable mountain biking practices … to help provide authorised opportunities for mountain biking on the Coast to meet local demand and promote eco-tourism throughout the region.”
Terry Collins