Illawarra Mountain Bike Alliance

06/06/2023

Things have been a bit quiet for a while regarding the MTB project, so this is an update to let you know that we’re literally standing on the brink… we’re so close to seeing it ‘kick off’, it’s not funny.

But… (yeah, you knew there was a ‘but’ coming 😉)… there continues to be some politically sensitive push-back from groups that are unhappy with the new trails that are still popping up along the escarpment.

You may recall that there was a negotiated ‘understanding’ which said that no existing trails would be closed until new, officially sanctioned trails had been built.

Part of that same agreement was that no new, unofficial trails would be built either.

Of course, none of that was (or could be) carved in stone but it was the basis upon which we’ve been able to progress the project to this point, against some very strong & determined opposition.

So, as we are literally in the 59th minute of the eleventh hour, it’s super important, as a show of continued goodwill on the part of the MTB community, that no new trails are constructed on the escarpment.

It’s been a very long wait and, as a community, we’ve been more than patient. We’re almost there. 👊🏼

Cheers.

16/12/2022

Hi, we thought it was time for a pre-Chrissy update, to let you know that the NPWS Illawarra Escarpment MTB Strategy was made live to the public today (click on the link below to check it out).

The strategy document is the overarching guide that lays out the long term plan for MTB trails across the Illawarra escarpment. As you will see, the main issues that it addresses are the proposed trail networks at Mt Kembla (Drift to Kembla) and Balgownie (Possums), as well as an intention to close & rehabilitate trails that don't form part of the legalised network (primarily, those located on Mt Keira).

Significantly, the REF for the Kembla network was submitted to the regulator in Nov 22 and, while we had hoped for a determination this year, it looks like that will now come in early 2023. The determination report and any conditions will be made public, as soon as it's issued.

To make the next steps of the process as expeditious as possible (yes, I get the irony), tenders have already been sought from a number of trail building companies (I don't know which ones, so please don't ask). As soon as the regulator makes their determination (and, of course, we are very hopeful that it will be a positive one), the chosen contractor will be able to commence Stage 1 of construction, constituting approximately 30 kms of the eventual ~ 55 km total trail network.

So, still not the definitive 'Green Light' that we've all been anticipating but we're inching ever closer and should see some action in the next month or 2.

Regarding what's happening at Possums, as you can see, it's now officially part of the MTB strategy and initial trail design work has already been undertaken by Synergy. Like the Kembla network, Possums will have to undergo its own REF process before any construction can begin. Work for that REF is already well underway and it's hoped that the draft document will be placed on public exhibition for community comment early next year.

We hope that you and yours have a happy & safe Christmas. Cheers.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is working to plan and deliver sustainable mountain bike track networks in the Illawarra Escarpment near Mount Kembla and Balgownie.

17/08/2022

There have been several unsuccessful efforts to sanction trails on the Illawarra Escarpment, but the latest effort might get over the line.

26/07/2022

The Illawarra Escarpment MTB Project is getting some good coverage in MTB media & we’re hoping to hear that the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been given the ‘green light’ within the next month or so.

The Illawarra Escarpment MTB trails update | AMBmag.com.au

12/07/2022

Don't miss out on giving your feedback...

The time has come. NPWS's Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been on public exhibition since 20 Jun 2022 and submissions close in several days time (Mon 18 Jul 2022). If you haven't done so already, please take a few minutes to give your feedback via the online survey...

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=IYjvljkqHEe4mmewgz3TuY76kSQb0fhPnpazlgSDj_lUNEoxTklZU0oxNlVBTU9aVllHVEwwVkhMVi4u

Even better, also write a brief review and email it to...

[email protected]

Remember, this feedback specifically relates to how effectively you think the REF has addressed the important planning issues around the formation of a legal MTB trail network. Has it effectively considered any potential risks and benefits and made provision to mitigate the risks, where necessary?

Your positive responses in the survey and your email comments will be reviewed by Parks and form part of their final submission, which will determine whether or not the project proceeds to the construction phase.

So, please take a few minutes now and get it done... and don't be shy... ask your family and friends to give their '2 cents worth', too.

20/06/2022

51 km of MTB Trail on the Illawarra Escarpment!

Yep, that’s what’s being proposed in the REF (Review of Environmental Factors) which has just been released by NPWS for review and comment over the next 28 days.

It’s certainly been a long time coming, but the REF is really the last significant piece of the planning jigsaw puzzle that has been worked on by numerous government bodies and community groups over the past 7+ years.

With just 28 days to digest and provide feedback on this vitally important document (all 143 pages), it’s essential that as many people within our community as possible make positive comment on the REF, via the survey (you’ll see a ‘Survey’ button in the link below) and/or via email/letter (info also available via the link, below).

We know that we’ve called on you to provide feedback before and you’ve rallied behind this project at every step of the way. This is almost certainly the last and most important opportunity that we’ll have, as a riding community, to help get the project ‘over the line’.

So, please, follow the link below, download the REF, have a read through it (even if you just skim through to the juicy trail maps) and make your voice heard. Also, make sure that your mates and other friends and family do the same. This project is not just a good thing for the MTB community; it’s going to be a hugely beneficial project for the wider community, too. Cheers.

To see the document, go to…

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service are seeking feedback on the Draft Review of Environmental Factors: Illawarra Escarpment Mountain Bike Project. The consultation closes on 18 July 2022.

27/05/2022

G'day,

National Parks conducted the first Illawarra Escarpment MTB Project working group meeting for 2022 yesterday afternoon (Thu, 26 May 22). While it has been quite a few months since we met, there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes and the project continues to move forward.

Since state government funding was approved for the project last year ($13.4M), 3 full time Parks staff members have been appointed to oversee the project (along with a couple of other projects) and they’ve been working hard, getting the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) ready for public exhibition.

As mentioned in the previous post, the REF will be released for public review in mid-June… to be more specific, the target date (which now seems quite firm) is Mon, 13 June 2022. The review period will be 28 days and we’ll be calling upon the MTB community to give their strong support for the project (yet again), prior to the determination of the REF, which will take place in Aug 22. Once the REF has been approved, tenders for construction will be issued in Nov 22, with a target to commence construction in Dec 22… only 7 months from now.

The sceptics amongst you will highlight the fact that the REF approval is not a foregone conclusion… that’s true. But, based upon feedback that we’ve received from Parks and other agencies involved in the process, we are quietly confident that the REF will get the green light… either way, we’ll know within the next few months.

We also mentioned in the previous post that mapping work is ongoing in the Tarrawanna area. The intent is to include that trail concept work (ie. a general network plan, showing trail corridors) in the final version of the Illawarra Escarpment MTB Strategy document, which is aimed to be completed in Oct 22.

So, what does that mean for the riders?

Overall, it’s a good news story for the MTB community. It means that, while the REF for the Mt Brisbane/Mt Kembla trail network will continue to progress in its own right, and subsequent build tenders and construction will proceed on the timeline mentioned above, Tarrawanna will now officially be included as part of the broader Illawarra Escarpment MTB Strategy. It will have to undergo its own, separate REF process (just as the Mt Brisbane/Mt Kembla network has) and that REF is scheduled to commence next month. Given all of the planning work that’s already been done across the escarpment, the Tarrawanna process should be more efficient... time will tell.

The other bit of news that came out of yesterday’s meeting was an update on the engagement of Mt Kembla residents. Parks, Council and their consultants have done a lot of work to ensure that the concerns of Mt Kembla residents are heard and fed back into the planning process. It was encouraging to hear that local Kembla riders and non-riding residents were represented at the meeting and the overall feedback regarding the proposal was cautiously positive. Clearly, there are some genuine infrastructure and traffic-flow concerns that still need to be addressed but the resident’s group chairperson made a point of saying that the majority of Kembla residents are looking forward to the new opportunities that this project will create for the community.

We’ll post again on (or very soon after) Mon 13 Jun with a link to the REF and will be asking that everyone make a submission in support of that REF being approved. Cheers.

12/05/2022

G’day,

For those playing along at home, you may have noticed that in our last post we said that the Escarpment MTB Project REF (Review of Environmental Factors) would be made available for public exhibition by late Apr. Frustratingly, that hasn’t happened.

We’ve been in touch with Parks again (just a couple of days ago) to discuss this latest delay and were advised that it’s been caused by 3 main factors…

1. the need to redesign portions of the trail network to keep it entirely within the bounds of Parks land,

2. an Aboriginal Cultural & Heritage assessment of the area, which is yet to be completed (& makes up an essential part of the REF), and

3. ongoing discussions with Mt Kembla community representatives, to ensure that there is provision for suitable infrastructure to mitigate the trail network’s impact upon Mt Kembla residents.

At risk of being the messenger that gets shot (again), the planned release date for the REF is now mid-June.

When it does finally hit the streets, we’ll be calling on everyone within the community to make one final submission of support for the project.

After that, we wait for the minister to review & (hopefully) sign-off on the REF.

On a semi-related note, you may be aware of some mapping work that’s recently been carried out in the Tarrawanna area (Possums). We just want to be clear that, while we’re super excited about the future of Possums, becoming another legal MTB trail network on the escarpment, the work being done there is independent of the REF process at Mt Brisbane/Kembla.

Cheers.

05/04/2022

G’day all,

Seems a bit strange to be giving a MTB trail update in the middle of yet another downpour… 🤷🏼‍♂️

Anyhoo, I’ve recently been in touch with Parks and the word on the street is that the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) will be released for public display within the next few weeks. It’s been a very long time coming and the most recent delays came about because of a requirement to adjust the location of some trails, due to land tenure issues… essentially, it means that all proposed trails in the network will now be on Parks land.

As soon as it becomes available, we’ll post links for all to see. We’ll also be calling on the entire community to submit positive feedback to Parks, supporting the final approval of the project by the Minister & the commencement of construction of the trail network.

Cheers.

25/01/2022

G’day all,

Please have a read through this Trail Care post and take a few minutes to complete their revised survey questions, relating to National Park’s draft Cycling Strategy. In a nutshell, the policy doesn’t go anywhere near far enough in addressing the urgent need for revision, when it comes to assessing the suitability and implementation of MTB trails in NSW’s national parks. On top of that, the survey provided by Parks is not framed in a way that’s particularly favourable to the MTB community… surprise, surprise!

While this policy document doesn’t directly affect the Illawarra Escarpment MTB Project, it does have far reaching implications for the rest of the state. Make sure you have your say. Cheers.

01/12/2021

Great article from Flow highlighting the incredible work done by Matt Harrington and his team in Warburton. The 3500 page EES that they’ve compiled in support of the project has set a powerful, data-driven benchmark that all future Australian MTB projects can benefit from. If you’ve got a couple of minutes, submit a comment in support of the project (link in article) and help get this amazing 170km MTB network approved for construction.

The Warburton Mountain Bike Destination has just completed the most in-depth impact assessment a trail network has ever had to undertake. With over 170km

10/11/2021

G’day all,

Apologies for being a bit late getting this post out and for any frustration and/or confusion that’s been caused regarding trail closures. Part of the reason for the delay was that NPWS wanted to release its media statement before anyone else did (fair enough) and then our ’media guy’ (normally, me) happened to be off-grid for a few days when it all blew up 🤷🏼‍♂️ 🤦🏼‍♂️

****** PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT EDIT/UPDATE TO THE ORIGINAL POST

Having just consulted with local Parks management (after publishing the original post 🤦🏼‍♂️… probably would’ve been good to do that beforehand), part 2 of the closures that was previously mentioned (ie the jumps at Possums) has been PUT ON HOLD, pending further consultation with the local government member & riders. So, at this stage, only the 250m section of trail adjoining Byarong Park, as described below, is going to be closed in the foreseeable future. The remainder of the post has now been amended and the reference to Possums removed ******

Parks are planning to close 1 very short section of trail on the escarpment.

It is a 250m section of trail that runs between the SW corner of Byarong Park and the Fight Club climb. Most riders wouldn’t even know of it’s existence and I think it’s fair to say that it’ll have zero impact on your riding experience. It passes through an area of high ecological value & has cultural significance to the local indigenous community.

It’s really important to understand that this closure is not being undertaken lightly by Parks.

More broadly speaking, Parks continues to honour its commitment to the MTB community to not close ‘existing trails’ prior to the new trail network being opened (ie. trails that were pre-existing at the beginning of the consultation period, which began a few years ago).

As an aside, there have been quite a few additional trails constructed (and/or extended) in various locations since that commitment was made by Parks and, despite that, there has been no attempt to make any other closures in all that time.

This is a show of good faith on the part of local senior land managers, who continue to work hard behind the scenes to get the new trail network up & running.

There’s no doubt it’s been a long, frustrating process for the MTB community to get this far in the planning process but we are dangerously close to the finish line now. Please don’t let inflammatory media statements (or any other negative statements, for that matter) cause you to lose the faith now. Let’s continue to show Parks, Council and the various other interest & user groups that MTB’ers will always value the local environment & continue to engage with the wider community in a positive & proactive way.

Cheers all.