Martinborough Community Board hosted a public meeting in April, which was attended by over 50 people interested in opportunities to extend the current Five Towns Trail from Featherston to Martinborough and establish a trail from Martinborough to Greytown. This idea includes the exciting option of extending the Remutaka Cycle Way to loop through Martinborough and potentially become one of the Great Rides of New Zealand. John Bushnell, Chair of the Greytown Cycle Trust, outlined current trails completed or proposed from Featherston to Masterton and the potential for two new trails to connect Featherston to Martinborough and Greytown to Martinborough.
Greg Lang, Chair of the Five Towns Trail Trust spoke about the establishment of the Trust with funding assistance from South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC), along with Carterton and Masterton district councils. The Trust provides assistance with funding applications and co-ordination of trusts and working groups.
Janice Hill, Remutaka Cycle Trail Advisor, provided a lively presentation about the economic opportunities for Martinborough as well as the social cultural and health benefits, if Martinborough was able to complete an off-road loop from the south coast up to Martinborough and on to Greytown. She says Martinborough could expect to see up to 70,000 people on the trail and the potential for this town to become a two night stop. This would be of great economic benefit to the town and the region. There would be a future opportunity to seek designation of the trail as one of this country’s Great Rides.
To move to the next stage, we need to form an enthusiastic working group with representatives from across all sectors of our community. SWDC has provided support for the establishment of the Five Towns Cycle Trust and though funding is limited, the support and assistance of the Council with planning and administrative requirements is invaluable.
If you would like to know more, please get in touch with Martinborough Community Board. We look forward to hearing from you and working together.
How to get in touch: Email us at: martinboroughcommunityboard@swdc.govt.nz
