The Central Otago District Council has agreed to postpone a proposed redevelopment of the Roxburgh Visitor Centre to see whether a predicted cycleway-related tourism boom eventuates.
Councillors voted to back a "status quo" recommendation from the Roxburgh Community Board for the township's existing visitor centre to remain at its present Scotland St location.
Cr John Lane, of Roxburgh, said the cost of developing a new visitor centre did not make economic sense because of the number of visitors using the existing facility.
"We can't justify the expansion of facilities when we look at the visitor numbers we get," he said. The visitor centre was "essentially a booking centre for bus travellers".
Council visitor information centres manager Ingrid Temple wanted the centre moved to the Roxburgh Memorial Hall.
The facility had a wider use beyond its visitor information services, existing as a back-up call centre for the council's Roxburgh service centre, she said.
The council intends to review the location and operations of the visitor centre, once a planned pair of cycleway trails eventuate.
The Clutha Gold Trail, from Alexandra to Roxburgh, and the Roxburgh Gorge Trail, leading on to Lawrence, are yet to be constructed.
The trails were among 13 proposals, from 54 concept trails nationwide, which received initial Government funding as part of the New Zealand Cycle Trail Project.
Preliminary estimates are that the combined trails could double the number of visitors to the district, compared with the current number of people who come to ride the Otago Central Rail Trail, Mrs Temple said.
The trails are predicted to have spin-off economic benefits for the local economy of between $2 million and $3 million and create about 50 to 70 jobs, a tabled report from Mrs Temple said.
A submerged section of a public unformed road at Dairy Gully beside Lake Dunstan has been vested back to Crown ownership by the council.
However, the move to close part of the paper road should not affect public access up and through Dairy Gully or stop access to essential service-providing utilities, such as power and water, the council resolved.
Irrigation water take rights issued by the council to the Manuherikia Irrigation Society have also been preserved for the Dairy Gully area, provided the Crown and Lake Dunstan's controlling authority, Contact Energy, agree to an easement.
The irrigation society has a 10-year consent for a water take from Dairy Gully, which was issued in 2003 but is yet to be formally initiated.
Once the society starts to use the water take consent, it will run for 35 years.
