The Clutha Gold Trail Trust wants the Clutha District Council to help carry on the momentum to link Lawrence to Waihola with a cycle trail.
Clutha Gold Trail Trust chairman Mark Patterson spoke to the Clutha District Council last week about the next phase of the trust's plans.
He asked the council to fund $30,000 for the completion of a business case outline for a trail extension from Lawrence to Waihola.
The trust estimated the business case would cost $83,580. It would identify how much the project would cost for each of its three phases.
Project manager Ian Mills detailed those phases as Lawrence to Waitahuna, Waitahuna to Milton and Milton to Waihola.
The trust estimated the cost as between $6million and $6.5million but the business case would provide a more specific estimate.
Mr Patterson said almost all of the 34 entities with land along the planned 61km route had agreed to grant access to their properties for the trail.
Cr Stew Cowie wanted to know how long the agreement or consent for access to the property was to last.
Mr Patterson said at this stage there was no set time-frame.
''It's completely on their goodwill.''
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment had indicated funding from the New Zealand Cycle Trail Enhancement and Extension Fund was unlikely within the next five years, Mr Patterson said.
The trust was not ''quite as far up the pecking order as we anticipated''.
''We are going to have to muster all the support we can get to get up in that pecking order.''
The group needed to ''really push our concept plan'' and needed the full weight of the council, he said.
The trust wanted to ''keep the momentum of the project going'' and capitalise on the investment already put into the project.
The trail had huge economic potential as it would connect with cycle trails in Central Otago.
It would create a direct path from Queenstown to Waihola and, through extension, to Dunedin Airport.
Mr Patterson said what the trust was trying to achieve was significant as it could create a ''triangle'' between the Queenstown, Dunedin and Auckland airports.
Cr Ken Payne asked if the committee was seeking other financial support than from the Government and the council.
Mr Patterson said the committee had focused on the ''nuts and bolts'' of the cycle trail plans but would raise funds and seek support from elsewhere for the business case.
