Members of the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Community Board have unanimously voted to approve the Mt Iron Trail Plan.
The trail plan, recommended by Queenstown Lakes District Council acting parks manager Kat Banyard, includes the possible creation of a network of mountainbike trails, new walking and running trails, as well as a one-way loop trail for horse riding through a combination of multi-use and horse priority trails.
A report to the community board said while the new trail plan had been approved, the council had no plans or funding in its 2024-34 long-term plan to build new trails in the reserve and would focus on maintaining the existing trail network.
Bike Wānaka, a group representing mountainbikers in the town, was the only user group that planned to progress immediate trail building.
Bike Wānaka would apply for resource consent to start developing mountainbike trails on the northern slopes of Mt Iron, with the aim they would be ready for use in summer 2026-27, it said.
At the meeting last week, board chairman Simon Telfer praised the work done by the council’s parks team, which gave him ‘‘110%’’ trust the board was making the right decision.
‘‘It fills me with a sense of absolute conviction this is the right thing to do.
‘‘I think the one thing that will haunt us will be why it took so long to make it happen, because it will end up being part of the recreational fabric.’’
Community board member councillor Cody Tucker said he was comforted by the fact there was an ‘‘overwhelming appetite’’ to consider a range of factors in the planning stage.
