Funding success for national mountain bike destination in Omeo

East Gippsland Shire Council has welcomed an announcement that its application for $1.5 million to support Stage One of a project to establish Omeo as a leading Australian mountain bike destination has been successful.

In 2017, Council commissioned a Mountain Bike Feasibility Report for the Omeo area, with the resulting plan providing a clear, staged pathway towards developing Omeo as a nationally-significant mountain bike destination.

Mayor, Cr Joe Rettino said council had advocated strongly for funding towards the $3 million project.

“Learnings from an economic development trip undertaken by East Gippsland Shire Council last year to Derby Tasmania show that a destination tourism bike trail in the Omeo region has the potential to generate millions of dollars for the local economy,” Cr Rettino said.

“Council has advocated strongly for this funding, and we welcome the news from our Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester that our application under the Building Better Regions Fund has been successful.

“As well as acknowledging the efforts of Mr Chester in securing the funding, we also extend our thanks to Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government John McVeigh who was very receptive when our CEO Gary Gaffney and I met with him in Canberra recently as part of our advocacy efforts for the region.

“With a high-quality trail construction approach, quality supporting infrastructure and effective marketing, Omeo will undoubtedly become one of Australia’s leading mountain bike destinations that will deliver wide-reaching and profound benefits to the town and greater region.

“We look forward to commencing the project and keeping our residents and visitors informed and engaged throughout,” Cr Rettino concluded.

Council has also allocated $1.5 million of its own funding towards the project in its 2018/2019 Budget.