The Future of New England Rail Trail Uncertain as Bushfire Recovery Funding is Withdrawn

 

$14 million of funding that was originally granted to the Armidale and Glen Innes Severn Councils for bushfire relief has been withdrawn.

 

The funds had been earmarked to create the New England Rail Trail, a cycling path along an unused 210km rail line to promote tourism and sightseeing in the area. The trail was planned to pass through the picturesque countryside of the New England Ranges and key historic sights, such as the Tenterfield Railway Museum, the highest railway station in Australia (Ben Lomond), and the towns of Armidale, Guyra, Glen Innes, and Tenterfield.

Delays Before the Deadline

The federal government has cited a ‘lack of progress’ for withdrawing the funding. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) informed the Armidale and Glen Innes Severn Councils that the funding was being cut because the councils couldn’t deliver the project by the agreed timeline of 30th of June, 2025.

ABC News reports that a spokesperson for the Minister for Regional NSW said that ‘no viable progress’ had been made to give confidence in the delivery of the project by the deadline.

However, local politicians in the New England region have countered that the delays were for reasons out of their control. 

Mayor of Armidale Regional Council, Sam Coupland said, ‘I am gutted that a grant already awarded on the basis of merit, and backed by the community, has been withdrawn. What frustrates me the most is the absurd amount of time NEMA consumed stringing ARC along and effectively running ‘down the clock’ on the grant, wasting council time and ratepayer resources. The lack of urgency makes a mockery of the entire process’.

Glen Innes Severn Council’s Mayor, Margot Davis, also expressed disappointment at the news, stating that it was a ‘heartless decision’. 

‘It’s an act of indifference to rural communities that have endured natural disaster after natural disaster’, Ms Davis says. ‘It disregards the resilience and effort our region has shown in trying to rebuild.’

The news leaves the future of the trail up in the air, and New England Federal MP, Barnaby Joyce, will be taking the issue to the federal parliament floor as a next step.

Images by Armidale Regional & Glen Innes Severn Councils