


			Exit This Story

NEW ZEALAND TRAILS QUEENSTOWN LINK GETS MAJOR BOOST

Print Page

April, 2011

The Wakatipu Trails Trust has received a significant boost with a grant of close to $1 million from the Community Trust of Southland.
The $951,000 grant, announced this month, brings the trust close to its $5 million fundraising goal for the 90km Queenstown trail.
Trails trust chairman Terry Stevens paid tribute to the community trust for its outstanding vote of confidence in the Queenstown Trail.
The trust only had about $500,000 left to raise from the community, thanks also to a $1 million Central Lakes Trust grant, a $1.8 million Government grant and other grants and donations.
We are excited about the endorsement and backing we are receiving for our new trail and this generous grant is further recognition of the high regard the Queenstown area is held in, Mr Stevens said.
Community Trust of Southland chief executive John Prendergast said his trustees had given significant support to the Wakatipu trail network many years.
The community trust had also provided about $950,000 for work in the Wakatipu, including the Gibbston Trail and the restoration of the old Shotover Bridge.
This takes our contribution to almost $2m which reflects our commitment to the development of the trail network and to the Wakatipu community.
The trust and its ceo Kaye Parker have shown a clear ability to raise funds and they are putting a huge effort into doing so, he said.
When our trust considers applications for funding we look closely at what an individual group is doing to help itself before we lend support.
Wakatipu Trails Trust chief executive Kaye Parker said the extra funding from the community trust will give the green light for construction of the Queenstown Trail.
A tender for the first section of the trail known as the Twin Rivers Trail, leading from the old Shotover Bridge to Morven Ferry, has been let and work will start immediately. With the Trust's latest round of funding we are in a position to spearhead the complete trail, with a deadline for the opening by the Prime Minister John Key, scheduled for September 2012.
Ms Parker acknowledged Wakatipu landowners who had provided easements to allow the trail to cross their properties.
They are the true heroes of this project, she said.