Public consultations on the proposed Kingaroy-Kilkivan Rail Trail will start in January if all goes to plan, South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann told today’s monthly Council meeting.
The Mayor said Council’s Natural Resources Department had been working on plans for the Rail Trail since July when Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney announced a $2 million State Government grant for the project.
Following recent discussions with Gympie Regional Council, those plans have now been forwarded to the State Government for inspection.
Subject to their approval, the Mayor hoped public consultations would begin early next year.
He told fellow councillors the Council’s plan was to allow horses and other animals to use the trail from Murgon to Kilkivan.
This would fit in with the Bicentennial National Trail, which passes through Kilkivan, and other major equestrian events such as the Kilkivan Great Horse Ride or the Kilkivan Campdraft.
However, the section from Kingaroy to Murgon would be “animal free” until consultations concluded because that part crossed the Tick Line.
The Mayor said landholders in the area had legitimate concerns about potential tick contamination of their properties if horses or other animals were permitted on that section.
He expected 75 per cent of the project’s funding would be spent on the Kingaroy-Murgon portion of the Trail, and the remainder on the Murgon-Kilkivan section.
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