Hanmer Springs losing out as DOC stalls on repairing Great Ride bridge

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

From reporter Debbie Jamieson:

Hanmer Springs looks set to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in visitor spending this summer unless a damaged St James cycleway bridge undergoes a $350,000 repair.

St James Cycle Trail manager Mark Inglis said the swing bridge crossed the Waiau River about halfway along the 59km Great Ride track.

It was damaged in flooding in July 2021 and had to be removed.

The trail is managed by the Hurunui Trails Trust, but the trust works in partnership with the Department of Conservation (DOC), which owns the assets on the trail.

Inglis said no progress could be made on the repair work unless the department gave the trust permission to proceed or did the work itself.

So far, the department had committed to neither.

“A partnership takes two people and at the moment we’re not seeing that,” he said.

The repairs would likely cost $350,000, but he was confident the trust could secure that money from the government and via its own fundraising.

Currently, cyclists could not complete the trail or would have to cross the Waiau River, which was almost always not safe, he said.

The delay in undertaking repairs was coming at a huge cost to the local business community, Inglis said.

The trust had expected up to 2500 cyclists to complete the full loop track last summer, but there were probably less than 100.

Using government data on cycle tourism, Inglis estimated that equated to lost earnings of between $500,000 and $750,000 for Hanmer Springs businesses.

“We need it fixed before summer.”

Inglis said many people still completed the shorter Homestead Loop.

A government evaluation in 2021 found the St James Trail had the smallest number of users of the Great Ride trails with 6139 cyclists and walkers, but the highest growth rate at 237%.

Inglis said he had not formally met with DOC staff on the issue since November.

“The intention is always great. Huge ups to DOC, they really try hard and the individuals just work so hard. They’re just not resourced.”

DOC North Canterbury operations manager Leeann Ellis said replacing the bridge was a big job with significant costs due to the location and site conditions.

Despite the community agreement with the Hurunui Trails Trust, the department was responsible for structures such as bridges, she said.

“Because this is unbudgeted work, it needs to be considered against other capital budget priorities.

“We have begun this process, but don’t have a timeframe on when a decision will be made,” she said.

Businessman and outgoing Hurunui Trails Trust chairman Jason Fletcher said the negative impact on the accommodation and hospitality businesses was significant.

Looking at one year of missed visitor expenditure provided a conservative estimate as the cycle trail regularly attracted first-time visitors to Hanmer Springs.

“The impact is not just this year, it’s for years to come because we’ve missed out on those people who won’t come back.”