World-class mountain bike adventure trails are coming to Dwellingup, with the investment of almost $3.5 million by the Morrison Government.

Member for Canning Andrew Hastie announced this week that the Shire of Murray was successful in its application for $3,465,000 from the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF).

The Dwellingup Adventure Trails project will deliver 80 ongoing jobs to the town of Dwellingup and is expected to attract an additional 75,000 visitors to the Peel Region annually. Specific outputs of the project include:

• The construction of 20km of mountain bike trails in Murray Valley
• Realignment and improvement of 6km of the Munda-Biddi Trail
• Construction of an additional 12km of trails linking into and out of Dwellingup
• A new bridge across Murray River at Baden Powell reserve to join north and south mountain bike circuit
• Increased parking at key trail sites around the trails network
• Upgrades to sections of the Captain Fawcett 4WD trail
• Sealing the 28km arterial road inside Lane Poole Reserve

“The Peel Region is a beautiful place to live, work and play,” Mr Hastie said. “That’s why I’ve fought for funding from Canberra that will develop local job opportunities in the tourism industry.

“This project will transform Dwellingup and surrounding areas into a world class trails destination.  We expect Dwellingup to attract trail riders from around Australia and the world. The flow on benefits to the Peel region will be immense, contributing to our entire local economy.

“This grant comes in addition to the over $1.2 million we invested in 2017 to build the Dwellingup Trails Centre. That’s over $4.7 million we have delivered over the last two years to foster local jobs in tourism through this project alone.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Morrison Government is committed to ensuring Australia’s regions remain strong, resilient and prosperous in the long term.

“We are supporting our regions through investing in important local infrastructure, as well as great community-building and planning initiatives under the Building Better Regions Fund and other Government priorities such as the Regional Growth Fund and our decentralisation agenda,” Mr McCormack said.

“In this round we are also investing more than $70 million in regional tourism infrastructure, to support those many regional communities that rely on tourism to bolster their economy.

“We have seen fantastic outcomes from the first two rounds, and this announcement continues our commitment to unlocking the economic potential of regional Australia and ensuring our regions continue to thrive.”

Federal Member for Canning Andrew Hastie has urged organisations to apply for Round Two of the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF), with applications now open for funding to support further job creation and economic growth in regional and rural Australia.

Mr Hastie said the Peel region had already benefitted from Round One, with $3 million delivered towards the Shire of Murray’s Dwellingup Trails Hub and Quambie Park’s Waroona Housing Options Village.

“The Shires of Murray and Waroona put considerable effort into their submissions, and it’s great to see the Peel region will benefit as a result of their advocacy.

“Job creation is a priority, and this program will bring local jobs for local residents. It will deliver jobs in construction, tourism and health care, and boost local businesses,” said the Member for Canning. 

Andrew Hastie also said he was pleased to note that more rural towns in the Peel region are eligible in Round Two.

“This decision recognises the rural character of the Peel region. While we have urban areas, particularly in the City of Mandurah, we are largely a rural region. This fund is designed to build economic growth in rural parts of Australia,” said Mr Hastie.

“The Shire of Murray will now be able to include projects in towns such as Coolup, Nambeelup, Pinjarra, Fairbridge and North Dandalup. The City of Mandurah has also benefited with rural areas such as Parklands, Clifton and Herron now included in the eligible area.

“The City of Mandurah can apply for funding for projects in high-density urban areas that are ineligible, so long as they demonstrate that the project will benefit the Peel region,” he said. 

“I’ve already met with the Shires of Murray and Serpentine-Jarrahdale to discuss their priority projects, so now is the time to make these ideas a reality. With submissions closing on 19 December 2017 for both streams, I encourage all eligible organisations to get their application in,” said Mr Hastie.