Maintain Te Ara Tuhono Link Pathway

           Submission to Marlborough District Council Annual Plan, January 2025

Re: Link Pathway Te Ara Tuhono on-going maintenance

The Link Pathway is a community-initiated walking / cycling track on public land between Havelock and Picton. The project commenced in 2005, and construction was completed in 2022, with repairs to major storm-damage (2021 and 2022) completed 2024. The pathway has been constructed, and will be maintained, by the Link Pathway Trust, consisting of skilled and experienced trustees with path-building experience, and legal, accounting, managerial and business expertise, representing MDC, DOC, Outward Bound School, Te Araroa, and various interest and community groups.

The pathway is 42 kms in total, including two MDC-initiated sections at either end, and links the communities in the inner Marlborough Sounds between Havelock and Picton, including Anakiwa. As such it provides a much-needed off-road alternative to the Queen Charlotte Drive, as well as effectively extending the popular Queen Charlotte Track and is part of the national Te Araroa Trail. In places utilising a historic bridle path, the pathway features stunning vistas of the inner Sounds, and passes through impressive native bush.

Electronic counters in place on various sections of pathway indicate over 53,000 uses have occurred in the last 12 months. This is a conservative figure, with many locals regularly using sections where there are currently no counters, and there are no counters on the Te Araroa section, which has an estimated 6,000 walkers this season.

The Taste Tasman Trail Trust has recently completed a comprehensive analysis of the economic cost benefits to the Tasman / Nelson regions from their trail, and using projections from the Whale Trail for local, regional, domestic, and international visitor numbers, and our own known Link Pathway numbers gives a cost benefit of $3.6 million per annum to the Marlborough regional economy. This figure will increase as the Link Pathway becomes better known and utilised.

Besides the cost benefits to the hospitality sector, is the considerable social benefits provided by physical exercise and mental well-being, and the health and safety aspects of getting walkers and cyclists off the road-edge. The pathway is also providing access for community groups involved in weed, pest and predator control, and native tree replanting.

Construction of the pathway over the past 18 years has cost $2.4 million, with $704,563 coming from specific MDC grants. The Rata Foundation, Pub Charity, local trusts, businesses, community groups, and locals have all contributed to the remainder. Plus, we have benefited from over 35,000 hours of volunteer labour, including considerable input from Outward Bound students.

Now that the construction phase is completed, the Link Pathway Trust are addressing on-going maintenance of the pathway.  While the Link Pathway Trust is committed to on-going and long term maintenance of the completed pathway, we do need funding support from Marlborough District Council to achieve this. We are finding that many of our previous sponsors and funding organisations do not provide financial support for the maintenance of completed projects.

Although we have considerable volunteer labour by committed locals, and on-going support of Outward Bound students, we need $40,000 annually to maintain the Link Pathway. At under $1,000 per kilometre, this compares very favourably with other pathways in the Marlborough Region, with the Whale Trail, for instance, five years ago budgeting $1,500 per kilometre.

While MDC Parks and Open Spaces currently contract a local operator to mow and spray areas of pathway close to the road at Linkwater and Anakiwa, and the Link Pathway Trust Givealittle page is currently receiving $10,000 in donations annually, we still have a shortfall of $30,000 per annum to maintain the pathway.

The Link Pathway Trust, have the equipment, personnel, and skills to maintain the pathway to a high standard, however we need on-going funding to do this.

The Link Pathway Trust is requesting $30,000 be allocated annually from Marlborough District Council to maintain the Link Pathway Te Aro Tuhono.

The completed Te Ara Tuhono Link Pathway is a significant asset to the Marlborough Region, with currently 53,000 users annually, and it needs to be regularly maintained. As such, it should be funded much like other popular walking and cycling tracks in the Marlborough region are already.