2021-03-09 P&E Agenda - Item 5 - Attachment 1 - Noosa Trail Masterplan

                          Case Study:

                          BLUE DERBY, DERBY, TASMANIA
                          The Blue Derby MTB experience in Tasmania was                         town of Derby has seen new businesses open,
                          an initiative devised to support the rural township                   accommodation beds increase (from 12 rooms to
                          of Derby, suffering an economic decline at the                        more than 70 rooms) and a wave of residential
                          conclusion of mining and forestry works.                              and commercial real estate acquisitions. Dorset
                                                                                                Council General Manager, Tim Watson, estimates the
                          Blue Derby is a network of mountain bike trails
                                                                                                economic impact of mountain biking on the region is
                          shared across the two local Government areas.
                                                                                                between $15 million and $18 million. He also states
                          The trails are centred on the two rural settlements
                                                                                                there have been 49 property sales in 18 months,
                          of Derby and Weldborough. Stage one, comprising
                                                                                                or about $5 million worth of turnover.
                          23km of trails at Derby was launched in February
                          2015, followed by Blue Tier in 2016. When completed                   Data gathered from online trail usage tracker,
                          the area offered a full 85km of trails. Building on                   Strava, shows that for the first quarter of 2016 the
                          this success, there are over 200km of further trails                  Blue Derby trails and the North South track were
                          planned (stage 2) to connect mountain bikers to the                   the most popular riding trails (amongst Strava users)
                          seaside town of St Helens. The project was made                       in Tasmania. Derby is one of the tourism icons
                          possible by the Australian Government’s Community                     of Tasmania. Stage 2 is expected to attract over
                          Development Grant Programme, which allocated                          138,000 visitors, create 51 full time jobs and add a
                          $2.45 million. This was matched with $700,000                         further $6.88 million to the economy.13
                          in funding by a partnership of local stakeholders,
                                                                                                The Blue Derby MTB experience is attracting
                          making it the largest mountain bike trails project
                                                                                                30,000 visitors annually who spend 4-5 nights in the
                          in Australia.
                                                                                                township of Derby, followed by 5 additional nights
                          Derby has a mix of trails catering for all skill levels               elsewhere in Tasmania. The return on investment to
                          and riding styles, the pristine natural environment                   date has been estimated at approximately $30million
                          enhances the trail experience and sets a benchmark                    per year. In 2017, the Blue Derby trails were voted
                          for other destinations to aspire to, attracting                       by professional mountain bikers as the best in the
                          approximately 30,000 visitors per year. The                           Enduro Series Competition. This was the first time
                                                                                                a stage of this competition was hosted in Australia.


                          13	
                             www.ridebluederby.com.au, www.abc.net.au/news, www.rdatasmania.org.au




NOOSA TRAIL MASTERPLAN | APRIL 2020                                                                                                                36