Multi-layered Network and Momentum Challenges for the Composite S2S/RVRT – August 11th 2025

Multi-layered Network and Momentum Challenges for the Composite S2S/RVRT – August 11th 2025

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It’s August 2025 already … and time for some quick reflections …
 
Overall Direction:  As highlighted in our July 2025 Newsletter, the RVRT Supporters’ Group has been advocating for progressive, integrated development of the Composite 120km S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway from Hunter Valley (‘Shiraz’) Wine Country to the Shores of Newcastle harbour/beach and Lake Macquarie, including the whole of the historic RVRT (please see attached Stylised Map and re-framed Overlapping Zones). The Newsletter also details trail features, benefits, opportunities, recent updates and related local initiatives across the three trail zones, as well as outlining some potential strategies for moving the trail forward – including identification of four potential self-contained sub-sections (totalling 18km) and a potential 13km Premier RVRT sub-section that could be prioritised for finalised design and construction funding. Link to Download PDF Version of Newsletter (12 A4 Pages) –
https://www.richmondvalerailtrail.org.au/uploads/1/2/0/4/120411157/rvrt_supporters_group_newsletter_july_2025.pdf.
 
Promoting and Funding the Multi-layered Network:  There are several ways in which the S2S/RVRT could be viewed as a ‘multi-layered’ linked network. Firstly, there is the diversity of locations, terrains and adventures that trail users will experience across the three trail zones: Wine Country & Heritage Zone (e.g., wineries and restaurants; ballooning and sporting activities; wildlife parks; rural pursuits; and heritage areas and country towns); Rail Trail & Wetlands Zone (Sugarloaf Range; historic railway cuttings and brick tunnels; and nature reserves and coastal wetlands); and Coast & Lake Zone (urban pathways and parklands; and riverside, harbour, city, beach and lake views and attractions). Secondly, there is the breadth of potential beneficiaries (e.g., cyclists and walkers; general and eco-tourists; commuters and community/sporting groups; adjacent attractions and businesses; local communities and schools; the Hunter Region and future generations). Finally, there are the multiple domains of benefit (Health, Recreation, Lifestyle and Liveability; Active Transport and Commuting; Tourism, Business and Regional Development; and Community Access and Connection).
 
Unfortunately, and as we have noted previously, the trail’s multi-layered opportunities and benefits are simultaneously ‘advantageous’ and ‘challenging’. Finding funding for any given sub-section of the trail (in isolation) will always be difficult, unless the broader, longer-term ‘whole of trail’ local and regional benefits (and barriers) are fully appreciated. As government grant programs and other funding initiatives also tend to be reasonably targeted and constrained (e.g., time or funding limit restrictions; co-contribution requirements; domain, region or other scope restrictions; and focussed on immediate or short-term gains), it essentially means that funding from multiple sources and programs will almost certainly be needed for each individual S2S/RVRT sub-section – which poses plenty of logistical and engagement/advocacy challenges for local Councils.
 
So, as a Supporters’ Group, we need to encourage and support Councils and other agencies to concurrently seek Transport related, Tourism, and Regional Development and Transition funding for progressive sub-sections of the Composite S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway; as well as encouraging them to continue exploring opportunities for blending S2S/RVRT planning and funding with other complementary community and regional initiatives (e.g., housing estates; town centre enhancements; open space and sporting facility upgrades).
 
Still – finding funding is possible. For example, over the past few years, multiple sources of funding contributed to the development of the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track (F.A.S.T.) in Lake Macquarie, including funds from the NSW Government’s Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund and Get NSW Active Fund, from the Commonwealth’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Fund, and from Lake Macquarie City Council itself (both for trail design and construction, and ongoing adjacent environmental works).
 
Maintaining Momentum:  While there are many external factors that can impact on project momentum, two of the more obvious ones for the S2S/RVRT are the anticipated duration/complexity and the need for continuity (e.g., in strategic directions; planning, assessment and Council approaches; potential funding sources; and personnel/advocates).
 
Any way you look at it, full completion of the proposed 120km Composite S2S/RVRT is a medium- to long-term project. Active planning for the RVRT component has been happening now for well over a decade (beginning with completion of the original Feasibility Study in 2014). Likewise, while active planning for the S2S initiative has only been underway during the past few years, primarily through the Hunter Joint Organisation of Councils (Hunter JO), planning for parts of the subsequently proposed route also began over a decade ago. For example, funding from the NSW Government’s Resources for Regions program for the Hermitage Road Cycleway was first announced in February 2015, with the Official Opening occurring in August 2017 (see Picture A – Retrospective; this is part of Section S1 of the S2S/RVRT proposal). Likewise, the combined Wallsend to Speers Point Park shared pathway took the best part of two decades to fund and complete (see Picture B – Retrospective; this forms Section S6a of the S2S/RVRT proposal).
 
Issues associated with project complexity and the need for corresponding multi-layered approaches to funding have been touched on above. With respect to strategic directions and planning approaches, aspects of S2S/RVRT planning have been progressively incorporated into most of the relevant state and local strategic planning documents, including for example: Hunter Regional Plan 2036 (October, 2016) and Hunter Regional Plan 2041 (December, 2022); Hunter Valley Destination Management Plan 2022-2030 (March, 2023); Hunter Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan (SRITP, Draft – December, 2024); and Hunter JO’s recent Draft Strategic Plan 2035 and associated Advocacy Priorities (June, 2025) – all of which (potentially) provides an element of planning consistency and stability.
 
On the other hand, as noted in our July 2025 Newsletter and elsewhere, there has only been very modest S2S/RVRT progress during the past year. Moreover, it has already been 12 months since Hunter JO released a finalised S2S Concept Plan, Business Case and Marketing Plan (August 2024), together with an overall Hunter Cycle Tourism Strategy (www.hunterjo.com.au/projects/shiraz-to-shore-cycle-tourism) (see Picture C and Picture D – Retrospective) – so, it is definitely time to review and refine these proposals and continue to move the Composite S2S/RVRT forward.
 
Turnover of elected representatives, Council staff and those from other agencies and groups (and the associated loss of ‘corporate and project knowledge’) can also contribute to lower rates of progress and promotion/advocacy (particularly for longer-term projects). For example, as illustrated in the Picture C – Retrospective, three of the four Mayors who participated in the S2S Launch Promotional Video in 2024 are no longer on Council.
 
Obviously, the success or failure of the S2S/RVRT initiative should not be dependent on the endurance or support of particular individuals, but long-term project champions are not easy to find. In this regard, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Sue Moore, Mayor of Singleton Council, who has held the Mayoral role consecutively since 2016 and been Hunter JO’s Chair since 2022, and Meryl Swanson, Federal MP for Paterson since 2016, who has been a very strong advocate for the RVRT (and subsequently the S2S) for more than a decade.
 
Let’s also hope that the successful collaboration between multiple tiers of government that was evident in the development and promotion of the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track (F.A.S.T.) in Lake Macquarie LGA (see Picture E – Retrospective, from one year ago, today) spreads to other cross-regional shared pathways and related initiatives like the proposed S2S/RVRT.
 
Thanks again to our RVRT Supporters’ Group Members and Supporters – and to Everyone who has contributed to Development, Refinement, and Promotion of the S2S/RVRT.
 
CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK WELCOME.

RVRT Supporters’ Group (RVRT Inc.) Contact Information:
WEBSITE:   https://richmondalerailtrail.org.au/    FACEBOOK:   https://www.facebook.com/richmondrailtrail

​President:  Terry Lewin
Email:  [email protected]
Telephone:  0404 439 616 (Terry)
 
Vice-President:  Leigh Gibbens
Email:  [email protected]
Telephone:  0433 570 920 (Leigh)

​Secretary & Treasurer:  Sam Reich
Email:  [email protected]
Telephone:  0418 402 644 (Sam)
 
Founding President:  Billy Metcalfe
Email:  [email protected]
Telephone:  0417 453 152 (Billy)

Stylised Map of Proposed Composite 120km S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway [Shiraz to Shore and Richmond Vale Rail Trail] with re-framed Overlapping Zones (to help characterise the diversity of locations, terrains, adventures and benefits that trail users will experience).

Picture A (Retrospective): A local example of collaboration between multiple tiers of government – Official Opening of the Hermitage Road Cycleway (August 30th 2017), a joint venture between Cessnock and Singleton Councils, funded largely by the NSW Government’s Resources for Regions program. This cycleway (from Belford to Deasys Road, Pokolbin) now forms part of Section S1 within the proposed Composite S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway.

Picture B (Retrospective): Progressive development of the off-road combined Wallsend to Speers Point Park shared pathway, linking Newcastle and Lake Macquarie LGAs – comprising the 3.9km Tramway Track (Wallsend to Glendale cycleway) that opened in June 2012 and the 4.6km Speers Point to Glendale Shared Pathway that opened in February 2022. [Steam trams transported passengers along this route from Newcastle and West Wallsend to Speers Point Park from 1912 – 1932]. This combined cycleway now forms Section S6a within the proposed Composite S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway.

Picture C (Retrospective): Cover image from our Facebook Post (August 2nd 2024) about the S2S Launch Promotional Video from Hunter JO [Link to YouTube Video (3 Min. 45 Sec): https://youtu.be/X4KlcOq7AJI]. While all four Mayors from LGAs through which the proposed S2S/RVRT runs contributed to this 2024 Promotional Video (see right-hand panel), only one is still a Mayor or Councillor – Sue Moore, Mayor of Singleton and Hunter JO Chair.

Picture D (Retrospective): One Year Ago (August 3rd 2024) – Extracts from regional media reports (Newcastle Herald and NBN Television) about the successful launch of the Shiraz to Shore Initiative, which took place at two locations, Nobby's Beach, Newcastle and Hunter Valley Resort and Farm, Pokolbin. Link to Hunter JO’s finalised S2S Concept Plan, Business Case and Marketing Plan (August 2024), together with their overall Hunter Cycle Tourism Strategy: www.hunterjo.com.au/projects/shiraz-to-shore-cycle-tourism.

Picture E (Retrospective): Another local example of collaboration between multiple tiers of government – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Opening of Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track (F.A.S.T.; August 11th 2024), involving Federal and State Ministers, and Councillors from Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Councils. Together the Fernleigh Track and the F.A.S.T. “… provide a 27 km active transport route from Adamstown to Murrays Beach” … contributing to “… the Coastline R1 Regional Cycleway, part of the Greater Newcastle Principal Bicycle Network” (Lake Macquarie Council, 10th July, 2025; https://www.lakemac.com.au/For-residents/Recreation/Walking-and-cycling/Fernleigh-Awabakal-Shared-Track).