Applications invited for Enhanced Access Fund

11 August 2015

Applications invited for Enhanced Access Fund

Groups undertaking projects to enhance access to the outdoors are encouraged to apply for funding through the New Zealand Walking Access Commission’s Enhanced Access Fund.

A total of $63,000 is available across two funding rounds in 2015-2016 to support projects that help secure certain and enduring access for current and future generations.

Commission chief executive Mark Neeson said funding applications were being invited for the first of the two rounds, with round one applications due by 30 September.

“Since our first funding round in 2010, the Enhanced Access Fund has provided much needed support to organisations doing outstanding work to develop access opportunities. In many cases, these organisations are achieving big things on a small budget and this fund is a means of providing a ‘leg-up’ to help them deliver lasting outcomes for their communities.”

Funding will be prioritised towards projects designed to obtain certain and enduring access, such as negotiations to secure access agreements, legal or survey costs of obtaining access, or the cost of obtaining Resource Management Act consents.

Other initiatives such as signage, installation of stiles and other activities that improve existing public access are also eligible, though these funding categories are given lower priority.

In the five years the Enhanced Access Fund has been available, funding has been awarded to 73 projects across New Zealand.

Recent funding recipients include the Rotary Club of Plimmerton, which was awarded $5,687 to cover the cost of resource consent for the next stage of its Te Ara Piko Pathway project, and Vision Kerikeri, which received $1,463 to assist with signs on the new Wairoa Stream Waterfall Track being built in Kerikeri.

In the South Island, the Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust was awarded $10,000 to help with survey costs and legal fees to secure easements over private land to support completion of Tasman’s Great Taste Trail.

Application forms, guidelines and further details about the application process are available in the Enhanced Access Fund section of the Commission’s website, www.walkingaccess.govt.nz.

ENDS

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