The opening of the much-anticipated Bindoon Mountain Bike Park is scheduled for late March 2024 with toilet facilities and signage receiving the finishing touches as we speak.
Tourism business operators in the area are waiting with bated breath to see how many extra visitors the park will bring to the region, and to their businesses – but the questions all of them are asking is; ‘Where will all these extra people stay? And where will they eat?
With case studies like the one from Derby, Tasmania showing a return on investment of $30 million for the 80km trail park built there in 2015, excitement is building for what many hope will drive economic development in the Shire of Chittering when the heavy haulage route finally bypasses the township of Bindoon. Derby’s population soared from having just 178 residents with an unemployment rate of 20% to having recorded over 70,000 visitors to the town in 2019, each spending an average of $250 a day. Every available accommodation venue is booked solid, property prices booming and the success stories of new business ventures focussed on luxury escapes, gourmet food and healthy retreats are flowing.
However, with a much smaller trailhead planned for stage one, it’s hardly likely Bindoon will see such a boom, especially as the accommodation capacity of the town, already under strain providing lodging for agricultural workers in the region, caps at around 200.
With laws pertaining to ‘granny flats’ changing recently to allow dwellings under 70m2 to be built without Planning approval, it’s possible that the solution lies with locals. Surely many people living on large blocks or farmlets will be leaping at the opportunity to directly benefit from the increased visitors? As we balance precariously on the ledge of prosperity and growth for the region, it is a great time to offer short term accommodation, and get busy building cottages, tiny houses or renovating extra rooms!
