A fresh State and Federal funding bid to complete the Northern Rivers Rail Trail should be launched following the failure of a $42 million application earlier this year, according to a major new blueprint for the region’s economic future.
The newly released ProspER Northern Rivers plan names completion of the 132km trail as one of 12 ‘catalyst projects’ for the region, saying the funding case should be rebuilt using lessons from the unsuccessful May bid.
The report points to more than 300,000 visitors to the Tweed section since it opened as evidence of demand, and says completing the corridor would boost small businesses and town centres while improving active transport, community connections and visitor dispersal.
Large sections of the trail are already open through Tweed, Richmond Valley and Lismore, while Byron remains the missing link.
For years Byron Council lagged behind its neighbours while pursuing various versions of the increasingly elusive dream of getting trains back on the tracks alongside a trail.
Consultant reports repeatedly found that retaining the railway would make a trail significantly more difficult and expensive, particularly around bridges, tunnels and embankments.
The issue finally came to a head in February when Council voted to abandon the rail-with-trail model and pursue an on-formation rail trail instead.
ProspER now argues that the next step should be a renewed whole-of-corridor investment case, with funding advocacy between 2026 and 2029 and delivery from 2030 onwards. The project is identified as requiring seed money, grants and major capital investment.
The rail trail is just one part of a much broader plan containing 56 recommendations across 10 ‘domains of action’, covering housing, health, workforce, transport, investment, environment and industry.
One of the most concrete proposals is a network of housing demonstration precincts aimed at testing faster and more resilient ways of building homes, including modular and prefabricated construction, low-carbon housing, key-worker housing and co-housing. The plan also suggests linking housing delivery to apprenticeships and student-built projects.
Another catalyst project is a Northern Rivers Regional Trade Training Centre, with the report calling for an investment case to seek National Skills Agreement or equivalent Commonwealth-State funding for training in construction, infrastructure, renewable energy and modern building methods.
The plan also proposes health and innovation precincts, a regional energy and resilience pilot, a food and fibre hub, expanded film and content production and a 2032 Brisbane Olympics transformation initiative.
But ProspER is careful not to present the 12 catalyst projects as shovel-ready commitments.
The Recommendations Register says the plan is ‘not a fixed or fully funded delivery program’, with many proposals still requiring advocacy, partnerships, business cases and investment.
Business NSW Northern Rivers Regional Director Jane Laverty said the plan was intended as a shared regional agenda rather than a business-only wishlist.
‘ProspER is not the end point,’ she said in the report.
‘It is a shared regional platform to support clearer decision-making, stronger partnerships and more coordinated action.’
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