Work will begin on mountain bike tracks for the Lower Mountains after Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) voted to approve recommendations to proceed with the project.
A report to last night (Tuesday's) council meeting said the Commonweath Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) confirmed BMCC's findings that the project would not have a significant impact on threatened species and ecological communities on the site.
The report was welcomed by a large contingent of mountain bike riders who attended the meeting, however concerns were raised by the Blue Mountains Conservation Society (BMCS) and several councillors questioned the Commonwealth department's decision.
BMCS president Lachlan Garland said the track would go "right through the middle" of critically endangered species, while councillor El Gibbs warned its approval could set an undesirable precedent for development on the escarpment.
Recommendations that council endorse proceeding with the staged development of the Knapsack Reserve Mountain Bike Plan were eventually passed by six votes to three.
