We have a small dirt road on our property that is not used by anyone else. We were recently approached by someone who wants to run mountain biking tours and asked us for access to this road. We declined as we do not want people passing through our rural property for a variety of reasons. This is our farming business. He then contacted council and they are essentially forcing the issue. The road, even though it has been unused and not maintained by council since purchasing the property 30 years ago, is a council road. It passes through paddocks that we own. We have concerns that all these riders coming through unchecked have access to our land, livestock and infrastructure. They will not be monitored so how can we know that they are not trespassing. There is the issue of safety and who is liable. Another issue is potential contamination/biohazard from people toileting and possible rubbish being discarded as there are no facilities to accommodate this. The council's answer was we would need to fence the road in on both sides for the entire length at our expense. This is firstly completely unreasonable budget wise and also affects our business operations when moving livestock. I can't see mountain bikers who are paying to ride being content with sticking to a dirt road. It isn't a stretch to think that most will venture off to explore our private land. Where do we stand against council because at the moment, they are putting all the responsibility and expense back onto us.
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