Eden's bid as a mountain biking destination has been bolstered by the World Trail audit listing it within the top 10-20 per cent of locations assessed.
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Eden Mountain Bike Club spokesperson, Stan Soroka said the recently released audit findings back up the Club's strong belief that Eden has the capacity to become a significant destination.
'The project, if well executed and achieving the initial goals of the Eden Mountain Bike Club in terms of trail distances, difficulty ratings and styles, should easily satisfy the criteria to achieve National Significance' the report reads.
"World Trail, one of the largest and most experienced mountain biking destination builders in the world, described our project as well-timed and positioned to achieve excellent outcomes, with undeniable strengths and opportunities," Mr Soroka said.
"The audit findings point to considerable value generation from government investment in the Eden Trails concept and the ability for Eden to capitalise on its potential for real long-term economic and social sustainability.
"It certainly corroborates the work our team has done over the past two years to bring this vision to life and further supports the evidence we supplied as part of our funding submission to the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund (BLERF) in late January."
Since receiving the audit report, the Club has secured a Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) grant to fund the concept design of all three stages of the trail network.
The design will incorporate premium trails and full integration of the natural features of the trail site; essential to ensuring a strong, marketable product.
Club members are working with World Trail on a start date for this piece of work.
"Bega Valley shire had the greatest economic loss of any local government area in Australia as a result of the Black Summer bushfires," Mr Soroka said.
"Not only did our tourism industry suffer an enormous blow, the scale of the damage to our timber industry was enormous.
"If we are to ensure our resilience as a community in the years ahead, it's absolutely vital we secure a solid economic driver to generate year-round tourism and employment opportunities."
