Plans to take tourists on a horse and carriage ride on the Otago Central Rail Trail have been dashed by an unexpected $84 daily fee imposed by the Department of Conservation to use 3km of the trail.
Chatto Creek Tavern proprietor Lesley Middlemass had organised with Peter Robson, of Lochiel, to run horse and carriage rides for 3km along the trail before visiting other sites off the former railway corridor.
Instead, the horses and carriage will travel to Moutere Station.
Mrs Middlemass said fees associated with the concession granted by Doc to use the trail once a day between April 25 and May 1 were untenable.
"When we originally approached Doc in early February, the application fee and per-person fee they quoted was affordable. Just! But now we have received a fax saying there must be a Doc staff member on site at $84 an hour, monitoring the event to find out whether trail users had a problem with the coach and horses - once a day for seven days,'' she said.
Doc Central Otago regional manager Mike Tubbs said the concession forms were sent out to Mrs Middlemass on February 5 and were not returned until March 27. He said no agreement about the charges had been made in February.
The concession was approved on April 17, but Mrs Middlemass had already advertised the event before receiving the concession.
Mr Tubbs said Doc supported the commercial use of the trail by many businesses, but commercial use of public land could often impact on the independent track or trail users.
"Concessions allow us to authorise commercial business and events on public land and ensure the rest of the public still has access. All concessions have conditions specific to that particular activity. This allows us to address any impact both on the land and the independent users.
"The only way this can be measured is by monitoring. It is therefore a standard requirement,'' he said.
The total cost of monitoring was expected to be about $400.
A quick survey yesterday by the Otago Daily Times of about a dozen rail trail cyclists showed overwhelming support for the idea, and cyclists were reaching for their cameras asking where and when they could see this piece of history.
Ministry of Transport Land Land Transport Environment and Safety senior adviser Dom Kalesh said from Wellington the whole thing could have been sorted out by applying for a road closure for the short piece of trail that was required for the half hour the horses and coach would
be using it.
An agreement could have been sorted out with the local authorities for the crossing of State Highway 85.
