The Luggate Community Association has been floating the idea of creating a historic and recreational reserve on either side of the Red Bridge on the banks of the Clutha River since 2015.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council has set aside $10,000 in its annual plan for preliminary work to start on the site.
Head of the Red Bridge reserve committee Graham Taylor said the first task would be to clear some of the wilding pines that had grown in the area, to create a better understanding of what needed to be done.
Mr Taylor said the community association hoped the money would be rolled over every year until the project was completed.
Removal of the trees had been expected to start next week but it was delayed for a month so both Ngai Tahu and Heritage New Zealand could be consulted. Plans for the reserve include protecting the old Clutha River punt site and historic road that runs through the northern side of the site.
It would contain a picnic area and camping area with showers and toilets, and would have its own irrigation system.
Native and introduced trees would also be planted.
"It’s a big job and there’s a few interlocking issues which need to be dealt with, which is why we’ve asked the council for a budget for $10,000 a year so we can focus on each step instead of trying to spend all the money at once," Mr Taylor said.
He expected the project could take up to 10 years to be completed.
"We’ve had a fantastic response from the community and I would say if we didn’t have that behind us, it would be a far less ambitious project."
The idea for a reserve came from the overwhelming response of the community to the bridge’s centenary celebrations in 2015.
The Luggate Community Association chairman, Graeme Perkins, said that the council was impressed by how much work the community had already put into the project.
"We’re ready to spend money where we have to on those big contracting jobs and that sort of thing, but we have volunteers all ready to help to do all the hands-on stuff, which I think let the council know we were serious and the money would be well spent."
