Eager to get the ball rolling, Mr Turner presented his ideas at a recent Saddle Hill Community Board meeting and has met with Dunedin City Council staff — lobbying for a track to be sited within the Brighton Domain.
The father of two boys, who love riding their bikes, Mr Turner said a pump track would provide a safe place for youngsters to learn to ride in the seaside community.
"Right now, there is nowhere in Brighton where the kids can safely learn to ride their bikes.We have to travel to Fairfield, Mosgiel, or town."
"I am happy to get stuck into fundraising for a pump track to be built, but the first step has got to be securing a piece of land for it to go," he said.
"And I have my heart set on Brighton Domain."
The domain had everything going for it as a destination, with a playground and playing fields, and Mr Turner had identified six possible "under-utilised" areas that would make good potential sites for a pump track.
The idea received a very positive response from the community via the Brighton Pump Track Project Facebook page, and in discussions with local families. Brighton’s Big Rock Primary School was also supportive of the project, which would give its pupils a safe space nearby for riding, Mr Turner said.
"It would be a great community project, which I think would really bring people together."
He acknowledged there would be some issues to overcome, including the domain’s status as conservation land, the presence of an archaeological alert layer, and that it was a Wahi tupuna site of significance to mana whenua.
Mr Turner is inspired by the success of the four-year Portobello Domain Pump Track project, which raised $275,000 through grants and community fundraising to build a track, which is set to open next month
"I’m hoping we can achieve something similar in the next couple of years," he said.
Contacted by The Star, a DCC spokesperson said staff were aware of Mr Turner’s proposal and met with him recently for a high-level discussion about the possibility of a pump track at Brighton Domain.
"While the DCC has no plans to build a pump track at the domain, we’re open to working with community groups keen to fundraise for these sorts of facilities — as we did in Portobello," the spokesperson said.
"The challenge in Brighton is finding a suitable spot at the domain that is close to the playground but does not encroach on the sports fields."
The council had put Mr Turner in contact with the Portobello group which fundraised for their facility, and would be open to further conversations in the future, the spokesperson said.
