A permanent restaurant, function centre or other money-making tourist attractions atop Mount Keira could soon be one step closer.
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In another move forward for the long-neglected mountain park, Wollongong City Council is now seeking experts to assess how to best attract viable commercial activities to the summit.
The council has called tenders from experienced consultants to look into ways to boost visitors, asking contractors to devise a list of the three most viable tourism activities.
Over the years, a number of ambitious plans have been put forward for the mountain, including tree top walks, zip lines, mountain bike trails and a cable car terminus.
Last year the council revealed a vision for the summit park, which aims to turn the mountain into a vibrant recreation and tourism hub” for the Illawarra.
The council is currently working on a plan of management and draft master plan for the area, but said the “activation assessment” was needed to better the scope and scale of possible tourism activities.
Contractors have been asked to analyse the constraints and feasibility of various tourist activities – including a restaurant, cafe and function centre and other activities consistent with the vision for the park.
They have also been asked to look at short, medium and long term opportunities for private and public sector investment, and make sure the park’s biodiversity is included in the plan.
Once the three priority activities have been selected, the consultant will need to make recommendations about Mount Keira’s infrastructure capacity, and pinpoint any upgrades to water and sewerage systems which would be required.
They will also need to assess the financial return of the three projects for the local and state economy.
Tenders for the activation assessment close at 10am on March 28.
The successful contractor will be asked to deliver an interim report on the project by April 21 and a final report by the end of May.