The Federal Government this week notified Byron Shire Council that its grant application for the design and construction of the Mullumbimby to Crabbes Creek section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail was unsuccessful.
The application for $42 million was submitted in 2024 in partnership with the Lismore City Council and also included the section of rail trail from Lismore to Bexhill.
Byron Shire Mayor, Sarah Ndiaye, said she was bitterly disappointed.
"We applied for this funding through the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program more than two years ago and we have been waiting patiently, so to be told now that it has been unsuccessful is a massive blow," Mayor Ndiaye said.
"The rail trail is the key piece of infrastructure that will link communities both in the Byron Shire and across the region.
"The benefits to our economy, tourism, passive recreation and transport are obvious and we have waited so long to hear of the outcomes of the grant application, so this news really is crushing.
"I know the construction of the rail trail is a massive cost, but I have no doubt it will pay for itself ten-fold in terms of community benefit, environmental outcomes, tourism and business investment.
"We are entirely dependent on State and Federal Government funding to build the rail trail and the longer it takes to secure the money the more expensive it will be.
"The rail trail is open and operating from Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek at one end and Casino to Lismore at the other with a missing link in the middle.
"We have no option now but to put our disappointment aside, regroup and work on a new way forward," Mayor Ndiaye said.
