Horsham Rural City Council is calling for expressions of interest to launch a long-awaited water recreation initiative on the Wimmera River.
Former Mayor Mark Radford was successful in leading a 2019 campaign to acquire 10 pedal boats for people to use on the Wimmera River through the Victorian Government Pick My Project scheme.
But since then Council has not been able to attract a not-for-profit community group to operate the pedal boats.
“Volunteer availability has been the main deterrent,” Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla said.
“Council is now seeking expressions of interest to find a commercial operator,” he said.
The project was completed in 2020 during the pandemic, with the boats, life jackets, timers and a purpose-built trailer delivered to Horsham.
Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla said Council was committed to seeing the pedal boats project come to fruition.
“At the time of the successful proposal, it was identified that a local community group would need to come on board to run the pedal boats as a business, offering the boats for hire,” he said.
“With warmer weather just around the corner, there is now a business opportunity for potential operators and a fantastic tourism offering for our beautiful Wimmera River.”
Mr Bhalla said the pedal boats would complement recent developments along the river including the Nature Play Park and the riverfront activation project.
“They will offer more ways for residents and visitors to enjoy our riverfront.”
“The addition of pedal boats will introduce a fun activity for families and friends to get out and about on the water,” he said.
See the expression of interest advertisement.
