Welcome to the "new and improved" Wine Country

BY RACHEL STORER

Already one of the most popular wine regions in the country, the Hunter Valley is welcoming developments from local council and federal government that will help increase tourism and exports.

The multi-million dollar upgrade to Broke Road and Hermitage Road was unveiled yesterday after 12-months of construction and includes improvements to the road surfaces, a tourist information bay and a 10.6 kilometre cycleway.

The joint venture between Cessnock and Singleton Councils was funded by a successful bid for $16.7 million from the NSW Government "Resources for Regions" program.

The wine region is also welcoming a share in the Australian Government's $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package.

The funding will be spread throughout regional wine areas and aims to increase wine exports and international tourism.

Among the program $3 million grants will be made available to smaller wineries looking to branch into the export market while other funding will also be given to develop regional wine tourism and cellar door experiences.

Cessnock City Mayor, Bob Pynsent believes the Hunter is well deserving of new infrastructure and funding.

"Improving the roads in the vineyards precinct is so important to the amenities for tourists and the inclusion of a cycleway certainly gives diversity to the activities tourists can do," he said.

Cr Pynsent said Cessnock City Council is committed to doubling the overnight accommodation numbers by the year 2020 and believes all these initiatives work together to assist in attracting tourists to our area.

(L-R) Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon, Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnson, Singleton Mayor Sue Moore and Cessnock Mayor Bob Pynsent test out the new cycleway. (Image: Cessnock Advertiser)

The trees won't be gone for long!

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Don't be alarmed if you see trees disappearing in and around the Newcastle CBD, it's all in preparation for the Newcastle 500 in November.

Civil works are getting underway and there are around 170 trees set to be cut down, but they'll be replaced with 230 new trees which will mostly be of a mature age.

Among the civil works taking place is 170 new carparks around the foreshore, improved access to cycleways, widening of footpaths and in general greater access to the area not only for the race but for years to come.

"Normally the way works go they sort of roll out over a number of years so that's obviously a benefit to the community and the region not just in terms of the time spent doing it but also in the savings of the cost of doing the whole project as well," said Event Manager Kurt Sakzewski.

Instead of being years of work and disruption, the $18 million investment will be completed in just months.

"The net result will be that currently, you've got about 500m squared of shade in that area and once this program is fully rolled out that will increase to about 9,800m squared of shade. So for the people that go down and use the parklands on a regular basis obviously, that's going to be of great benefit to them," said Kurt Sakzewski. 

Image http://www.supercars.com/newcastle/circuit/

Road Upgrade Could Have Huge Economic Benefits for Pokolbin Area

BY BRIDGET GUNN

A sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of the upgrade of Hermitage Road and cycleway through Pokolbin took place at 1pm today.

The project is a joint venture between Singleton and Cessnock Councils and should be a huge benefit for the area, says Singleton Mayor John Martin.

"Council will be doing a lot of work on the road and putting in cycle paths," says Martin.

"This upgrade will help with bringing tourists through the vineyards in the area, so it's a win-win for everybody, and its a great upgrade for Hermitage Road, particularly the cycleway that will go beside it."

Singleton Council General Manager Jason Linnane,
Cessnock Mayor Bob Pynsent,
Cessnock City Council General Manager Stephen Glen and
 Singleton Mayor John Martin inspecting works in Pokolbin.
Source: The Advertiser