Tamworth Regional Councillors have received a barrage of letters and communication from landholders and residents about the proposed walking and cycling trail in recent months.

But council may not have the final say on whether the project goes ahead.

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“We’ve had strong representation from the rail trail group,” mayor Col Murray said.

“We’ve also received letters from, almost, every landholder between Tamworth and Manilla objecting to the idea.”

Council will receive a report which says a development application “would not be lodged for the assessment and determination” if the rail trail gets the green light.

With the proposal “in its infancy”, the report said “details of the work required, likely environmental impacts, funding sources or the authority tasked to complete the project have not been considered or determined.”

While the report distances council from direct responsibility for the project, Cr Murray said it was too early to take a stance.

“We have an obligation to the community to lobby on their behalf, but it’s a bit early to be taking a position,” he said.

Cr Murray attended a public meeting about the proposal in Manilla, but said he’d like to “better understand the proposal”. “The anomaly, for me, from the public meeting was the rail trail movement didn’t want to levy and fees on users, but still sought funding,” he said.