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Volume 2 #16 Thursday, December 17, 2009 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
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LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Pottsville industrial rezoning overturned Ken Sapwell
Plans for an industrial estate near Pottsville are in disarray after council planners raised a raft of concerns about moves by administrators to rezone the site three years ago. The council this week took the unprecedented step of overturning administrators’ decisions relating to the rezoning of the 23 hectare-site in 2006 and will restart the process from scratch. Among concerns raised by chief planner Vince Connell was a decision to include in the rezoning council-
appropriate to seek council’s endorsement of the final draft plan,’ he said. The planning chief also raised red flags about the capability of the existing sewage treatment plant to handle the load from the proposed industrial estate. He said because of the lack of capacity at the Hastings Point plant an on-site treatment plant would need to be installed until alternative solutions were investigated and adopted. Mr Connell also revealed that recent inspections had exposed widespread clearing of vegetation on the site which was allegedly unauthorised. He said the matter needed to be investigated and resolved before the ‘vegetation management issues’ of the rezoning could be addressed.
But the matter came to a head in September last year when the developer, Heritage Pacific, through its consultants, Planit Consulting, formally lodged a rezoning application for the land located between the Pottsville Road and the motorway. Since then the application has bogged down in sewage treatment
issues. When administrators gave the green light they accepted assurances from the then chief planner, Noel Hodges, that constraints on the provision of water and sewage were ‘considered surmountable’. Mr Hodges said it was ‘considered a suitable outcome’ to have parcels of council-owned land being used as
a water reservoir ‘included into the proposed LEP amendment.’ ‘As a matter of probity any councilowned land considered for an LEP Amendment must be assessed independent of any land dealings. These matters will need to be considered,’ Mr Hodges added as a rider. ■ Land Illegally cleared, see page 2
A green thumb for red soil
‘Huge bungle’
Council’s chief planner Vince Connell
owned land on which water reservoirs supplying Pottsville were located, possibly putting supplies at risk. ‘It has been recognised that there is a need for council to protect the operational status of its land for water supply infrastructure,’ Mr Connell said in a report to the council, adding that including the council land in the rezoning would provide little financial benefit. Mr Connell also questioned the decision by administrators to give the green light to the rezoning without seeing or endorsing a final draft of the document. ‘This does not accord with the current practice of the council’s planning department and as such it would be L ARMOR ALN CLEA COMPLETE T PACK GIF
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The Pottsville Community Association has described the 2006 decision to seek government approval for the rezoning as a ‘huge bungle’. ‘The report to this week’s council meeting also confirms what residents have long suspected, that our sewage infrastructure is operating close to full capacity,’ said association vicepresident Terry O’Toole. ‘There are hundreds of more homes set to be hooked up to the sewage plant on the new estates around Pottsville and we have serious doubts about whether the existing pipes will be able to cope with the new load,’ he said. ‘There is already strong evidence that sewage is being discharged into Cudgera Creek because of frequent breakdowns of a pumping station.’ In his report Mr Connell said the council notified the Department of Planning of its resolution to rezone the site for industrial uses in June 2006. A year later the department’s director general ordered that the rezoning be put on hold pending talks between the department and council about planning issues.
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Michelle Stevens used to work in a paediatric ward but now she cares for different types of newborn on her farm at Cudgen. Five years ago Michelle (pictured at work on her farm) and her husband Dennis bought 52 acres of the famed red-soiled farmland at Cudgen and decided to give sustainable farming a go. They named their enterprise Cudgen Fresh To You. ‘My husband had always been in-
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‘It’s a bit of everything,’ Michelle said. ‘We’re looking to open a shop here and do direct marketing.’ They used to sell to the fruit and vegetable markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle but have cut back and now just sell their produce locally. ‘It’s not about selling to big chains, it’s about letting people, especially kids, know where their food comes from.’ ‘We’re still learning, it’s a huge learning curve,’ Michelle said. It’s a bit of a challenge but I like a challenge.’
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terested in buying land around here,’ Michelle said. A friend encouraged Michelle to get into farming, telling her ‘they would be the best days of your life’. ‘You do have days like that,’ Michelle said. ‘It’s a great life.’ Michelle and Dennis grow small crops including tomatoes, beans, eggplants, capsicums and avocados as well as raise a few cattle. Farm interest groups, such as Soilcare and the Department of Primary Industries, use the farm for workshops and demonstrations.