Council to enter “unprecedented” territory following state's solar farm approval

Wangaratta Mayor Irene Grant fears council resources will be stretched thin as they prepare to manage the rollout of a solar farm development they don’t want. The wider community has voiced their devastation following the approval of the 576ha Meadow Creek Solar Farm last Friday by the Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny. Rural City of Wangaratta council will now be tasked with overseeing the development of the project within the rural city. Cr Grant said the next steps were unprecedented for council, as they go through the conditions of the project over the coming weeks without the right to appeal. ”We've never been in a situation where we've not been able to formally lodge an appeal,” she said. “People talk about it being a solar farm, but it is a factory, it's an industrial installation with batteries and chemicals and everything that goes with an industrial facility. “It's a massive project and there's so many elements to the permit that we've got to oversee. “I think it's going to put a real strain on our finances and on our resources.” Council was one of more than 500 formal objectors to the development, saying the solar farm went against the rural city’s planning scheme. Key issues included loss of prime agricultural land, a lack of community consultation, water contamination and an increased fire risk. Cr Grant also wrote directly to the Victorian Premier, Treasurer, Planning Minister and Energy Minister expressing her "extreme concern" over the impact the solar facility application has had on the community. Cr Grant said council were extremely disappointed in the minister’s decision, and their efforts to convey their community’s concerns had fallen on deaf ears. ”It's been a decision that will have some severe repercussions on our community,” she said. “As the Mayor I've received emails from people who are completely removed from the process and don't even live in this part of the world, and yet they've expressed their real horror at what's happening to our beautiful King Valley.” Speaking on Monday, the Mayor said she would be meeting with council’s planning department throughout the week along with members of the community and Meadow Creek Agricultural Community Action Group to discuss the next steps going forward. The development was fast-tracked through the Victorian government’s Development Facilitation Program (DFP), which has approved 22 renewable energy projects across the state, removing the right of a third-party appeal. The 332MW solar farm and 250MW Battery Energy Storage System is set to have the capacity to power 140,000 Victorian homes.

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