CONCERNS have been aired about a huge chicken farm proposed to be built near the banks of Lake Keepit.
The NSW government is currently taking feedback on the Rushes Creek chicken farm with some worried the new facility will disrupt the amenity and air quality at Lake Keepit.
Beef farmer Chris Boman runs a farm on an adjoining property and he reckons there will be odour, traffic, visual and noise impacts.
He said he has known about the development since 2016 and was also worried it had slipped under the radar and people weren’t aware of the scale of the project.
“A lot of poultry farms have odour issues and this is a massive development, it’s 3 million birds,” Mr Boman said.
Tamworth Regional Councillor Jim Maxwell said he has spoken to the water director and general manager about the proximity of the facility to the water.
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“I’ve voiced some concern to directors, if it’s as close as I’m lead to believe to the top watermark, there’ll have to be some fairly stringent controls in case of an environmental disaster,” Cr Maxwell said.
However, he said he hadn’t heard “too much opposition at this stage.”
“It will create some employment around the district, as to how much, I’m not sure, there’ll certainly be some some work in the initial work in building stages,” he said.
The development, lodged by ProTen, will see 54 poultry sheds built at Rushes Creek, housing a combined site population of 3,051,000 birds.
ProTen’s environmental impact statement said potential effects on the surrounding area have been minimised.
“The potential for adverse impacts on the social amenity of the area is primarily associated with those resulting from odour, dust, traffic, noise and visual impacts,” the report said.
“There should not be any change to the day-to-day life of surrounding residents and recreational land users as a result of the Development and no additional demand for community infrastructure, facilities or services.”
Its report said up to 60 people would be employed through the 16 month construction period and 20 ongoing jobs would be created upon completion.
The environmental impact statements are available online and submissions can be made up until Thursday, October 4.
The region has already seen growth in the poultry industry with Baiada recently hatching a plan to almost double its production from its Westdale site.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
