Solar farm proponent Land Insights call Narrogin's application approval terms ‘problematic', delaying decision
Shire of Narrogin president Leigh Ballard and councillor Graham Broad joined the Regional Development Assessment Panel on May 15 to discuss the shire's conditions for the proposed solar and battery hybrid project.
The $400 million project will be located across 15 Lots on Contine and Parks roads, Great Southern Highway and Wanerie Road about 3.7km out of town.
Panellists Dale Page and Mike Mouritz chose to defer the decision to approve the application for 30 days after Land Insights presenter Rebekah Hampson disputed nine of the shire's 27 conditions during the meeting.
Ms Hampson said the conditions were 'problematic', 'unsound, not feasible or unreasonable' and 'superfluous and possibly conflicting' because they overlap with matters addressed in other specialist reports.
The shire's 27 conditions include a vegetation buffer (condition 5) and a detailed proposal for any temporary or transient workforce accommodation (7).
The shire also wants to be satisfied with the construction of vehicle access points before they are put into use (10).
Before the project breaks ground, the shire wants a decommissioning and rehabilitation plan outline with a strategy for decommissioning the facility and rehabilitation of the site at the end of its life (11) and a revised bushfire management plan (16).
The conditions also include less obvious requirements, including a plan to invest in a public art project (12), annual commitments to a community enhancements fund (13, 14), and the upgrade and sealing of Contine and Parks roads (21).
Ms Hampson asked to reword condition five to establishing plant screening after construction is complete and remove condition 3, which she said is already covered in the Traffic Index Statement.
She said conditions 10 and 11 'do not relate to this specific application', and conditions 12, 13, 14 and 16 are 'not necessary and should be removed'.
'Condition 12 requires a public art contribution, which has no foundation in the shire planning profit policy,' Ms Hampson said.
'Condition 13 and 14 require a contribution to a yet to be established community enhancement fund, raising questions about its justification, fairness and legality.
'And there is currently no State planning framework that applies to the creation of these funds.
'However, the proponent is happy outside of the planning application to have negotiations with the shire to establish this.'
Ms Hampson said the proponent should not contribute to the Contine and Parks roads upgrades because there will be no heavy vehicles and limited use on the roads.
Ms Page said it is standard for the panel to receive requests, but the big amount makes the decision 'messy' and 'things slip through the cracks', leading to the deferral.
A refreshed application report will be reviewed by the panel in mid-June for the final decision.
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