Middlebrook Solar Farm

Building any sort of industrial sites on prime agricultural land is taking away the ability to provide food for future generations. Solar 'farms' are industrial sites - workers in high viz, graders, mega trucks, metal frame work, dust, noise during building and when operational. These will impact on food security for future generations.
The panels can not be recycled. When they are to be replaced they will take up valuable space in the local garbage tip. We are told that rare minerals are used to produce panels - does this mean child labour will be used to mine the minerals?
How can these be considered 'green' when minerals mined overseas, panels manufactured overseas, all shipped to Australia on ocean liners, then transported by trucks to the site they will operate from for the next 20 years.
Everyone living near this site will be impacted by dust, noise and traffic congestion on a road that people need to travel on for work, school, shopping or medical appointments. The conditions of the roads will be impacted by the large machinery travelling on it over the construction period. The cost of fixing will have to be met by the rate payers of this council - something they have trouble with already.
The people who live next to this site will have their quiet country life changed. No doubt the owners of the land that is used for this construction will not be living next to this solar industrial area but everyone else won't have the choice or if going to sell will have to take a drop in their land's value. Who has the right to impose this on their neighbours.

Please refer to the attached more detailed submissions, one covering the solar works and one covering the BESS.

I strongly disagree on the grounds of, the mental stress and anguish of lical land owners because of devalued property and visual impacts. The clearing of trees and native grasses impacting on natice floral and fauna. The impact of dust due to a dirt road with health and visibility for motor vehicle accidents. The site is not in the designated res area for NSW. With the clearing of trees and grasseswill change the cause of earer flow causing erosion and damage. Local children riding horses and bikes are at danger due to high traffic flow. Thr destruction of grazing and farming land will cause prblems for our children and grandchildren in times to come. There is evidence of koalas and their habitat in this local area.

I strongly object to the Middlebrook solar farm project due to these points. The solar farm is a nominated REZ area, the negative impact it will have on neighbouring properties in value & visual, the clearing of native trees & grasses thus impacting native animals. This clearing will impact on native blue grass critical to the area, which will impact on water flows causing erosion & change of flow of the natural course. With a dirt road there will be a significant dust problem from high vehicle movements resulting in health issues & damage to road which will put local road users at a higher risk visually , accidents & damage to vehicles. The mental stress to local land owners must be a high consideration with the impact on their way of life & the possibility of road closures due to an emergency. The clearing of high yielding agricultural land for projects owned by foreign companies must stop before Australia becomes a dust bowl. The damage being done to Australia’s environment by the construction of these major projects will be realised in the decades to come when our children & grand children will be left with the damage to deal with.

It will devalue land prices in the local area.

I totally object to Middlebrook solar farm
Leave the agricultural land to the farmers
Stop destroying the New England area

Reasons to object:
- dust
- traffic (400 workers during construction phase on our dirt road)
- on prime agricultural land
- visual impact on neighbours
- mental health impact on neighbours who get all the problems & none of the financial benefit
- decreased land values & reduction of rural amenity

This is another renewables project giving little or no consideration to the people this will adversely affect. This is also valuable agricultural land and should remain so. There are plenty of alternatives but low density populations are an easy mark. The underlying hypocrisy is astounding. The government is happy to take the royalties for coal exports while they talk up zero emissions. The coal still gets burnt. It’s just money laundering. The international companies supplying the gear are laughing; being paid and subsidised. How about looking after Australians first , especially regional Australia.

Visual impact to neighboring properties, the outlook from the some residences faces directly to the wind farm proposed, if trees are planted to hide the solar farm they will also they will obscure the panorama view of the hills and countryside.
• Notably the owners of the land to be used live over the hill so their view is not spoiled.
• This have substantial Negative impact on value of surrounding properties
• Clearing of native trees and grasses, destroying habitats
• Clearing of endangered species, such as blue grass and there is evidence of koalas in the area
• Changing of natural water courses resulting in erosion to adjacent properties
• Increased traffic of a minimum of 166 vehicles a day on a road that is not designed for that type of use, basically a country road servicing local properties.
• High level of dust pollution that will occur
• Health system that's already under threat which won't cope with the influx of cases being a high-risk site
• Being cut off in an emergency if road closures are enforced, particularly in construction as there is only one way out for surrounding properties,
• I know the mental health of neighbours is a massive issue, distress being caused as they fight to protect their way of life and assets.
• Clearing of high yielding agricultural land instead of doing better research to use land that's not as favorable for the agricultural industry
• This is a selfish proposal from current landowner for their own financial gain with total disregard for their neighbours and their quality of life and financial hardship caused by this project if it proceeds.

I object to this project on the grounds that the new project will have a significant impact on the rural area and its surrounds.
This is prime agriculture land and it is very disappointing that this area is even considered for such projects. A big NO from me!

I am needing to support my local community. People on the land should have a say in what happens on or near their properties.

From understanding the operation of solar farms throughout australia and the benefits these bring to the local community is marginal with limited financial benefit to that community in the long term.

I strongly object to the Middlebrook Solar Farm proposal.

I am a Licensed Stock & Station Agent and am also a Senior Agribusiness Banking Manager in Tamworth.

My objection is based on the following grounds:
(a) Loomberah is not in the New England Renewable Energy Zone. The zones were created to give landowners certainty and this project is outside the boundaries. This is not the right location for a solar farm.
(b) Despite the land use mapping used in the EIS, this is productive agricultural land. I have been on the land & involved in rural production for 40+ years and believe I have strong credentials in this field. The suggestion that the site is of poor agricultural quality is ludicrous – Loomberah is one of the most fertile areas in the Tamworth region and the particular farms on which the site is proposed both turn off high quality crops and livestock.
(c) The traffic generated during the construction phase will create enormous wear & tear on both Middlebrook Road and Marsden Park Road. Additionally, the roads are extremely dusty and this will cause dust/dirt to be thrown over neighbouring farms which is problematic for both human and animal health. As a minimum, both Middlebrook Road and Marsden Park Road need to be upgraded to bitumen if the project is going ahead.
(d) A solar farm will be a blight on the rural scenic outlook in the area. Neighbouring landowners will be robbed of the natural landscape and subjected to industrial scenes – this is an impact which they will suffer and no amount of tree planting can fix it as screening the view of the solar panels will also screen landholders’ views of their farms and livestock. The solar farm project may also make neighbouring farms impossible to sell or detract from their market values.
(e) I have already witnessed the emotional impact the proposal is having on the community. I am concerned for the mental health of neighbouring landholders.

I hope the project will be rejected as it should not proceed in this location.

However I submit the solar farm proposal warrants further enquiry if it is to proceed, and at the very least a site visit from the Minister to see the impact on neighbouring landholders and the local area is warranted before a determination is made.

The solar farm ruins the landscape, is expensive and not reliable energy source

Our adjoining properties Amaroo,279 and Spring Creek, 293 Middlebrook Road, are both run as commercial cattle and fodder cropping enterprises. Amaroo also conducts a registered B & B Farm Stay business within the homestead. Numerous guest reviews of Amaroo Guesthouse and its environment, mention its peacefulness, tranquility and cleanliness, nalong with the lack of traffic noise, as a contributing factor of their enjoyable stay.
Just the sounds of " the bush". All this about to be shattered by a developer!!!

The major points of our concern are based on the information within Table 3 of the traffic assessment, regarding the volume of traffic,the associated dust factor, road safety, loss of land values, along with the general degradation of Middlebrook Road and als the ectremly narrow concrete bridge crossing Goonoo Goonoo Creek.
Dust at peak times will see horrendous clouds of dust enveloping our homestestead and sheds which will hang over the area, thus creationg a major driving hazard, especially driving east and west into the sun, being the direction this section of Middlebrook Road traverses.
Middlebrook Road is a narrow unsealed shale based gravel road with sharp protruding stones -TYRE DESTROYERS- , has very poor alignment, deep corrugations with severley steep cambers on the two major corners before entry to the site.
During wet periods the road surface becomes quite unstable, suffering erosion of the surface gravel which adds to the damage and resultant potholes. Remember this happens with the current low volume of local traffic only. Not 166 vehicles daily!!
The fact that heavy vehicles with multi axles and tyre configurations make up approximately50% of the traffic volume, indicating a severe dust nuisance and general degradation of the shale based road surface even more so during any rain event or extended wet period.
From my own extremly concerned traffic observationssince 2017, witnessing traffic movement infront of our properties, I conclude that heavy vehicles would not average 10 per day, including the school bus, twice daily. light vehicle numbers would average approximately 20 traffic movements daily. There are also many days when these estimated numbers would be far less. Table 3----- 166 movements daily!!
The noise pollution from traffic and the construction works, which will apparently include pile driving, will be monotomus! This along with the dust will definately impact on our B&B business, along with our general health, both mentally and physically.
Our general well being will be impacted upon by the dust clouds which will envelop our properties and settle on our rooftopsof our homestead and associated sheds. All of these rooftops collect our rainwater, the quality of which will be compromised and possib;ly make it unsafe for human consumption.
All of this damage would havv been created by this development and the developer, who will receive immense profits, from this venture, unless the Department of Planning and Environment step in to protect and safeguard our properties and personal rights.
I have not mentioned our daily washing, which hangs on our clothes line, approximately 160 metres from Middlebrook Rd,which. will be covered by voluminous clouds of dust. Layers of dust will cover both internally and externally, all of our buildings, requiring extra cleaning and maintenance, along with addiotional air conditioning, as windows and doors will not be able to be left open.
our relatively peaceful lifestyle will be forced to contend with massively increased vehicle traffic , travelling along a narrow gravel road and severely narrow concrete bridge, plus the incessant dust nuisance.
All of this impacts on our serenity, general road safety and our accommodation business.
We should not be expected to accept this development under the current circumstances.
The developer and its development should be expected within its DA to upgrade and re align Middlebrook Rd with a bitumen surface, which after re aligning and widening, would eliminate most of the issues we have raised, including and especially a major improvement in both driver and vehicle road safety
Landowners should not be expected by Developers, nor the Department of Planning and Environmentto accept such an unhealthy and unsafe environment inwhich we will be forced to live.
I suspect that Developers and Developments have a legal responsibility to protect landowners and the general public from the impacts of their developments, especially in relation to dust in the atmosphere, traffic nuisance and the impending risk to road safety, within the development area.
Conclusion;
the land value of our properties will be significantly affected by this development, without any oppoortunity of financial gain by us.The department should not apporove developments of this kind on productive land and should restrict such approvals to land which is unsuitable for agriculture and does not have the same impacts on the local community and it's inadequate roads infrastructure. Far western New South Wales springs to mind, where land values are one tenth of this cliose knit and productive region.
If this development is to proceed, then the only acceptable and logical solutionis, a bitumen sealed, widened and re aligned road.
NOTHING LESS!!

I supply the development of this project to meet our renewable energy targets and and increase industry and employment opportunities around our region.

I support renewable energy across our region. Much of the backlash is based on fear tactics or other interests such as mining or jealousy of property owners who have missed out. Our transition to a sustainable and responsible supply relies on having projects like these being rolled out close to the areas that use the power. If designed well and planted with sufficient screening, the neighbours who are against this solar farm may not even know that it is there. I have been past many, for example the one near Armidale, that you wouldn't even know was there when driving past.

I object to agricultural land being used for the Middlebrook Solar Farm project. Put the thing on existing building roofs and save land for farming.
Do not let it become a get rich scheme for farmers as we need everyone of them to produce the food needed to feed this country .

- The project will adversely affect my clients ability to continue current level of primary production in this area that has been gazettes as primary production not a ‘renewables zone’.
- It will impede my clients maintaining or obtaining mortgage finance to continue with agricultural production by significantly devaluing their land and subsequently their ability to raise finance.
- Devaluing my clients land will reduce their ability to eventually repay their loans and maintain their level of equity to use in retirement, thus relying on tax payer funded retirement.

There will be major inconvenience and disruption and degredation of the already under serviced road which is our main entrance to the property. The dust alone will be over baring and will have major impact on the drinking water from the runoff of dust laid rooves etc. not to tmention the fact of the dust in the house which will elevate my elderly mother's health condition from Pneumonia in her earlier life. The traffic travelling along the road into the sun both ways of a morning and afternoon will be a major safety concern. Big trucks and machinery will be being transported and will be a major safety concern on the narrow country road.
Overall, if this development is approved the infrastructure needs to be fixed before the development begins.