Winterbourne Wind Farm

The Winturbone Wind Farm is exactly what our region needs. Establishing this wind farm would mean a big step toward sustainable energy and reducing our carbon footprint. The turbines would provide a steady source of clean power, helping us rely less on fossil fuels and creating a greener, more resilient energy future. Plus, it would bring new jobs to the area, supporting the local economy. These turbines are designed to operate quietly, and with their modern look, they’d complement the landscape rather than detract from it. Overall, it’s a forward-thinking project we’d be proud to support.

I object to the Winterbourne Wind Project for the following reasons.

EYESORE Impact on tourism as many come to admire our landscape especially in Autumn the numerous turbines located so close to the Wild Rivers Nations Park will seriously detract from the natural experience for tourists.

Property prices are potentially impacted by the developments.

Community engagement by the developer has not been satisfactory. The developer has chosen to do the minimum amount of consultation required, rather than to engage with the community ion a meaningful way. When requested to provide information days or forums during the current amendment and responses to submissions the developer declined and claimed that enough has been done.

WATER - Concerned that the large amount of water required may have an impact on the water tables and subterranean aquafirs. There is a large degree of uncertainty in regards to whether the gravel/road base and sand required will be able to be delivered by the onsite quarry. The developer needs to better define this and describe what the alternative measures will be, rather than defer this to a post consent activity.

ROADS and TRAFFIC - our country council owned roads are not capable of handling the large amount of traffic movements and OSOM. There has been no road and transport agreements between the developer and the host councils. It should be a condition of consent that these be in place and fully funded by the developer before the project can proceed.

Decommissioning - the developers have not refined their plans for decommissioning, the protections for communities and landowners should be enforced by the department of planning and the project approval should require some sort bond or certainty be paid from the start of the project, rather than at the end.

I am writing to express my strong support for the Winterbourne Wind Farm project. This initiative not only represents a significant step towards sustainable energy but also demonstrates a commitment to responsible community engagement and environmental stewardship.
I appreciate the careful consideration given to ensuring that the construction and operational phases of the wind farm will minimize disruption to local traffic and enhance safety for both residents and travelers.
Winterbourne Wind Farm not only aligns with sustainable energy goals but also demonstrates a commitment to maintaining the quality of life for local residents. I believe that this project can serve as a model for future renewable energy initiatives.
Thank you for considering my support for the Winterbourne Wind Farm. I am confident that with a strong Traffic Management Plan, this project can be executed smoothly while benefiting our community and the environment.

The project will create local jobs during both the construction and operational phases. From skilled labor to maintenance roles, the Wind Farm will provide employment opportunities for residents, stimulating the local economy. Additionally, the influx of investment can benefit local businesses, from supply chains to services catering to workers and visitors.
I support this project.

I refer you to my attached submission.

I object to the Winterbourne Wind Farm amendment report and the project. I object having to make another submission. This is an unfair impost on the community. The EIS was deficient and should not have been published by the Planning Department. It was incomplete and did not comply with the SEARs. I object for the following reasons.

1. Community engagement with the Walcha community has been woefully inadequate. Again, Winterbourne are avoiding consultation in an attempt to push this project through the consent process while keeping the community in the dark. The planning department have an obligation to insist upon genuine, meaningful community engagement.

Winterbourne Wind have not addressed the Walcha community at a dedicated Winterbourne event since the EIS submission period in January 2023.

A stand at the Walcha show has been the only opportunity for Walcha community members to have some of the amendments explained to them. The Walcha show is a social event where the community come together to celebrate our culture and community. It is a family day where parents are dealing with children full of sugar and excitement to go to the sideshows and rides. People are pre-occupied with various events and obligations.
It is not a day for business.

Winterbourne have either completely misunderstood the value, importance and purpose of the Walcha Show, or they have intentionally chosen this day to tick off their community consultation obligations with no intention of genuine engagement.

Winterbourne may have an office in town and an information number, but if the community have not been informed what the amendments to the project are, how do they know what to ask?
I note that the office is often closed when it is advertised as open and the information line has been disconnected for long periods.

Walcha Council asked Winterbourne to hold an information session for the Walcha community during this exhibition period to explain the amendments to the project to the community. Winterbourne refused this request from the Walcha Council.

2. Winterbourne has not informed the community that the construction period has been extended from 30 months to 52 months. This information was known to Winterbourne at the time they had their stall at the Walcha show but they chose to exhibit the outdated timeline. They have also not provided this information in any email community updates, including the update outlining the changes in the amendment report.

I recently asked Winterbourne (by email) whether they were aware of the change in the timeline at the time of the Walcha show. This is a copy of the correspondence

“Was Winterbourne aware of the longer construction period when you had your billboards at the Walcha Show?
 
Answer: Yes. The Project Timeline presented at the Walcha Show reflected this timeframe.”

I pointed out that I had photos of the billboards and their response changed.

The change in timeline is a significant change that Winterbourne have conveniently failed to share with the community.
The change in construction period will have a significant impact on the community, not only because of the impost on our daily lives and businesses, but also because operational payments of the community benefit fund as outlined in the VPA will not start until the start of commercial operation which is when the whole project is operational and all consent conditions have been satisfied.
It appears Council may not have been aware of the definition of “start of commercial operation” when they signed the VPA and it is unclear whether Winterbourne informed Walcha Council of the extended construction period during these negotiations.

3. There is a lack of information and conflicting information about OSOM vehicles.
I was initially told by the consultant in the Winterbourne office that OSOM vehicles would be travelling at night down Thunderbolts Way to avoid inconveniencing local traffic. The amendment report says they will be arriving at the project site during bus times necessitating the use of CB radios for school bus drivers and the OSOM vehicles slowing down according to the law if there are school buses or children on bikes or waiting at bus stops. In emails, I have been told that they will be arriving before or after bus times, and in the most recent emails they would be mid to late morning.
I was told in one email that OSOM vehicles would be travelling close to the speed limit (100km/h), and in a separate email that they would be travelling less than 80km/h.

4. If Winterbourne decide to stage the project, a new amendment should be brought to the community.

5. Non-involved dwellings should not be exposed to any shadow flicker. This applies to dwellings SR270 and SR 242.

6. Lack of clarity or realistic employment plan. WWF ‘aspirational target’ of sourcing 1/3 of the workforce from Walcha/Uralla with 20% coming from Walcha is unrealistic. Even if this was plausible, it would be extremely damaging for the local businesses of Walcha and the Walcha Council. WWF have highlighted that there is very low unemployment in Walcha. How will local businesses and Council source employees? WWF will not be able to source this number of employees locally. What is their back-up plan and where will the employees live? What will the impact be on local social services. What will the impact be on rental prices, and long- and short-term accommodation in Walcha. What will the impact be on tourism. None of this has been addressed if their ‘aspirational targets’ can not be met.

7. Cumulative impact. Ruby Hills project and the NE REZ transmission infrastructure projects have not been considered.

8. Roads. The impact of 1655 OSOM vehicles over 30 months on our local council roads is too great. There are issues with safety for other road users, particularly school buses and school children. Who is going to sign off on OSOM vehicles using local roads when school children are waiting for buses?

9. Resources. Again, WWF information is sketchy. Maybe the quarry will supply resources and potentially bores will supply water but maybe water quality will not be up to standard and maybe the quarry won’t supply all these resources. The quarry will be used to provide gravel for maintenance of Council roads but the quality of gravel from other local quarries is not good enough for Council to use. Again, what is plan B. Where will gravel, sand and other material come from if the quarry can not provide all these resources? Where will water come from? What roads will they be using? Will trucks be coming from Newcastle up Thunderbolts Way or returning that way? Where is the information and detail WWF?

10. There should be a 10km buffer around Walcha.

11. WWF are claiming that the ‘farm track’s are permanent disturbance but the shoulder and drainage area of these ‘farm tracks’ is temporary disturbance. Will they be removing the gravel from the shoulder and the drains of these tracks? How can this be temporary disturbance?

Thank you for taking these issues into consideration. Please do not recommend approval of this poorly described, over-sized project. Please do not consider recommending approval to a project developer who has no respect for the community or approval process. The Planning Department is under intense pressure to approve this project and the the confidence and arrogance of the developer is evidence of this.
I look forward to the response from WWF.

I am concerned that the use of Thunderbolts Way for over-sized over-mass vehicles will have severe impacts on our community. These vehicles will be using Thunderbolts Way at the same time as people travelling to work in Armidale. There will also be school buses travelling to Armidale at this time. Our business depends on cattle being transported north along Thunderbolts Way. Any delay impacts transport options as we have a very early start to reach the feedlot by curfew cut-off times. Failure to achieve this would necessitate overnight transport impacting shrinkage, profitability and animal welfare.

Thank you for taking this into consideration.

This submission is to the WWF Amendment report.

The biodiversity impacts seem to be greatly improved due to the amendments. It is very hard to understand what amendments have resulted in these improvements. There have been relocations and realignments but the reasons and outcomes of these are not explained.

Can we please have more information about each turbine that has been moved, the reason for the movements and the outcomes achieved.

For small rural community's to remain viable and retain its own local council, projects that inject significant funds locally will ensure the future of both.

I object to this project. Even though I am no longer a permanent resident of Walcha I visit regularly and have property interests in the land and town. This proposal has been divisive of the townspeople, not brought on by the people themselves but by outside organisations foisting their will on others. This project is wrong for the area. The trucks would cause damage to the roads. The extraction of a massive amount of water from the bores would impact other properties. The so called economic benefits through the Community Benefit Fund may or may not eventuate. The decommissioning of the turbines in many years time will be yet another cost on someone who had no input in the installation process to start with. Are we not meant to be looking after that generation?

Solar & Windfarming are taking away good agricultural land plus creating waste which can not be recycled.
Regional areas are being used for this dumping ground to provide the largest percentage of power to metropolitan cities.
Governments should be looking at using the tops of car parks and large buildings to house such atrocities rather than destroying our beautiful productive agricultural land.
Otherwise use the outback areas in the heart of Australia which is desert land & good for nothing!

I fully support the Winterbourne Wind Farm that is proposed for the Walcha area as it will be a great benefit to the whole community. Benefits for the community include –
• A Community Fund of $750,000 per year for the life of the project which will fund many projects in the community over many years.
• It will have a huge impact on the local economy with increased spending during construction as well as once the project is operational.
• There will be opportunity for more jobs.
• The Council has the potential to earn extra income by providing waste water, carting gravel, infrastructure works as well as possibly increased land taxes from the project.
• Host Landowners will have a passive income to help with drought management and recovery as well as having improved infrastructure on their properties.
• It is a great way for the community to have a positive impact on climate change by producing renewable energy.

The Winterbourne Wind Farm will bring work, people and money to the township of Walcha and surrounding areas. Local contractors will have opportunities to complete works related directly to the construction of the wind farm. Additional jobs will also be created to maintain the wind farms. In my opinion, this is an overwhelming positive outcome for everyone in Walcha as it provides greater sustainability to the workforce and the overall population of the town.

I think the project will be beneficial for the local community as well as being an appropriate step to protecting our environment and finite resources (which we all have a responsibility to preserve).

Part of the Winterbourne Wind Farm will be on my family property. We have had a wind mast up on the property measuring wind for at least fifteen years. This is not a project that has come up recently. The landholders approached developers with our research and wind measurements. The areas that turbines are planned to be on are on rocky outcrops and lesser valued land. This allows us to increase profitability off of these areas, while still running our stock around them. It also will be imperative to us farmers to have a diversity of income, particularly in drought years and times when markets are low or unreliable for beef cattle, sheep and lambs and wool.

While the scale of the project seems large, given the area it covers, it will be quite spread out. This also means a large number of community members will directly benefit from the project (either being landowners or neighbours). The rest of the wider community and future generations will benefit from the Community Benefit Fund. The project will also open up job opportunities locally and therefore working age people will move to town.

This project is going to be part of the electricity supply production in the years to come and help avoid disturbances.

As a resident of the New England whose family, health, safety, lifestyle and lifetime savings are under threat by non-renewable factory installations close to our home, I object vehemently to the destruction of this region’s environment, and the deliberate social destabilisation that these industrial plants are responsible for.

The Project Justification provides no justification at all for this taxpayer funded wealth transfer to a Dutch company, and its majority USA, UK & Danish shareholders. That our government is entertaining this project is an insult to Australians.

I wish to object to the Winterbourne Windfarm.
The Winterbourne Windfarm project is too big with construction timeline of up to
52 months. The WWF will severely impact the community, tourism, business, local workforce,
accomodation and local roads.
The developers do not have the support of the community.
OSOM vehicles, 5 support vehicles per load taking up both lanes before school and after school
during construction of the project, causing interruption to community and way of life.
Construction of the wind turbines near the edge of The Oxley Rivers National Park will endanger and
destruct fauna and flora, inhibit firefighting in the National Park gorges and agricultural practises by
light aircraft.
Thank you for accepting my Submission

I continue to be concerned of the scale of wind farm projects with the newer 250m+ turbines to which the original REZ was not designed or considered This scale of turbine in this density of rural landscape does not work.

Land and human conflict re infrasound. I am aware it is not assessed. I am aware of current NHMRC guidelines. From the existing White Rock and Saphire windfarms and post operations, it is clearly an issue. There are for a percentage of humans clear physiological impacts. The new 250 m + turbines will make this a more significant issue. Infrasound is rather like ME/CFS. Not recognised medically as real for decades. And carpel tunnel syndrome. More competent research is required. There is a solution, western NSW with a major Qld to SA + Vic + Snowy 2 grid connection as a place where this scale of wind farm can operate and hosters can own most of the impact within their property boundary. I hear landholders are quite keen out there with this idea. This issue is particularly relevant re cumulative impacts, and proximity to a fairly significant population centre, Walcha. If liabilities arise, eg sleep deprivation impacts, then there is going to be higher litigation.

It is these concerns, that are holding up the progress of the REZ's more than any other concern in my view, and so continued disregard is stalling an effective and urgent migration to renewables including large scale wind. Someone please talk to the Ministers. State and Commonwealth re solution.

Alsso there is strong social division occuring in the Walcha and surrouding community. Needs to be mentioned.

Finally, there is evidence of impact of noise, and infrasound on cattle and sheep. So there may be impacts on the existing agricultural areas. Some property owners have had to stock as they have run out of feed in one part of the paddock, but though starving refuse by some instinctual responses process to graze in the other part of the paddock with food. This is adjacent to a windfarm. More than one report from farmers experiences.

Short and sweet.

Since the earlier EIS produced by the developers no real attempt to adequately inform the Community of the scale & effects of this project have been made & my earlier concerns have not been erased. The effects on the small community of Walcha will be enormous. A construction period estimated at 52 months with the huge number of oversized vehicles is likely to create havoc on our unprepared roads, both with inconvenience & damage . The estimated workforce required from the local population will put enormous pressure on Council & existing businesses to maintain staff & provide proper services to the community. Water & Gravel supplies still remain unresolved. There has been no real attempt to explain the cumulative effects of such large projects on a small community. There is no real community support, Social License cannot be claimed & building a large scale industrial project directly alongside Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, does not make sense.

My main objection is total disrespect of this project is that the NSW Government guidelines are being totally ignored by the developers and Goverment.
eg: The 10 Kilometre buffer zone around the town boundary. ( this recommendation should be upheld at all costs)
The environmental impact of this project.
The lack of community consultation.
To name a few.