Tamworth Regional Council v Independent Planning Commission and Hills of Gold Wind Farm Pty Ltd

Legislation Cited: Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW), ss 4.5, 4.16, 8.8, Div 4.7
Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW), s 34
Liverpool Plains Local Environmental Plan 2011
Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan 2010
Upper Hunter Local Environmental Plan 2013

Category: Principal judgment

Parties: Tamworth Regional Council (Applicant)
Independent Planning Commission (First Respondent)
Hills of Gold Wind Farm Pty Ltd (Second Respondent)

Representation: Counsel:
R White (Applicant)
C Collett (First Respondent)
J Davidson SC (Second Respondent)
Solicitors:
Maddocks Lawyers (Applicant)
NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (First Respondent)
Baker & McKenzie (Second Respondent)

File Number(s): 2024/364766

Publication restriction: Nil

JUDGMENT

1. COMMISSIONER: This is an objector appeal pursuant to the provisions of s 8.8(1) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (EPA Act) against the determination of the Independent Planning Commission (the IPC) to grant development consent to State Significant Development Application SSD-9679 (the application) for a 384 megawatt (MW) wind farm, an electrical substation, a battery energy storage system, and other associated ancillary works and infrastructure (the development).

2. The application is State Significant Development (SSD) pursuant to Div 4.7 of the EPA Act. The IPC, as the consent authority for SSD pursuant to s 4.5(a) of the EPA Act, granted consent to the application on 9 September 2024.

3. Tamworth Regional Council, the applicant, is entitled to bring this appeal under s 8.8(2) of the EPA Act because the Council made an objection during the public exhibition of the development application. There were no jurisdictional issues raised by the applicant on appeal.

4. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) (LEC Act) between the parties, which was held on 23 March 2026. I presided over the conciliation conference. At the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties. Under s 34(3) of the LEC Act, I must dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ decision if the parties’ decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions.

5. The parties’ decision involves the Court exercising the function under s 4.16 of the EPA Act to grant consent to the development application.

Additional plans and documents

6. The development application incorporates additional plans and documents, as follows (Annexure B):

| Document | Date | | 1. | Plans prepared by Someva Renewables dated 5 March 2026 as listed below: Nundle Bypass Section 1 V1.4 Nundle Bypass Section 2 V1.4 | 5 March 2026 | | 2. | Plans prepared by Someva Renewables dated 13 February 2026 as listed below: Barry Road onto Morrison’s Gap Road – Option 2 V1.1 | 13 February 2026 | | 3. | Plans prepared by Martens & Associates on 5 March 2026 (and amended on 9 March 2026) as listed below: Grading Cut-Fill Plan Layout 01 (PS02-C500) Grading Cut-Fill Plan Layout 02 (PS02-C501) Grading Cut-Fill Plan Layout 03 (PS02-C502) Grading Cut-Fill Plan Layout 04 (PS02-C503) | 5 March 2026 |

7. The development the subject of the application includes the following:

(a) a wind farm with up to 62 wind turbines (WTGs) to be located between 1,080 meters and 1,410 AHD, with a maximum blade tip height of 230 meters producing a capacity of approximately 390 MW, generating up to 1 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity annually; (b) an electrical substation; (c) a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of up to 100 MW (400 MWh); (d) aboveground and underground 33 kilovolt (kV) electrical reticulation and fibre optic cabling connecting the WTGs to the onsite substation; (e) temporary site offices, car parking and amenities for the construction workforce; (f) two temporary concrete batching plants; (g) temporary rock crushing facilities; (h) earthworks, including cut and fill, for constructing access roads, WTG platforms and foundations; (i) up to eight additional temporary hardstand laydown areas; (j) connection to the existing 330 kV overhead transmission network at Wallabadah, approximately 13.5 km west of the wind farm site; (k) an internal private access road network and car park; (l) an operations building; (m) a private haulage road crossing Crown Land between Crawney Road and the wind farm site; and (n) road works on the public road network between the Port of Newcastle and the wind farm site.

The site

8. The wind farm site is identified in the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

9. The wind farm site is located approximately 60 km southeast of Tamworth, 5 km south of Hanging Rock, 8 km south-east of the village of Nundle, north of Timor and immediately west of Crawney.

10. The wind farm site is shown below in red. The site is comprises of 8.732 ha.

11. Most of the wind farm site is zoned RU1 - Primary Production and partially RU3 - Forestry and C2- Environmental Conservation under the Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan 2010. Some portions are also zoned RU1 - Primary Production under the Upper Hunter Local Environmental Plan 2013 and the Liverpool Plains Local Environmental Plan 2011. Electricity generating works are permitted with consent in the RUI Primary Production zone in all instruments.

Conclusion

12. I am satisfied on the basis of the evidence before me that the agreement of the parties is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions.

Orders

13. The orders of the Court are:

14. The appeal is upheld.

15. The development application incorporates the additional plans and documents at Annexure B.

16. Development Application No. SSD-9679 for the development of a wind farm with up to 62 wind turbines, an electrical substation, a battery energy storage system, and other associated ancillary works and infrastructure, is determined by the grant of consent, subject to the conditions of consent at Annexure A.

S O’Neill

Commissioner of the Court

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Annexure A (13.6 MB, pdf)