Hills of Gold Wind Farm

I first visited Nundle 23 years ago after friends relocated to the town in 1997. At first I couldn't understand why they would leave a city that they were happy in, surrounded by family and friends, to move to a town with a population of only 300 people but after my first visit I could see why they had packed up and moved to this beautiful area. I regularly visit to escape the rat race of Sydney and I look forward to the peace and quiet it offers and a part of that escape are the beautiful rolling hills that surround the village and that are currently under threat of having this wind farm built on.

My connection to Nundle is personal but I am also a Travel Agent and particularly over the past 10 months when clients have not been able to travel overseas I have been planning driving holidays within NSW that will generally include a stay in Nundle or at least a stop on route to Tamworth or Armidale. Without fail every client has loved the town and then commented on the proposed wind farm and are all in disbelief that this is even a consideration, much less that it has come this far. The attraction of the destination is the scenery and the peace and quiet and by building this wind farm that will be destroyed.

Nundle is a tourist town, the shops, cafes and accommodation rely on travellers for their livelihood and this will be heavily impacted if the experience becomes "Hills of a Wind Farm" compared to the "Hills of Gold". Anyone who has travelled past wind farms anywhere in the world will confirm the noise carries and visually they are a blight and this will, without doubt, effect the number of tourists who visit the town and the economic impact will be businesses closing and residents leaving for work in different places. Professionally speaking, many people will not be prepared to travel too far for a few years to come and to have towns like Nundle available as an easy destination for a long weekend is invaluable but clients will think twice if this plan goes ahead as you are removing the peace and quiet that people are looking for. This could be easily dismissed by saying there are other places they can visit but there are only so many times you can go to the Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains or Southern Highlands which are all way too busy already and Nundle is a unique destination that offers something different to visitors.

Most people are in support of cleaner energy however it is challenging to believe that in a country the size of Australia that there are not alternate locations that will benefit Australians but that will not pollute the scenery of this beautiful region and destroy the economy of a small regional town that is thriving with tourist dollars.

I would think that this only works if everybody benefits and this proposal will see an entire town suffer for a business opportunity so I strongly urge you to reconsider this wind farm and encourage a location that is more remote and that wont impact the lives of an entire regional town

Important project for renewable energy and jobs in Nundle

This State significant project should not be built on or adjacent to the tourist town of Nundle. The majority of the community oppose the development for many reasons including the disruption of daily life and traffic during the construction period, the destruction of flora fauna and wildlife on the construction site (as it already has been see google earth) and also the fact that the foundations of the turbines will destroy and have a heavy impact on the underground water table which is the main feed for the water supply of Tamworth. I truly believe that a project of this magnitude being placed so close to Ben Halls Nature Reserve and other adjacent fragile areas should not be approved by the Wind commissioner and a more suitable site be chosen whereupon the community is comfortable with the project and is in the best interest of the environment not the pockets of the landholders set to benefit from the project. I am a business owner in Nundle and have witnessed first hand the division the Hills of Gold wind farm has had within a once humble and welcoming community and must say and many will agree that this has not been a pleasant experience. In closing I urge you strongly consider the disapproval of this project and thank you for taking the time to read my submission.
Kind regards
Brendan Nawrocki
Nundle Guitars
62 Jenkins Street
Nundle NSW 2340

I object because of my concerns related to:
- Destruction of the Flora and Fauna corridor between the Crawney and Ben Halls Gap conservation areas. This is an area supporting endangered Flora and Fauna. This is Koala habitat.
- Destruction of the watershed area of the Isis River with potential flow on impacts to the River itself, springs and soaks, and the Karst (Caves and Grass Trees) area that they support.
- Visual and Audible impacts to the Isis Valley
- The complete lack of engagement with the Timor Community about this Project and its potential impacts.
- Impacts to Real Estate values
- destruction of tourism in Nundle

We are a close neighbour of the wind farm, we live approximately 3 km away from the closest proposed turbine. We are doing to be advantaged by having the road tarred, which will improve safety and keep our water supply cleaner. We had a group consultation with majority of the residents along Morrisons Gap Road and negotiated a fair neighbour agreement, which most people were happy with after the meeting. There will be a big increase in job opportunities in the area, and business opportunities for people looking to house construction workers. The wind farm will attract eco tourism, there will be many people who want to see the wind farm and the amazing views from the ridgeline. The jobs created by the wind farm, will help local business employ more people and have thriving businesses.

Nundle is a quiet country town with a community that values it’s current quiet lifestyle. It is also a place where tourists, seeking that quiet lifestyle, will visit and spend their tourist dollars.
As one of those tourists I was shocked to find that plans are afoot to build a large wind farm on the ridge above the town and whilst it may not have a direct impact on the town itself the construction phase of the project appears to impact the town and the community in a big way due to the transport of bulk materials and oversized components.
The loss of peace and quiet and the hidden stress that these changes will cause the community and tourist alike could very easily be the catalyst that sees residents and tourists alike find some other quiet place to spend their dollars which will eventually lead to the demise of this beautiful, historic little town.
I feel it is incumbent on the proponent to negate, not just minimise, the stress by finding another way.

Submission to NSW Government Planning, Industry and Environment in response to Hill of Gold (SSD-9679) Notice of Exhibition.

I submit this response on behalf of myself. I object to the Proposal because:

The Environmental Impact Statement is biased, intentionally misleading and inaccurate and should be rejected.

Community Support

The EIS purports to be a balanced assessment of the impacts of this proposed Project. It is not.

The EIS is written to convey the impression that there is “extensive community support for the project” (EIS Page xvi) and the overall feedback for the project has “generally been positive” (EIS Page vi). This then continues on pages 77 with “support from community members” and page 81 “community support”.

This is totally incorrect, and is even contradicted by the only survey undertaken by the Proponents to “qualitatively understand the community perception” (App P Page 60). In that survey only 3 of the 11 (27%) respondents supported the Project. Hardly indicating extensive community support. In fact, 5 of the 11 (45%) respondents were opposed to the project. Further the fact that the proponents only surveyed 11 people from a population of 656 (Nundle 496, Hanging Rock 105 and Timor 55) means that the margin for error in this survey could be as much as 29%. In other words, potentially 74% of the population are opposed to this project.
The community opposition that is obvious in their own survey, is not addressed in the EIS, instead the EIS continues the “widespread community support” theme. This is written for politicians - not for a balanced assessment.
Nor do the authors, conveniently, make any mention at all of:
o The very active “Preserve Hills of Gold society” opposing the Project
o The written petition, signed by 1,000 individuals, ~600 of whom are locals, opposing the Project
o The Hill of Gold online petition (Change.Org) which has gathered more than 3,000 objections to the Project.
Hardly “widespread community support”.

The proponents, who were well aware of this opposition, have failed to make any mention of this, anywhere in their EIS. Instead they show photos of “Friends of Wind Farm” houses in the main street of Nundle.

To make no mention of the community opposition, reflects the deliberate bias underlying this document and is intentionally misleading.

The Project EIS is Biased, intentionally misleading, and grossly inaccurate, and should be rejected for the piece of fiction that it is.

This submission is made on a Without Prejudice Basis.

The submission seeks to identify if, and to what extent, the Applicants to the Hills of Gold Wind Farm (HOGWF) have:
• adopted best practice with regards to due and compliant process with the Wind Farm application and their representations to all parties;
• adopted best practice with regard to acceptable conduct;
• adopted correct and compliant disclosure with regards to both the original intent to purchase WEP and wind farm assets and execution of the purchase;
• adopted acceptable integrity and duty of care in their representations to, and engagement with, the host community.

Our submission is attached

The location of the proposed wind farm is completely inappropriate.

I am in full support of the Hills of Gold Wind Farm Project. Just a handful of reasons to go ahead with the project include:
* Better energy source for environment preservation
* Creation of local jobs
* Community will benefit financially for the duration of the windfarm operation with community cash injections
* Beneficial for farm holders
* Tourist attraction creating more community economic stability

I object to this project because of:
- Destruction of the Flora and Fauna corridor between the Crawney and Ben Halls Gap conservation areas. This is an area supporting endangered Flora and Fauna. This is Koala habitat.
- Destruction of the watershed area of the Isis River with potential flow on impacts to the River itself, springs and soaks, and the Karst (Caves and Grass Trees) area that they support.
- Visual and Audible impacts to the Isis Valley
- The complete lack of engagement with the Timor Community about this Project and its potential impacts.
- Impacts to Real Estate values
- destruction to tourism in Nundle

I object to the Hills of Gold project and am attaching my submission as PDF document.

I object to this project due to the destruction to the native vegetation, the wildlife, including local koala habitat and also wedge tail eagles amongst many other animals who live in the area. The environmental impact of building a wind farm in this area greatly outweighs any positives that the wind farm could produce. Our family holidays in this area every year to enjoy the peaceful surroundings and to see the wildlife flourish, and would be totally devastated to see this project go ahead, hence we strongly oppose the project.

I oppose the construction of the Hills of Gold Wind Farm based on, as a casual visitor to Nundle for many years and to Woolomin. The amount of extra traffic from heavy trucks, I think would change the village atmosphere of the town. Also having family links to the area, I would not like to see the tranquility change.

I hereby wish to object emphatically to the proposed wind farm development : Application Number
SSD-9679
EPBC ID Number
2019/8535
Assessment Type
State Significant Development
Development Type
Electricity Generation - Wind
Local Government Areas
Tamworth Regional
Liverpool Plains Shire
Upper Hunter Shire.

I saddens me to think all the good work building Nundle up into a vibrant and viable destination will , ( and has indeed already been through the proposal period), deleteriously set back its wonderful progress .

When first moving to Nundle over 20 years ago the town was experiencing a renaissance of sorts with new businesses , people and enterprises making a positive impact on the area and far beyond into the international tourism markets especially - at that time European and English and North and South American visitors . Today, Nundle and Hanging Rock remains on domestic travellers wish lists for those seeking deep country experiences and ecological tourism alike .

Needless to say during its own development stage Nundle has attracted the attention of media and the public with its new found lust for life and appearance in magazine features, television programs and even films of the time . An award winning location and community of which I have been proud.

Unfortunately the shocking revelation that the district would be possibly turned into an industrial power generation site has stifled such enthusiasm and brought a somewhat gloomy feel to the area with people putting their lives on hold and others dedicating valuable time following the process of application for development and other timed stages in the planning process very closely and thence objecting vehemently .

All this despite the proposal area not falling within the highly publicised New England Energy Hub or Zone which lies much further to the north in open country seemingly fit for purpose. Why here ?

I say shocking because the thought really never entered the minds of any of the people I interact with. Visitors also seemed shocked that the range above Nundle and it’s all embracing views and magnificence would possibly be studded with white turbines .

This area is revered as a natural and wild place by artists, fossickers, farmers and land stewards, residents and visitors and which really does guide, tune, choreograph and stimulate the actions of people below. Just like it had in the 1850s prior.

It remains painfully incongruous to have the possibility of wind turbines and infrastructure on those hills and mountains .

This process of development application undertaken by the proponent has severely dented the strong community of Nundle to such an extent that i hereby counter propose that “ hills of gold wind farm” be seen as :

1/ In the wrong spot,

2/ Harmful to biodiversity and the ecology of high mountain ecosystems through well documented observations of the impacts of massive developments like this proposed and reflected in those already built around the globe. The inevitable construction impacts, road making and upgrading, earthworks and “general environmental disturbance “ all have costs.

3/ Technically difficult to the point of absurdity ( particularly access to the mountainous location),

4/ Disrespectful to various heritage locations such as gold mines and public recreation areas surrounding the proposed access road construction site required to help the superhuman machinery manoeuvre the very steep gradients of the range ( particularly devils elbow ) below hanging rock itself ......... I am very familiar with the area in question .

5/ A reflection of an overstimulation of renewable energy projects causing developers to search out any remotely likely resource,

6/ A proposal with limited community licence to proceed or operate ( see petition results presented to local member of parliament 2020-21(,

7/ A safety concern for residents in Nundle particularly , when moving about their business , visiting post offices shops etc on a daily basis ,

8/ A major impact for commuters to tamworth who must negotiate delays, wide loads , increased traffic on mediocre country roads and the roulette of getting to work on time or perhaps making it to medical help in time ?,

9/ A thirty year sentence for those who must look at the development should it be built every day of their lives,

10/ A blow to hard earned property values as outlined by realestate professionals I have chatted with,

11/ Socially upsetting since many I have personally spoken to would not continue living in the area if the proposal is approved . Those very people who have brought Nundle along from The 1990s and earlier and those who help Nundle to be an award winning destination of today , perhaps contributing more to Nundle than one mught at first perceive,

12/ A blow for return visitors who must face the carnage of a multi million dollar development in an ancient and beloved landscape and perhaps set themselves never to return ,

13/ A drain on the vitality of a small town who before the announcing of intent a couple of years ago functioned very nicely indeed and provided a model for rural revitalisation and sustainability to many in the country sector- raising money and thriving.

14/ And finally perhaps seen further as an example of “how to deflate a community and turn one against another within it !”

In closing , as an environmental scientist this development would be a blow to alpine and sub alpine ecosystems at the top of a very important catchent feeding Chaffey Resevoir and smaller impoundments and resources along the way .

Australia faces a dilemma environmentally and this proposed energy generation development promotes that dilemma in my opinion . A dilemma of taking care of country, preserving unique environments ; it’s water, it’s plants and animals and it’s spirit !

Viewing the mapped and modelled presentations and knowing that country , the propsed site seems unsuitable for major disturbance such that would be seen over the three year period of proposed construction.

Post construction, avian an aerial species would exhibit high mortalities over the far reach of 70 turbines of the prescribed diameter and would further endanger local raptor and bat populations in particular.

The additional infrastructure required to furnish the facility such as hard stand, batching plant, / outbuildings and substations all provide avenues for visual and localised microclimate impacts to us and the ecology of the high country .

The thought of aviation lighting is particularly concerning and it seems within the EIS submitted this is supposedly in the hands of the statutory framework - council and other legislation to be consulted .

Should lighting be required the level of disturbance and upset to the local community would be particularly concerning as this area is known as part of “ big sky” because of its wonderful astrological resource which incidentally, has become a feature of the aboriginal interpretation of their dreaming at Nundal ( “ mouth “interpretation ) and throughout this division.

With respect ,

Nundle resident ....

· Destruction of the Flora and Fauna corridor between the Crawney and Ben Halls Gap conservation areas. This is an area supporting endangered Flora and Fauna. This is Koala habitat.
· Destruction of the watershed area of the Isis River with potential flow on impacts to the River itself, springs and soaks, and the Karst (Caves and Grass Trees) area that they support.
· Visual and Audible impacts to the Isis Valley
· The complete lack of engagement with the Timor Community about this Project and its potential impacts.
· The roads from Crawney to Nundle to Tamworth will be impacted 3 times a day, every week day for 11 months while the Project is being constructed. Tourism in Nundle will be destroyed.

I am in support of the proposed wind farm for the following reasons:
It's contribution to a sustainable improvement to the environment. It's excellent position on top of a windy mountain range makes it an excellent choice for renewable energy.
The financial benefit it will bring to the region -
Direct financial benefit to all the hosting farmers
Indirect financial benefits to other businesses, especially during the construction phase
Wages for locals who are employed by the wind farm
Community payments for a range of projects which could benefit Hanging Rock and Nundle residents
While some people do not like the look of wind turbines, there are many others who do not mind how they look and others who find them "stately sentinels," helping to provide a better future for their children.

Unfortunately, fear of change has led to catastrophising hysteria amongst some of Nundle's most vocal residents who purport to represent the views of the majority. Their public opposition smacks of an unwarranted desperation as the turbines will be located in the distance high above Nundle, much of the time covered by mist anyway.

A precious environment needs to be kept that way. The proposed wind farm will ruin the landscape, native animal habitats and pristine waterways.
Could there be a different location better suited that will not affect the surrounds so detrimentally? An uninhabited desert plain maybe?

We have been going to Nundle for the past 33 years. Its main attraction is that it is still a beautiful untouched country town where you can go and unwind and relax. Putting these wind farms all through Nundle is a traversty. It will take the whole look and feel away from being an untouched Australian country town.

I am a 5th generation resident of Hanging Rock (mother's side) and of aboriginal ancestry on my father's side. I fully support this project.
The community has been well consulted on this development, with extensive discussion between residents, and the local indigenous community. The project is well designed to minimise disruption to the environment, and thoughtfully planned.
Our community has always struggled to attract and retain any form of decent employment - this is a once in a generation opportunity to develop long term, high-paying and sustainable jobs base for our community.
The self-interest groups opposing this project are not speaking for the residents of Hanging Rock - we consider ourselves a separate community and feel utterly bullied by Nundle and it's tourism-focus. This only benefits a few small blow-in business owners, who are only interested in their own personal financial gain.
As a remote community, Hanging Rock is always neglected by council, with crumbling infrastructure. The set up of a community find will at least allow us to maintain some basic infrastructure for the benefit of our ageing population.
More importantly, with the NSW electricity grid in a dire state of repair (the recent Liddell failures as a good example) - these renewable project provide a sustainable and fast-track option to bridging the gap as each of the coal assets are gradually retired.