Little confidence in drop in airport industrial park scale

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment has accepted a revised proposal to rezone RU1 and E3 environmental management land to IN1 general industrial and B7 business park at Orange Airport and Orange City Council has opened the plan for public consultation.

Areas of RE1 public recreation land would create a buffer from rural land.

Initially, the council proposed a 300-hectare industrial business park but following community concerns, the layout was revised to 200 hectares to provide more green zones around the site and remove the business park zone at the Spring Hill village end.

The 114-hectare proposal, with a yield of about 75 hectares of employment land, was submitted following further feedback from the community, the department and neighbouring councils.

Spring Hill and Surrounds Community Consultative Committee spokeswoman Sally Playfair said the issues still had not changed.

“It’s in a water catchment area,” she said.

“The acting regional director of western planning services said in a letter in July the council would ultimately pursue the larger area and we never got confirmation that it was 200 hectares.”

She said the group also could not be confident heavy industry would not be allowed, even though heavy industry is zoned IN3.

The IN1 zoning allows for general industry, depots, transport facilities, timber yards, warehouses, child care centres, neighbourhood shops, offices, passenger transport facilities and take away food premises. 

Council spokesman Nick Redmond said the proposal only affected the 114 hectares, which would serve Orange’s industrial land needs in the short to medium term.

“If there is a need for subsequent stages, they will be subject [to] a review of the Blayney Cabonne Orange Sub-Regional Strategy,” he said.

Mr Redmond said all industrial applications had to consider water issues.

“You don’t get away with having industry that pollutes water, it’s a given,” he said.

Orange mayor John Davis said the proposal was an opportunity to ensure Orange provided jobs into the future.