The NSW Department of Planning (DoP) will now have the final say on the rezoning from primary production and environmental management to a mix of light industrial and business park. 

Rural industries, agricultural produce industries and freight transport facilities would be added as possible uses on the industrial land. 

Seven residents spoke out against the rezoning.

Kerry Raines disputed claims the majority of Spring Hill supported the development.

“If you had attended any of the community meetings last year in the village, you would know this,” she said.

She also asked for more details on the 650 jobs an interested business could bring to the region.

“I’m not interested in confidentiality agreements between council and future developers and business owners – councillors work for the people and should be transparent at all times.”

She said Spring Hill played an important role in member for Orange Phil Donato’s win at the byelection and asked councillors not to “underestimate the power of the so-called minority”.

Geophysicist John Holliday said it was not about jobs, it was about where jobs were located. 

“It’s a mantra, water security, for this council putting in this pipeline and all these other systems so it’s rather ironic to me to support putting an industrial area in such a precious setting,” he said. 

He said the basalt plateau held more water than Suma Park Dam and was poorly understood, noting the consultant was only able to ascertain water flowed downhill.

“Well crikey Moses, I already knew that and I’m just staggered that the report is so inadequate in that sense,” he said. 

Mr Holliday said pollution in the aquifer would not be discovered until it was too late to do something about it. 

Spring Hill and Surrounds Community Consultative Committee president Sally Playfair said the council had not complied with conditions set by the DoP to have mutual agreement with neighbouring councils on the Blayney Cabonne Orange Sub-Regional Strategy, which sets out future industrial development.

Neither Blayney nor Cabonne supported Orange’s addendum to the strategy and instead, preferring a full review.

“There is no compliance for the proposal to proceed at this time,” she said.

Mayor John Davis moved to send the plans to the next stage but councillor Reg Kidd moved to defer it for the next council.

“I was in favour of buying the land for the buffer zone for the airport and you can still use it for agriculture but I can’t be convinced to see a need for an industrial park at this time,” he said.

With rumours an interested party could put an abattoir on the site, Cr Kidd asked whether an abattoir could be permitted and development services director David Waddell responded it could.

Councillor Russell Turner pointed out prospective businesses would still have to lodge development applications to put industry on the site and they would be closely scrutinised.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said.

“If we say we haven’t got any land at the moment, nothing’s zoned appropriately and come back in four or five years’ time so you can put in an application, do you think they’ll wait four or five years?”

Cr Davis said if the interested party lodged a development application, everyone would know then. 

“Please bear with that particular thing,” he said.

The amendment lost five councillors to four and the rezoning passed five to three.