At last night's meeting Campaspe Shire Council agreed to formally oppose the planning application for the Cooba Solar Farm, citing significant concerns regarding its impact on agricultural land and the local environment. The Council's submission to the Minister for Planning will highlight several unresolved issues and deficiencies in the proposal.
Campaspe Shire Mayor Cr Daniel Mackrell noted that Council's submission will argue that the project does not align with the strategic planning context and fails to demonstrate strong economic community benefits, particularly in relation to job creation and procurement.
"Whilst we fully support solar energy facilities in suitable locations, we feel that the Cooba Solar Farm's proposed site and unresolved issues make it an unsuitable choice.
"Council has been advocating against this location for many months and provided supporting information to all members of the Legislative Council during its regional sitting in April in Echuca," Mayor Mackrell added.
The Cooba Solar Farm project involves the construction of a solar farm and battery energy storage system on a 1,147-hectare site at 124 Cornella Church Road and Plain Road, Colbinabbin. The proposed development includes approximately 700,000 solar panels and the removal of 6.505 hectares of native vegetation, including 71 large trees.
Council's review, supported by independent technical experts, found the proposal contrary to the Campaspe Planning Scheme and the Solar Energy Facilities Design and Development Guideline. Key concerns include the loss of productive agricultural land, inadequate soil surveys, and insufficient information on decommissioning and land restoration.
The report tabled and endorsed at the Council meeting recommends that the Minister for Planning reject the Cooba Solar Farm planning application due to its potential negative impact on agricultural land and the local environment.
Councillors also requested that Officers write to the proponent requesting they refer the project to the Commonwealth Government Environment Minister to determine if the project is a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).
Pictured: Colbinabbin resident Claire Tuohey speaking to Council about her concerns at the 10 December meeting. (L-R Claire Tuohey, Director Sustainability - Michael Sharp (obscured), Cr Jess Mitchell, Cr Rob Amos, Cr Tony Marwood).
