Council to object to Mt Fyans Wind Farm

Published on 31 January 2023

Moyne Shire Council will make a submission to the Minister for Planning objecting to the planning permit for the Mt Fyans Wind Farm.

Councillors voted unanimously to object to permit application for the development and requested to be heard at any planning panel the Minister convenes.  

Mayor Cr Karen Foster said the decision to object is in line with the position adopted in September 2022 which calls for a pause on permits for wind farms until strategic land use planning is completed.

She said while Council would not be making the decision about the permit application, it was important it made a strong representation to the Minister for Planning.

“That submission is based on our adopted position and on feedback we sought from the community. We received 90 submissions from the community with most expressing concern about the development and 10 supporting it,” she said.

“I thank the community for their feedback which covered a range of topics including the impact on the habitat of Brolgas, noise and shadowing concerns, increased traffic on local roads and cumulative impact of planned developments on the landscape.”

Cr Foster said while Council was supportive of renewables as a principle, there were concerns that needed to be addressed before any new developments were approved.

“Our position lays out our concerns very clearly, many of which are shared by the community,” she said.

“Moyne has a significant amount of turbines in operation already, with even more in the pipeline – we are really just saying let’s do some strategic work before we go ahead with anymore.”