Planning Minister meets neighbours over solar farm concerns | Glen Innes Examiner

gleninnesexaminer.com.au · Feb 16, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Planning Minister Paul Scully met representatives from the Loomberah community on February 11 to discuss a controversial renewable energy project that's being developed in the area.Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingAll articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperAll other in your areaFrom left to right: Heidi Hallam, Kevin Anderson, Paul Tongue, and Robyn Wealand also met with NSW Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh, right. Picture supplied.Mr Scully heard the concerns of Loomberah farmer Paul Tongue, as well as other Loomberah residents, in Sydney to discuss the Venn Energy Lambruk Solar Farm proposal.In a statement to the Leader, Mr Scully said, "I was happy to meet with the Loomberah families and farmers this week so I could hear their concerns first hand.""During the meeting we also had the opportunity to walk them through the full merit assessment process that will take place before any decision is made."Speaking to the Leader, Mr Tongue said the meeting went well."I feel a bit reassured that they're looking at the impact of the project, and just how much of it is being put into the wrong area," Mr Tongue said."Obviously, you can put solar panels anywhere, but you can't feed the nation everywhere."I was reassured that [the Minister] was aware of the project and the complaints they had received, so it wasn't just falling on deaf ears or getting pushed aside in this rush for renewables."What you read and what you hear is that we've got to get to net-zero, but getting there and putting it in the right place does take a little bit of time."The project, Mr Tongue said, covers Class 2 and Class 3 agricultural land, which means that the land can support regular, intensive cropping of the grains, oilseed, and hay that he grows."We've probably lost a bit of land value with having it right beside us," Mr Tongue said."But there's also the 59 neighbours that directly border this, and a lot of them are just smaller lifestyle blocks - those poor people have lost money there."People have tried to sell, but no one will buy because it's all up in the air whether this thing will go ahead."The group also sought a meeting with Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage Penny Sharpe, but did not receive one.The group met with Planning Minister Paul Scully. Picture from file.The meeting was brokered by Tamworth MP, Kevin Anderson, who joined Mr Tongue, along with Robyn Wealand and Heidi Hallam.Mrs Hallam said that "this project has done nothing but divide us.""I am passionate about clean food, Australian-owned and produced food, and this reduces our clean food production."Mr Anderson also introduced the group to NSW Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh, and said, "The Loomberah community are rightly angry about the impact that an 850,000-panel solar project will have on their lives and livelihoods."The proposed farm, Mr Anderson said, had turned the community's lives "upside down", and was beginning to have impacts on both social cohesion and mental health, alleging poor communication and environmental concerns about the proposed project."That's why I sought an urgent meeting on their behalf with the Planning Minister - to give the local community an opportunity to put their case forward and explain why this project should not go ahead."