The Coonamble Feedlot's expansion received the go ahead at Coonamble Shire Council's monthly meeting on 12 February, but not without intense scrutiny from councillors and some additional conditions aimed at protecting local residents from potential ill-effects.

The feedlot now has approval to triple the number of cattle on feed from 10,000 to 30,000 head.  

The expansion was first flagged with the previous council in May 2022 and has undergone a long and rigorous process of approval.

Operations Manager (Director) Angus Chadwick attended the meeting along with his father, and feedlot founder, David Chadwick.

Technical specialists were also connected via video link to answer councillor questions.

Senior air quality consultant, Michele Clifton was on hand to explain the complex matter of feedlot odour and Senior Leader of the Evnironmental Team of consultancy firm Premise, Daniel Drum to answer other questions.

The proposal to expand from the current 10,000 head limit to a future 30,000 head capacity certainly attracted heavy questioning during both the pre-meeting Community Forum and in the Council meeting proper.

Three councillors declared either a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in the matter and, with Mayor Dan Keady, Deputy Steven Butler and Cr Paul Wheelhouse out of the room, the recommendation to approve the expansion was approved, albeit with two additional conditions added to the long list of requirements the operators will need to fulfill.

Cr Karen Churchill asked that her name be recorded as voting against the recommendation.

New water mains being installed as part of the earlier project. IMAGE SUPPLIED.

"It's been approved which is wonderful for our ag-based community," Angus Chadwick told the Coonamble Times.

"It's been three years and a lot of work to get to this point. We believe it's great for the community."

Council's additional requirements included an Odour Management Plan and a Vegetation Management Plan specifying details of methods, time schedules and measures for the planting of a large tree buffer zone around the south, east and northern sides of the Feedlot boundary.

He explained that the vegetation buffer zones are an extra precaution that will serve the purpose of dispersing odour by creating turbulent airflow.

Councillors wanted to know what would be planted, when and where the plantings would occur and how they would be maintained.

"Ultimately both these plans were already covered under the Environmental Impact Statement and the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) required as part of the DA (development application)," Mr Chadwick said.

"It means we will need to submit a couple of additional reports in the near term but I appreciate that councillors are looking after their constituents.

"It gives Coonamble Shire Council confidence they've done everything they can to really understand it and make sure they protect the community from odour.

"In the end it was a 650 page report that they had to read and understand, and it can get very technical."

The project had already been approved by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and other state departments but as a 'designated development' Coonamble Shire Council had to provide the final consent.

What next?

A construction team has already been on the ground to complete around $8 million of pen remediation work approved under a previous application in 2024.

"Hopefully by the end of February or early March they'll be into the work for the next 5,000 head and by the end of March those pens will be operational.

"By the end of June or in July we hope to be a 20,000 head feedlot."

Mr Chadwick estimates the next phase of work to be worth around $5 million and says there are no current plans to extend to the full 30,000 head capacity permissible under the development approval.

Feed bunker under construction. IMAGE SUPPLIED.

The primary contractors are a Toowoomba-based firm who are specialists in feedlot and mine construction with local sub-contractors engaged where possible, including earthworks and concreting.

Along with demand for around 100,000 tonnes of grain and about 90,000 cattle per year, the feedlot is expected to generate substantial growth in local employment.

Mr Chadwick told an earlier meeting of council that the expansion would be "a huge benefit to the Coonamble district with around 1.5 extra jobs created in town for each person out at the feedlot." 

"If levels of employment increase by 28 people at the proposed 30,000 head occupancy, this would equate to 42 additional jobs created in the Coonamble shire, 84 jobs in our region and 146 jobs across the state of NSW."