In what had become a long, hard fought battle in the Harden region, an extraordinary meeting of Hilltops Council was held on Wednesday, July 12, to allow for the final decision to be made on the proposed Eulie Piggery. The result of this meeting was that the Development Application (DA) was formally refused.
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The extraordinary meeting followed a public meeting in Harden on Tuesday where residents both for and against the DA were given the opportunity to have their say.
Edwina Beveridge, owner and manager of Blantyre piggery, said she was disappointed with the outcome and with the treatment that she and her family, who have been ratepayers in this area for more than 100 years, received from Hilltops Council.
“We are very disappointed with how unprofessionally the council has handled our development application. Having a public forum that served no purpose, reading about the public forum on Facebook first, not having emails responded to, not having documents forwarded to us is unacceptable,” Ms Beveridge said.
“We wonder whether others submitting DAs are treated the same or is it just us?”
“Council stated that it was policy to keep applicants informed about their development application process, but clearly this has not happened with the Eulie pig farm, as I had to read about the public forum on Facebook,” Ms Beveridge said.
Hilltops Council general manager Anthony McMahon was quick to respond.
“Ms Beveridge was emailed personally by council regarding the public forum and meeting on the same day the information was issued publicly – and impartially – for all stakeholders to see,” Mr McMahon said.
“I have spoken with Ms Beveridge and conveyed my apologies about the sequence of events.
“The forum was a valuable part of the application process, as it allowed members of the public the opportunity to present their views on the proposed development – both for and against – to the council’s administrator prior to the report on the DA being considered at the council meeting the following day.”
Ms Beveridge is now considering her options regarding the future of the proposed piggery.
“We have not made any decisions regarding the future at this point,” Mrs Beveridge said.
“There are other farms and businesses I am aware of that were considering expanding their businesses to the Hilltops, but because of the treatment we have received are now looking elsewhere.
“I believe Temora Council has been very welcoming to business owners and are very professional in their dealings.”
