Blueberry farms are not usually subject to Development Applications (DA), however, the 56 Perrys Rd property is currently zoned as R5 – Large Lot Residential, and thus needs council to sign off on a change to allow intensive agriculture to take place.

And this has a few neighbours worried.

“Repton is a small village with a strong sense of community in an envious location having ready access to nearby towns, North Beach and the Bellinger River,” local resident Michael Ryan said.

“A key feature of the village is the natural setting, surrounded by the Bongil Bongil National Park and Pine Creek State Forest. The conversion of land zoned R5 to provide for an agricultural development is wholly at odds with the primary objective of the zone.”

Mr Ryan has other concerns.

“Thirty-Two separate chemicals are listed in the NSW Department of Primary Industry’s Blueberry Plant protection Guide 2015-2016 for use on blueberries in NSW to control disease and pests,” he said.

“Of the 32 chemicals approved one third of the chemicals are identified as likely to have a long-lasting, negative off-target impact … most disturbing is that pesticides can have both immediate (acute) effects and long term (chronic) effects on the health of people who are exposed to them.

“The subject land is adjacent to not only residential housing but also the daily congregation point for school children waiting for their school bus.”

Joining Mr Ryan’s call to stop the farm is Kimmis Whiting.

“My main concern is spray drift over to nearby houses whose only water is collected in tanks and consequently we will drink,” Mr Whiting said.

“Especially if they spray at night and with a light westerly to north westerly it will drift over our properties … not to mention the run off of chemicals and fertilizers into a pristine waterway, which is the start of a freshwater creek.

“And they say no native trees will be harmed only camphor laurels and weeds to be removed … but who actually oversees that operation? There are apiarists in that area concerned over the possible impact on them.”

Mr Whiting claims there are other more prosaic issues, which the DA fails to address.

“I have some colleagues who live at Bucca near blueberries and the workers there are using the hedgerow as their toilet as it is a 500m walk to the one port-a-loo on site,” Mr Whiting said.

“There are also issues of vehicles coming and going from a busy junction … it seems there’s a feeling it’s a ‘cowboy industry’ ... a big corporation only interested in making a lot of money as quickly as possible and to hell with the consequences.” 

The proposal before council would see 10 hectares of land zoned for large rural residences planted with blueberries and both Mr Ryan and Mr Whiting question why Bellinger Shire Council would approve a “relatively small development that would seem to have limited economic benefit to the community but such potentially devastating impact on the health  of the Repton villagers and its environment.” 

The proposed Horticulture (Blueberries) DA at Lot 2 DP 852143, 56 Perrys Rd, Repton 2454 can be inspected at Council's Administrative Centre, 33-39 Hyde St, Bellingen, between 8.30am and 4.30pm, weekdays and at the Urunga Library during normal library hours until Friday.

Written submissions are invited during this period. Where a submission is by way of an objection, the grounds of objection must be specified.

For enquiries contact Matthew Hutchings at council’s Land Use Services on 6655-7330.