Share your lived experience with intensive horticulture

Published on 04 February 2026

Council is pushing ahead with its planning proposal and amendment to the Nambucca Local Environmental Plan 2010 to require development consent for intensive plant agriculture in the RU1 Primary Production and RU2 Rural Landscape Zones.

At its 17 December 2025 meeting, Council resolved to call for members of the community to forward their lived experience of the impacts of this industrial scale horticulture industry and that these be forwarded to the Department of Planning with the next submission of the LEP proposal.

Nambucca Valley Council Director Development and Environment Services Daniel Walsh said this was an additional opportunity for residents with direct experiences with intensive plant agriculture to have their say.

“Council is looking to support its current planning proposal with submissions from the community, which we can forward onto the Minister for Planning later this year,” he said.

“Should you have any lived, direct experience with the impacts of industrial scale horticulture in the Nambucca Valley, please consider sharing these experiences in writing by 27 February 2026.”

Council’s first planning proposal to amend the LEP went to the Minister for Planning for a gateway determination under Section 3.34 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 on 19 November 2024. On 5 February 2025, Council learned the Minister rejected the requested amendment to the LEP due to insufficient evidence base to support the amendment.

Residents or organisations wishing to make a submission should do so in writing addressed to the General Manager, Nambucca Valley Council, PO Box 177, Macksville NSW 2447 or sent by email to council@nambucca.nsw.gov.au.

If you have an enquiry, you can contact Mr Walsh on 02 6568 2555 or council@nambucca.nsw.gov.au.