A local company has been selected to lease a section of the council's irrigation farm.
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The unanimous decision to lease a total 405 hectares to ARW Multigroup Pty Ltd came at Tuesday night's council meeting. It followed consideration of four reports over the past two years about the land's future.
Opportunities have opened since the $30 million upgrade of Goulburn's wastewater treatment plant. It means that highly treated effluent can be released into the river rather than irrigated on the council land. The council has also commissioned a re-use scheme to pump the treated material on to some of the city's parks and sporting fields.
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Last September, councillors decided to lease 64 hectares of the farm at 632 Taralga Road to Goulburn Campdraft Association and Riding for the Disabled for a state-of-the-art equine facility. Another section was kept as a bio-bank while a parcel between Gorman Road and Murrays Flat Road was to be investigated for rural residential lots with a minimum 10ha size.
Companies have been vying to use the 405 hectares for several years. Last December, councillors opted not to accept any of three expressions of interest in a public private partnership for the land. These were from ARW Multigroup, Growing @ Goulburn and Narambulla Investments Pty Ltd.
Instead, they invited each party to spell out their proposals in a closed briefing session and then to lodge an expression of interest in lease, without effluent irrigation, for five years. A parcel at 534 Taralga Road would also be included. The council has reserved to cancel the lease with six months' notice if rezoning for the rural residential land progresses faster than expected.
ARW already leases a section of the farm. Utilities director Marina Hollands said the company intended to continue grazing, cropping and harvesting of "natural growth."
"It is recommended that the three parcels of land be leased to ARW Multigroup based on the lease price offered and that their proposed use is in accordance with the existing use rights for the site under the current infrastructure zoning," she reported.
A five-year lease will apply to a portion on the eastern side of the railways, a monthly arrangement for flood- prone land between the river and the railway line until it has been sold, and an annual lease for the section at 534 Taralga Road. The company will be charged $71,500 a year for the total area.
Growing @ Goulburn had proposed grazing, cropping and hay harvesting but also partnerships with universities, the CSIRO and investors to make the city "carbon neutral." The group had also planned $80,000 worth of improvements, including pasture renovation.
Representative, Bungonia woman Julia McKay spoke in open forum on Tuesday, saying that Growing @ Goulburn's proposal had come a long way since the the second of four submissions was lodged. She urged the council "not to paint itself into a corner" with "complex" lease arrangements and to consider the environmental and agricultural benefits of the project.
Narambulla had proposed cattle grazing, cropping and fodder production, supported by the transfer of an existing water allocation from elsewhere. But Mrs Hollands said the transfer hadn't been confirmed with the regulator. The company also wanted to use the property for field work associated with the Australian Agricultural Centre it was helping to develop on its land on the Crookwell Road. It aimed to boost skills in the agricultural sector.
The lease to ARW will commence on May 1.
After the meeting, council general manager Warwick Bennett said the choice was largely based on price.
He told The Post that lease was preferred because none of the earlier expressions of interest "came close to a public private partnership (PPP)."
"We said to Julia that if she came to us with a bullet-proof and more substantial proposal, then we would consider it. We haven't seen anything yet," he said.
In December, Ms McKay claimed in open forum that Growing @ Goulburn's was the only one that resembled a PPP.
Since the PPP was advertised, a separate company has sent a confidential proposal to the council asking to undertake further investigations on the site to check its suitability for its plans. Councillors considered this in a closed session.
"It is a waste to energy proposal that is in the extreme infancy of planning," Mr Bennett said on Wednesday.
"It has a long way to go before we could give it any serious consideration, including getting the state government to decide whether it wants to head in the direction of this technology."
Nevertheless, staff have been authorised to have further discussions with the company and government before allowing the site investigations. The council will not give any assurance of a future sale.
Cr Andrew Banfield declared a pecuniary conflict of interest and left the room during Tuesday's discussion. His brother-in-law, Andrew Divall, is a director of Narambulla Investments.
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Louise Thrower
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
