Public consultation session were held with NP Power vice president Colin Paterson and representatives of consultants Connell Wagner on Friday and Saturday at the Glen Innes Learning Centre.

This including a meeting with landholders who are to host the proposed turbines on Thursday night, and the Landscape Guardians on Friday afternoon about the project, for up to 27 turbines on Waterloo Range, about 12km west of Glen Innes.

Speaking to the Examiner after the meeting with the Landscape Guardians, Mr Paterson said he hoped for compromise on both sides, but the 2km buffer that the Landscape Guardians had been lobbying for would not be possible.

“The two kilometres is not an option, it would kill the windfarm,” he said.

“As a result of the meeting they have agreed to look at a few options to help them better understand our point of view and on our side we can look at a few technical options to help them out with their issues so we can meet somewhere in the middle.”

Landscape Guardians representative Ashley Peake said that despite an agreement on a 2km buffer not being accepted he felt Mr Paterson now has a greater understanding of the number of residents impacted. The 30 residents in attendance made clear their issue not only with the distance but also the noise and visual factors.

“I think they got an idea by the number of people there and our resolve that we are not going away. Colin doesn’t realise how little public consultation there has been, Frank McAlary and Jeff Putland are directly affected and were not spoken to at all (in the initial consultations),” he said.

“There are claims in the environmental assessment that they have done extensive consultations and it makes you question the whole report. He definitely got the idea that we are unhappy with the community consultation.”

Mr Peake said there was further cause to support the lack of consideration for residents with Mr Paterson acknowledging the developers primary goal is to build, and sell.

“We are not happy with the situation as it is. At the meeting Colin acknowledged that their goal is to put it up and sell it and after that it is not his problem.”

The public consultations also involved a landholders meeting for those who will host the proposed turbines on Thursday night. Mr Paterson said there were no major issues that arose from this, with the meetings generally held to keep them updated.

The three consultants that accompanied Mr Paterson had specific responsibility for assessubg noise and visual impacts in the study.

At the public information session people both for and against the current proposal registered their views.

Mr Paterson said the developers would now be considering options to address the issues that came about following the two day consultations but was uncertain when anything would be finalised.