Dispelling the Myths
There has been a lot of misinformation circulating regarding Huntlee. Here we lay to rest some of those inaccuracies.
Fiction: Huntlee was thrown out by the court before and it will be again, nothing has changed.
FACT: When the original proposal for Huntlee was overturned by the Land and Environment Court in late 2009, the issue was with the government's rezoning process in relation to the conservation offset lands. The process recommended by the Court is now being followed. The actual merits of the proposal were never called into question. Accordingly, Huntlee retains its core attributes of being a sustainable new town delivering significant environmental and economic benefits to the region. |
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Fiction: The facilities aren't in place to support all of these homes.
FACT: Huntlee will eventually be similar in size to Singleton and Cessnock with all the services and infrastructure necessary to support a healthy community.
Huntlee will deliver a diverse range of affordable housing, local training and employment and access to broader secondary and teritary education opportunities, as well as retail, commercial and recreational facilities. |
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Fiction: There'll be no jobs for all these new people.
FACT: The proposed expanded Town Centre precinct will accommodate in excess of 3,000 permanent jobs. |
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Fiction: The location is simply inappropriate, it's too isolated.
FACT: Far from being isolated, Huntlee is ideally located with direct access to the Hunter Expressway via the Branxton Interchange at Wine Country Drive and will benefit from future access to the expanded rail network. Huntlee will help ease the pressure on NSW affordable housing and land shortages. |
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Fiction: This development comes with no regard for the local environment.
FACT: The new proposal includes significant increases in environmental protection, including $1million for the management of 5,812 hectares of conservation land being transferred to the State Government, along with $100,000 for the North Rothbury Persoonia Recovery Plan. |
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Fiction: Huntlee will destroy the habitat of the Persoonia Pauciflora.
FACT: Of the 395 recorded plants, only 28 are situated within Huntlee. Unlike the other 367 plants, Huntlee has protection measures in place to ensure these plants are given the very best chance to survive and ultimately propagate. Huntlee has also increased areas of conservation lands at the request of DECCW to assist further protection. |
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Fiction: The township of Branxton will have an additional 30,000 vehicles a day from Huntlee.
FACT: With the construction of the Hunter Expressway and link road to the New England Highway, traffic will be directed away from Branxton. The Hunter Expressway will remove the bulk of the traffic which presently travels through the main street. |
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Fiction: Ayrefield Colliery has major subsidence where Huntlee plans to develop housing.
FACT: There is a small, well defined "non-habitable zone" that stops any buildings being constructed there, which falls outside of the proposed Village 4. |
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Fiction: Ayrefield Colliery self combusts.
FACT: Ayrefield Colliery itself has never shown any signs of self combustion. Huntlee has drilled eight bores into the landfill and monitors the heat and methane gases generated. DECCW is satisfied these recordings fall well within the environmental parameters.
Ayrefield Colliery has lain neglected since its closure in the early 1970s and, without the $5million Huntlee remediation plan, would likely remain that way. |
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Fiction: Huntlee was ranked 93rd out of 94 sites considered for the Lower Hunter Regional Strategy in 2006.
FACT: This was never supported or endorsed by the Government. Huntlee is recognised as a State Significant Site, satisfying four of the five criteria set by the State Government. Located at the midpoint between Maitland, Singleton and Cessnock, Huntlee complements the urban settlement pattern for the Lower Hunter as prescribed by the LHRS. |
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Fiction: Huntlee will impact on land sales in Cessnock
FACT: The Lower Hunter Regional Strategy identifies the need for 115,000 new homes by 2031 to support the projected population growth. Available land supply from Cessnock would have been included in these figures. It's simply a question of supply and demand. |
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Fiction: Huntlee is not a sustainable development.
FACT: Huntlee is sa master-planned community, delivering infrastructure and services efficiently. The vision is a self contained, walkable neighbourhood with less car dependency plus these initiatives:
- Setting a carbon neutral target for the development;
- Incorporating a third pipe at the construction phase, so recycled grey water can be available to each household in the future, without retro-fitting;
- Water sensitive urban design;
- Dedicated hike and bike trails to reduce reliance on cars;
- Use of renewable energy.
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