Proposed Free Range
Poultry Farm – Lot 3751 Munbinea Road Hill
River
Location: Lot 3751 Munbinea Road, Hill
River
Applicant: AAA Egg Company Pty Ltd
Development Services Apps / Development
Date: 8 February 2018
PROPOSAL
The proponent is seeking planning
approval for a free range
poultry farm located on Lot 3751 on the
corner of Munbinea and
Cervantes Roads, Hill River.
BACKGROUND
Lot 3751 Munbinea Road (1939ha) has
recently been subdivided
into two lots of approximately 1668.8ha
and 270.2ha respectively.
The applicant proposes the egg farm
development for the smaller
lot of 270.2ha (future lot 42), which is
majority cleared of native
vegetation and of minuscule topography.
The proponent outlines
this development has essentially the
same design features as the
egg farm at Lot 25 Munbinea Road
(approximately 2km northwest)
approved by Council in July 2017. AAA
Egg Company Pty Ltd also
applied for a third egg farm at Lot 4
Mimegarra Road, Cataby. This
egg farm was recommended by Council to
be approved by the
Wheatbelt JDAP in August 2014, however
AAA Egg Company
withdraw their application before the
JDAP Hearing due to further
environmental findings of the site.
The proponent intends to situate the egg
farm in the middle of the
property with the nearest laying shed to
any boundary being 200m
from Cervantes Road. No other boundary
setbacks are given on
the site plan.
The proposal consists of:
· 12x egg laying sheds
approximately 100m x 22.4m
· 2x 250m2 managers residences
· 50m x 7.5m workers
accommodation and kitchen
· 16m x 26m office,
cool-room and staff amenities
· 38m x 10m workshop and
machinery shed
· 2x water tanks
· 8m x 6m gen shed
· 40m x 12m fodder shed
The maximum number of laying hens on
site will be 360,000,
30,000 per shed.
The objective for ‘Rural’ zoned land in
Local Planning Scheme
no.7 is:
To provide for a range
of rural activities such as broadacre and
diversified farming so as
to retain the rural character and amenity
of the locality, in
such a way as to prevent land degradation and
further loss of
biodiversity.
A free range poultry farm fits under the
land use “animal
husbandry – intensive” Under the Scheme
this is defined as:
“animal husbandry - intensive” means
premises used for keeping,
rearing or fattening of
pigs, poultry (for either egg or meat
production), rabbits
(for either meat or fur production) and other
livestock in feedlots”.
Agriculture Intensive, Agroforestry, and
Animal Husbandry-
Intensive are “D” uses (discretionary
approval) in a Public Drinking
Water Supply Area where Council will
have due regard to the
potential impact on groundwater quality.
The proponent’s newly subdivided
property is located outside the
northwest border of a Department of
Water and Environmental
Regulation’s Priority 2 Public Drinking
Water Source Area
(Cervantes Water Reserve) and
approximately 16km from the
Water Corporation’s production bores.
The proponent’s property is however
located in the predicative
Bassendean Precinct Special Control Area
of Scheme. Whereby,
the Scheme states the following:
5.2 Bassendean Precinct
Special Control Area
The Bassendean Precinct
Area is an important environmental unit
in the central coast
region. The area comprises deep porous
sands that are
hydrologically connected to a number of wetlands
in the area. The area
is noted as a significant area of internal
drainage which is
particularly vulnerable to the use of fertilizers.
Purpose of the Special
Control Area
1. To preserve the
ecological values of the Bassendean Precinct
and interrelated
wetlands.
2. To avoid development
and land uses which would negatively
impact on the
environmental values of the area.
3. To ensure that
future land use in the area, including agriculture,
mining and recreational
activities does not degrade the area.
4. To ensure that any
development takes place in such a manner
so as to safeguard the
environmental values of the area.
Relevant Considerations
In considering any
rezoning request, subdivision or development
application the Local
government will have regard to the following:
Development applications
for land within the Bassendean
Precinct should not be
approved where the development may
result in an increase
of nutrient release into the soil. The
impacts of proposals
for aquaculture, commercial tree
plantations, earthworks
(such as filling and excavation) and
intensive agriculture
will be carefully assessed.
Local strategic planning guidance is
given in the Shire’s Local
Planning Strategy - Rural Land Use and
Settlement 2012:
8.1.2 Intensive
Agriculture
The Council may refuse
an application for planning consent where
in its opinion the
proposed development will:
1. adversely affect the
rural landscape;
2. adversely impact
upon the agricultural use of the land and
adjoining/nearby areas;
3. cause detrimental
environmental impacts;
4. result in
unacceptable fire management risk;
5. place unacceptable
servicing requirements which have not
been appropriately
addressed by the applicant;
6. seek to ensure the
impacts of the proposed use/development
can be adequately
contained on the application site; and
7. in the opinion of
the Council will result in an undesirable
planning outcome and
will be contrary to the orderly and proper
planning of the
locality.
Avoiding Landuse
Conflict
Intensive animal industries
such as feedlots, some horticultural
activities and
piggeries have the potential for detrimental impacts
of water pollution,
noise, dust, odour and possible soil erosion.
Location of these uses
therefore requires careful consideration by
the Council in order to
avoid environmental degradation and land
use conflict.
Department of
Environment and Conservation (DWER*) guidelines
in relation to buffers
to minimize land use conflicts between rural
industries and
residential areas are summarised in Table 7. These
buffer distances should
be considered as a starting point for
planning purposes and
not the sole means of minimising the risk
of land use conflict.
Table 7: DEC
recommended buffer distances between Rural
Industries and
Residential areas*
INDUSTRY BUFFER DISTANCE (metres)
Poultry
industry 500
Conflict can also occur
between various forms of agricultural land
use and for many
agricultural practices it is not feasible to contain
impacts within lot
boundaries.
Greater awareness of,
and adherence to, relevant Codes of
Practice for other
agricultural land use activities can also help to
minimise land use
conflict as well as off-site environmental
impacts.
Further local strategic planning
guidance is given the Shire’s Draft
Local Planning Strategy 2016 (this
strategy will supersede Local
Planning Strategy - Rural Land Use and
Settlement 2012):
5.3.4 Avoiding land use
conflict
Guidance for separation
distances between Industrial land and
sensitive land uses is
provided by the Environmental Protection
Authority. (EPA:
Guidance for the Assessment of Environmental
Factors No. 3, June
2005). These generic separation distances
and buffer areas have
been developed to complement and assist
the implementation of
the SPP 4.1, State Industrial Buffer Policy. It
is intended to provide
an approach to minimise the land use
conflict between
industry, including rural industries and
surrounding sensitive
land uses. These buffer distances are not a
substitute for taking
all necessary measures to contain impacts onsite.
Registering of
notifications on land titles alerting surrounding
landowners to amenity
impacts may also be needed to limit
potential future land
use conflicts. Those purchasing land will be
made aware that living
in or close to an agricultural area may
impinge on their
quality of lifestyle.
5.3.9 Accommodation for
farm workers
As the agricultural
activities diversify, costs increase for travel and
local circumstances
change, there is a growing interest in
providing on-site
accommodation for managers and full time, part
time and seasonal
workers working on the property.
In principle, the shire
supports the use of workers’ accommodation
on or near the
properties on which they work subject to each
application being
assessed on it’s the individual merits. When
considering application
for farm workers accommodation on rural
land Council will take
the following mattes into consideration:
·
suitable access to the property being provided;
·
the availability of services and infrastructures;
·
the management of potential adverse impacts and land use
conflict;
·
a preference to cluster similar uses on the property, and
·
the inclusion of conditions in the approval to prevent
workers
accommodation
being used as justification for a future
subdivision.
COMMENT
The following is comments on the major
concerns of the proposed
poultry farm.
Services and Infrastructure
· Cervantes and Munbinea
Roads are sealed roads and provide good access to the site.
· The applicant is
advised to liaise with Western Power to ensure
there is sufficient power available to
the site.
Land Capability
· The applicant has
advised that from a desktop study and site
visit
the evaluation results indicate the site would be suitable for
its
intended purpose of a free range egg production farm (see
attached
Environmental Assessment).
Vehicle Access Requirements
· A traffic management
plan will be implemented to maintain and
enhance internal vehicle access areas
and minimise the
potential for traffic conflict and
generation of unreasonable
offsite noise or dust.
· A dust management plan
will also be implemented to minimise
dust generation with the potential for
off-site impact.
Ground and Surface Water
· The Department of Water
and Environmental Regulation
(DWER) were consulted for comment on the
proposal and
provided the following feedback on this
matter:
The submitted proposal
did not include any detailed information
regarding soil and
water management during the construction of
the development.
Particular attention should be paid to potential
weather effects on
range areas that may impact on poultry, soil or
water resources
including:
·
Free to range enclosures should be sited where the ground
surface
is at least three metres above the water table to reduce
the
risk of flooding. Where soils have low permeability,
floodwaters
may transport nutrients from manure into wetlands.
·
A site where open areas of standing water may occur should
be
avoided
as wild birds may be attracted, exposing poultry to an
increased
risk of disease.
·
A suitable area should be provided to allow roaming birds
to
forage
without causing significant soil damage, nutrient leaching
or
loss of contaminant filtering vegetation to property
boundaries,
waterways and water bodies.
It
is recommended that should the development be approved that
conditions
are enforced requiring the following plans to be
developed
in consultation with the Department of Water and
Environmental
Regulation (Regulatory Services (Water)):
·
Assessment of the wetland areas located on the
property with
appropriate
buffers and fringing vegetation defined.
·
Soil and Water Management Plan.
·
Stormwater Management Plan prepared in accordance with the
·
Stormwater Management Manual for Western Australia.
It is also recommended
that any wastewater treatment and
disposal systems for
the manager’s houses and/or donga
accommodation be
designed in accordance with the Water Quality
Protection Note No. 70 –
Wastewater treatment and disposal –
domestic systems.
Service Water
· The applicant is
liaising with DWER to gain permission to use
ground
and surface water. It is believed there will be sufficient
quality and
quantity of bore water to service the industry.
Remnant Vegetation and Wetland
Protection Requirements
· The site is largely
cleared of original vegetation; however an
area
of remnant banksia wood in the central part against
Cervantes
Road and an uncleared wetland area in the north
west
of the property exist. The proposed development is
located
away from both these land characteristics.
Land Use Conflict
· There is no wider
potential for land use conflict from things such as spray drift or smoke
between existing and proposed use.
· The use will not
sterilise land with potential for urban expansion or other long term land needs
as there is unlikely to be any urban expansion in the vicinity.
· There are no sensitive
adjoining land uses.
· The proposed
development will form a uniform group with AAA Egg Company’s first site located
approximately 2km northwest at Lot 25 Munbinea Road.
· The development should
not significantly detract from any scenic landscape and/or conservation
attributes identified in the locality as the proposal is approximately 11km
from Indian Ocean Drive.
· Tronox request that the
proximity of valuable mineral resources and possible future mining activities
be communicated to the proponent.
Buffers with Adjacent Uses
· As there are no
existing dwellings or other sensitive land uses within 1000m of the site the
application complies with both local and State buffer distance standards.
· Further to Table 7 from
the Shire’s Local Rural Planning Strategy illustrated above the Department of
Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) have advised that there is a
required minimum distance of 1000m required between any other poultry farm
sheds. The proposed poultry farm complies with this requirement as the poultry
farm will be located approximately 2km from the proponent’s other operating
poultry farm in the Hill River region.
· The proposed
development will also comply with the 1000m
setback requirement from any sensitive
land use stipulated
under the EPA Guidance Statement No. 3 –
Guidance for the
Assessment of Environmental Factors –
Separation Distances
between Industrial and Sensitive Land
Uses.
Safety, Health and Amenity of the
Locality
· Given the site
management protocols, separation distances
from existing dwellings and the very
unlikely development of
urban land within the vicinity of the
proposal, there are no
adverse impacts on nearby residents.
· An advice note is
provided to applicant to advise that the
proposal should at all times comply with
the Biosecurity &
Agriculture (Stable Fly) Management Plan
2013 in order to
minimize the effects of stable flies on
the community.
Size and Timing of the Operation
The applicant has advised the following:
· The operation of a
poultry farm is 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week commitment, however the applicant
has stated standard
hours of operation for regular activity
will be from 6am to 8pm
Monday to Sunday.
· 120m3 of manure is produced
weekly.
· Each poultry shed is
depopulated approximately every 5.25
weeks creating 60tons of carcasses
(11.43tons weekly).
· General waste is
approximately 2 to 3m3
per month.
Waste Disposal
· A waste and manure
management plan will ensure best
industry practices are implemented to
ensure offsite impacts
are minimised.
· Manure moisture levels
are monitored and will be kept below
the level known by the farm managers to
cause odour.
· Manure from the poultry
sheds will not be spread on the
property.
· Manure will be removed
from the poultry sheds twice weekly via
conveyor belts to waiting trucks who
will remove the waste
offsite for further processing, reuse or
disposal.
· Normal mortality of
birds will be collected daily or more
frequently if required. The disposal of
such will also occur daily
either through refrigeration, composter
or other approved
methods of disposal.
Conditions of approval will ensure all
waste is disposed correctly
and safely and any adverse impacts of
the waste to the
environment are minimised and are not
simply transported
elsewhere. Conditions of approval will
ensure all waste
transported offsite for:
· further processing
and/or reuse shall be to the standards stated
in the Environmental Guidelines for the
Australian Egg Industry;
and
· disposal is to a
Department of Water and Environmental
Regulation Licensed Controlled Waste
Facility under Part V of
the Environmental Protection Act 1986.
However this is only
applicable to waste facilities which
receive in excess of 1,000
tonnes annually under Schedule 1 of the
Environmental
Protection Regulations 1987.
The Department of Primary Industries and
Regional Development
on consultation requested further
information from the proponent
to make a comment on the proposal. In
response to this Terry
Woodard, the Director of AAA Egg Company
stated the following:
As submitted, we are
proposing to build 12 x 30,000 bird
controlled environment,
free-range poultry sheds that are the latest
technology equipment
from Big Dutchman in Europe who are
global leaders in
poultry housing systems.
The sheds design,
equipment and construction will allow the hens
to spend up to 8 hours
per day free ranging on reticulated
paddocks, the balance
of the hens time will be spent inside the
shed where they will
drink, feed, lay eggs and roam in the
controlled environment.
The specifics of the daily life of the hens
meet or exceed the
current Poultry Code of Practice 4th Edition as
well as the proposed
Australian Animal Welfare Standards and
Guidelines for Poultry
currently being reviewed.
AAA Egg Company is the
leading producer of both cage and free
range eggs in Western
Australia and operate multiple free range
sites in WA that
strictly follow HACCP principals of food safety that
are incorporated into
our QA systems to comply or exceed the
minimum standards
identified by the various codes. We strongly
support the Standards
and Guidelines for Poultry review becoming
mandatory legislation
nationally to further strengthen the
requirements of egg
producers.
Our farm managers are
trained in HACCP based Quality
Assurance systems that
are practical, effective and provide for
ongoing improvement via
review and action methodologies.
We verify these systems
through senior staff (including Livestock,
Operations and Quality
Assurance managers) who are Certificate
IV in Training and
Assessment to carry out ongoing internal
training and
verification of our QA system.
Environmental Standards
Each of our sites
including the Proposed Site No 2. Hill River
Poultry Farm are bound
by a site specific environmental code of
practice to ensure we
meet or exceed the standards (these can be
found in the attached
documentation).
The environmental
assessment report written in consultation with
Dr Peter Keating from
Bio Science is derived from the relevant
local, state and
national environmental standards (these can be
found in the attached
documentation).
Given the above information it is the
Officer’s view that if the site is
well managed to the protocols listed,
there will be minimal impact
to neighbouring properties and the
environment and is therefore
supported with conditions.
CONSULTATION
· Department of Primary
Industries & Regional Development;
· Department of Water
& Environment Regulation;
· Department of
Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions;
· Department of Fire and
Emergency Services;
· Local newspapers;
· Surrounding land
owners; and
· Shire Officers.
STATUTORY ENVIRONMENT
· Local Planning Scheme
No 7
· Environmental
Protection Act 1986
· Environmental
Protection Regulations 1987
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
· SPP 2.5 – Rural
Planning Guidelines
· SPP 2.9 – Water
Resources
· WAPC Fact Sheet –
Poultry Farms
· Environmental Code of
Practice for Poultry Farms in Western Australia
· Environmental
Guidelines for the Australian Egg Industry
· Poultry Code of
Practice 4th
Edition
· Australian Animal Welfare
Standards and Guidelines for Poultry
· There are no local
policy implications relevant to this item.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The proponent has paid a fee of $17,553
for the planning
STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
· Local Planning Strategy
- Rural Land Use and Settlement 2012
· Draft Local Planning
Strategy 2016
· 2016 – 2026 Strategic
Community Plan
Goal 1: Great Place for
Residential and Business Development
Goal 2: Healthy, Safe
and Active Community
Goal 5: Proactive and
Leading Local Government
ATTACHMENTS
Circulated with the agenda are the
following items relevant to this
report:
· Subdivision Plan (Doc
Id: 107611)
· Site Plan (Doc Id:
107597)
· Environmental
Assessment (Doc Id: 107599)
· Environmental Management
Plan (Doc Id: 107596)
· Schedule of Submissions
(Doc Id: 107602)
(Marked 9.4.5)
VOTING REQUIREMENT
Simple majority
OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
That Council approve
the planning application for a proposed
Free Range Poultry Farm
on Lot 3751 Munbinea Road, Hill
River to AAA Egg
Company subject to the following
conditions of approval:
1. The land use and
development shall be undertaken in
accordance with the
approved and stamped plans,
including the approved Environmental
Management Plan.
2. This Approval is for
an Animal Husbandry - Intensive
(Free Range Poultry
Farm) only.
3. The use and
development must be substantially
commenced within 3
years of the date of this approval.
4. Poultry shed design
and management, management of
stock feed, water,
waste products and all other aspects of
poultry farm operation
are to comply with the
management guidelines
set out in the Environmental
Code of Practice for
Poultry Farms in Western Australia
(May 2004) and the
Environmental Guidelines for the
Australian Egg Industry
(June 2008).
5. The maximum number
of laying hens shall be 360,000.
6. Crossovers, access
and egress to the subject site from
Munbinea Road and any
road works shall be located and
constructed to the
satisfaction of the Executive Manager
Infrastructure and
include all necessary drainage and
signage. Costs
applicable to the construction of the
access point/s onto the
site and any related issues shall
be borne by the
proponent.
7. All internal roadway
surfaces within the site are to be
constructed of a
suitable material such as paving, road
base, limestone or
course gravel and compacted to limit
dust generation to the
satisfaction of the Shire’s Chief
Executive Officer.
8. The use and
development must be conducted so that it
has minimum impact on
the amenity of the area by reason
of:
I.
Transportation of materials, goods and commodities
to and from the
premises;
II.
Appearance of any buildings, works and materials;
and
III.
The emission of noise, odour, vibration, dust,
wastewater, waste
products or reflected light.
9. The applicant is to
carry out of each of the elements of the
Environmental
Management Plan including the audit
protocol set out within
the Environmental Management
Plan.
10. Prior to the
commencement of the development, an
amended Soil and Water
Management Plan shall be
submitted to the Shire
and approved by the Chief
Executive Officer.
11. Prior to the
commencement of the development, a
Stormwater Management
Plan prepared in accordance
with the Stormwater
Management Manual for Western
Australia shall be
submitted to the Shire and approved by
the Chief Executive Officer.
12. Prior to the
commencement of the development, an
assessment of the
wetland areas located on the property
with appropriate
buffers and fringing vegetation defined
shall be submitted to
the Shire and approved by the Chief
Executive Officer.
13. All waste
transported offsite for further processing and/or
reuse shall be to the
protocols of the Environmental
Guidelines for the
Australian Egg Industry (June 2008).
14. All waste
transported offsite for disposal shall be to a
Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation
Licensed Controlled
Waste facility under Part V of the
Environmental
Protection Act 1986. This condition is not
applicable to
facilities which receive less than 1,000
tonnes of waste
annually under Schedule 1 of the
Environmental
Protection Regulations 1987.
15. In the event of any
adverse environmental conditions
caused by the
proponent, the Chief Executive Officer may
impose conditions to
rectify and remediate the
environment by and at
the cost to the proponent.
Advice Notes:
Note 1: Further to this
approval, the Applicant may be
required to submit
working drawings and
specifications to
comply with the requirements of
the Building Act 2011
and the Health Act 1911
which are to be
approved by the Shire’s Manager
Building Services
and/or Manager Environmental
Health prior to issuing
a Building Licence.
Note 2: The Department
of Health advises that any form of
pest control using
pesticides must comply with the
Health (Pesticides)
Regulations 2011.
Note 3: It is advised
that the proposal should at all times
comply with the
Biosecurity & Agriculture (Stable
Fly) Management Plan
2013 in order to minimize the
effects of stable flies
on the community.
Note 4: It is advised
that the proposal should at all times
comply with the
provisions of the Food Act 2008
and related
regulations, codes and guidelines and
in particular the
Primary Production Standard in
relation to Egg
production.
Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation Advice
Notes:
·
Free to range enclosures should be sited where the ground
surface is at least
three metres above the water table to
reduce the risk of
flooding. Where soils have low
permeability, floodwaters
may transport nutrients from
manure into wetlands.
·
A site where open areas of standing water may occur
should be avoided as
wild birds may be attracted, exposing
poultry to an increased
risk of disease.
·
A suitable area should be provided to allow roaming birds
to forage without
causing significant soil damage, nutrient
leaching or loss of
contaminant filtering vegetation to
property boundaries,
waterways and water bodies.
·
Any wastewater treatment and disposal systems for the
manager’s houses and/or
donga accommodation be
designed in accordance
with the Water Quality Protection
Note No. 70 –
Wastewater treatment and disposal –
domestic systems.
Western Power Advice
Notes:
The applicant is to be
made aware that before commencing
any work it is
essential that they complete a Dial Before You
Dig enquiry to obtain
the location and voltage of the Western
Power network.
Mining Advice Notes:
Tronox request that the
proximity of valuable mineral
resources and future
mining activities be accounted for in the
assessment of this
development and communicated to the
proponent. If approved,
the development must be undertaken
with the knowledge of
being located adjacent to future mining
and mineral haulage
activities, and the associated
interactions that will arise.
