No new broiler farms for Baringhup after seven-year battle

The planning permit was cancelled in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and two other applications to make amendments were withdrawn.

Community member Marg Lewis said the developer, Pavilion Partners, withdrew the amendments after reaching an agreement that would see a small group of farmers purchase the land.

A pending VCAT hearing was also dismissed, she said.

Related: Baringhup broiler farm fight looms

Mount Alexander Shire Council knocked back the proposed development, but it was later given the green light by VCAT in 2016, when permits for 24 broiler sheds for up to 1.2 million chickens were granted.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision, but the objecting residents then took their fight to the Court of Appeal, where the decision was in part set aside.

The matter was then referred back to VCAT.

Ms Lewis said the community had spent seven years and more than $750,000 battling the development.

Residents were able to keep up the fight for so long, she said, by taking it one step at a time.

"The community was tenacious," she said.

Ms Lewis said the proposed development sparked a number concerns ranging from odour to damage to the roads to environmental impacts, among others.

"The Moolort Plains is a pretty unique area, being a volcanic grassland north of the Divide," she said.

The Bendigo Advertiser was unable to contact Pavilion Partners or its director for comment.

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