Consultation on rate reform set to begin

Wellington will hold its meeting next Wednesday night.

There is an anticipated impact on rural ratepayers and some of those in town as well but landholders in the Bodangora and Spicers Creek areas believe they shouldn’t be paying any more but actually less. 

They are indicating a report by a real estate valuer Peter Reardon saying the impact of wind turbine developments on rural property values can be as high as 60 per cent. 

Real estate agents say buyers are reluctant to purchase in an area under threat of wind farms due to potential financial loss and the blight on the landscape, they say the matter will be brought up at a community consultation in Wellington next week. 

Some properties close to wind farms are “unsaleable”, according to a major real estate agent in the survey.

The 33-page study released this week by Goulburn real estate consultant and registered valuer Peter Reardon provides sales evidence that proves that wind farms do impact property values.

It’s a slap in the face for the wind industry - already facing financial difficulty and significant changes to the renewable energy sector under a newly-elected Coalition government. 

Wind farm developers have long denied any effect on land values, often quoting an out-of-date and inconclusive 2009 NSW Valuer General’s report.

In the report Mr Reardon says a plague of more than 3000 turbines are either in operation or proposed for construction across country New South Wales, many of them located in the northern regions of the Southern Tablelands.

“Well over half of the NSW wind farms that appear likely to be built in the near future are within a 90 km radius of Goulburn,’’ he said.

“This situation, where such a large proportion of a state’s wind turbines have been proposed in a single area, is unique in Australia.

“The report has identified detriments in property values. Discounts in value of 33 and  60 per cent in the market place cannot be ignored,” said Mr.Reardon.