The Walcha local government area (LGA) is located within the New England Renewable Energy Zone in NSW. This Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) plays a vital role in supporting the transition towards renewable energy and a Net Zero future. It has an intended network capacity of 8 gigawatts and is expected to support around 2,000 operational and 6,000 construction jobs.
Gyde’s Newcastle Planning team partnered with Walcha Council and Jigsaw Planning to prepare a draft Land Use Strategy and draft Cumulative Impact Assessment of the LGA. The underlying objective is to leverage the positive elements and minimise any potential negative impacts anticipated from new renewable energy projects.
Land Use Strategies typically take a holistic approach to considering existing zoned general residential, rural residential, commercial and industrial and assesses. In the Walcha project, this assessment considered the context of the REZ and related development, existing capacity and suitable land for future rezoning to accommodate anticipated demand.
The draft Land Use Strategy also reviewed existing and future population trends within the LGA. Interestingly, after a period of decline, the population is projected to be an increase in the working aged population from 1,637 in 2021 to 1,761 in 2041 (124 people over 20 years). The early retiree population is projected to slightly decrease, with children and the elderly remaining stable.
When finalised, the Land Use Strategy will provide a roadmap for future planning of the LGA to accommodate this growth while protecting significant existing agricultural industries and the scenic landscapes that make Walcha unique.
The Walcha Strategic Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) has been prepared as a ‘point in time’ assessment to assist Walcha Council and the community to understand the potential influx of construction workers which are anticipated to come into the LGA over the next 5-10 years due to these projects.
The CIA charts the project lifespan and temporary construction workforce numbers of potential renewables projects in the LGA. It is focused on housing supply and demand and the potential impacts of a short-term, transient construction workforce.
Our analysis firstly shows that given the early stages of the REZ projects, it is challenging to work out the magnitude and timing of impacts. The modelling found there could be a peak of between 600 to 1,500temporary construction workers in the LGA based on a series of scenarios.
The Cumulative Impact Assessment identified a series of insights and recommendations Council can take to minimise and mitigate the impacts and take advantage of the opportunities presented by development within the REZ. These include:
- regular engagement with Energy Co and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to understand status and progress of REZ projects;
- preparing a Construction Workforce Accommodation Strategy to provide expectations on future construction workforce accommodation in the LGA ;
- advocating for State Significant Development Applications to include a Construction Workforce Accommodation Strategy to inform the Environmental Impact Statement, and therefore part of the core assessment rather than being left as a future mitigation measure; and
- identifying legacy infrastructure to benefit the local economy, services and infrastructure (e.g. schools child care, community facilities)
The draft Land Use Strategy and draft Cumulative Impact Assessment will be finalised following a period of public exhibition in September-October 2025, and can be viewed here: https://walcha.nsw.gov.au/public-exhibition-land-use-strategy-cumulative-impact-assessment/
The Walcha Land Use Strategy is one of many strategies we have prepared for regional Councils across New South Wales. We also have experience in preparing Local Housing Strategies, Employment Land Strategies and Rural Land Strategies for Councils.
