The proposed 1000-head feedlot sits next to a new residential subdivision at Glen Legh Road and the township of Stonehenge, the latter just 1.5 kilometres away. Glen Innes town proper is 12.2 kilometres away.  It is planned to be 360 metres long and 50 metres deep and run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If approved it would cost $385,000 to build.

Around 40 letters were sent to council opposing the development. A group of residents calling themselves the Glen Innes Action Group have organised opposition to what they consider a threat to their homes.

Medical doctor Tom Bennett wrote a letter of objection as part of the council's development approval process. He raised concerns about potential risks to the town water supply, water consumption, fly populations and the health impacts on Glen Innes itself.

"Winds from the south east of Glen Innes occur approximately 10 per cent of the time," it read.

"Dust from feedlots and saleyards have been shown to carry increased concentrations of E-Coli bacteria.

"Many residents of the area collect rainwater for drinking. There is a possibility therefore of particulate and bacterial contamination.

"Q fever, similarly, is associated with such facilities. Although the employees of the site can be largely protected by vaccination, the non-vaccinated cannot."

Q-fever is described in a NSW Government fact sheet as caused by breathing in air containing dust contaminated by cattle and other farm animals. Symptoms include severe headaches, fever, extreme fatigue and joint pain, and in 10 per cent of cases the bacterial infection can cause a “chronic-fatigue like illness which can be debilitating for years”. 

The DA applicant refused to comment on the record for this story.

In a text message to the Examiner he said “I have decided it would not be appropriate for me to comment while the DA is going through its due process with council”.

He also failed to answer a list of allegations made by opponents of his DA sent in an email sent several weeks  ago.

Jess Brown, who leads the opposition to the development, said the plan ‘could stink out the whole valley'.

“We’re right up on the hill above it, I can see him moving his cattle, getting in and out of his vehicle.

“He’s one and a bit kilometres from us.

"(I) spent a long time in the city, came here for a tree change and it was going to be ruined.

"Smell, noise, odor, dust.

"You don't expect to buy into a brand new subdivision and have that less than two ks from your front door."

She said the feedlot area, given it is in a high rainfall area, is likely to create a huge stench. Ms Brown suggests the proposal could be moved to a different property further away from town.

“He could put it on one of his many other properties. Nobody is objecting – that I’ve spoken to – to an intensive feedlot. What they’re objecting to is it being in close proximity (with) residential sensitive use areas.”

Her group has organised opposition to the proposal, with about 40 people making representations against it.

"Ninety percent of the houses within a 6 kilometer radius of said development are opposed," she claimed. 

In the environment impact guideline published the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning says “a high priority should be given to considering environmental factors in site selection, evaluating alternative sites, ascertaining the suitability of the intended location."

“There should be an early evaluation of alternatives, taking into consideration the factors in Part 4 of this guideline,” it reads.

Section 4 includes a list of required issues to consider, including groundwater use.

But the development application claims that existing cattle yards in the area “already cause an equivalent amount of odor and noise”.

It also claims that “dust within the feedlot and on roads can be controlled using on farm water tanks when needed. With the numbers being relatively low (300-1000) dust won’t be a major concern but will require cleaning of pens and managing stocking rates.”

The DA also claims it will reduce the pressure of drought and allow the property to add value to end products.

It also says that manure will be stored in a stockpile on the site.

Council planners have asked for additional information on the development from the applicant.

After the applicant provides further information, the DA will go before the whole council for approval. It’s expected to come before council early in the year.

There is already a feedlot in the area. The Ranger's Valley feedlot, approved and constructed in the 80s, has a capacity of 32,000 head of cattle. It specialises in marbled Black Angus and Wagyu cross breeds.