The Independent Planning Commission has added a third day to the public hearing into the proposed Hunter Valley Operations North and South open cut coal mine continuation project, after a high volume of registrations from community members wishing to speak.
In-person hearings will proceed as planned at Branxton Community Hall on Thursday, July 16 and Friday, July 17, both beginning at 10am and livestreamed for public viewing. A third day has been added as an entirely online session on Wednesday, July 22, beginning at 10am, with speakers and Commission panel members all participating via video or telephone conference.
To accommodate the number of people who have registered to speak in person, some speakers who had registered to speak via videoconference or telephone on July 16 or 17 may be rescheduled to the online session on July 22. A final speakers schedule will be published on the Commission’s website once confirmed.
Registrations to speak at the online hearing on July 22 close at 12 noon on Wednesday, July 8. The Commission has noted the high number of speakers makes it very difficult to accommodate timeslot change requests, which will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
All three hearing days will be livestreamed on the Independent Planning Commission’s YouTube channel. The deadline for written submissions has also been extended by three days to 11:59pm on Wednesday, July 29. Speakers can register at calendly.com/register-your-interest-to-speak.
