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The NSW Independent Planning Commission has today refused Glencore’s proposed extension to its Hunter Valley Glendell coal mine.

The commission found that the project “is not in the public interest, despite its likely benefits” as the mine would have “significant, irreversible and unjustified impacts on the historic heritage values of the Ravensworth Homestead complex”.

The complex, including the main house built in 1832, would have needed to be relocated for the project to proceed.

The project would also harm Aboriginal cultural heritage values, the commission said. The Plains Clan of the Wonnarua People describe the Ravensworth Homestead and surrounding land as “hallowed ground” of the Wonnarua people as it was the site of a series of massacres from the 1820s onwards.

Maria Foot, a member of the local Wonnarua clan, told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2021 that the relocation would have been tantamount to “moving a graveyard”.

However, the mining company had previously contested the location and date of the massacres.

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The commission heard evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including Glencore, the Department of Planning and Environment, Heritage NSW, the NSW Heritage Council, Singleton council and representatives from local Aboriginal groups, as well as conducting a site inspection and holding a public hearing in March this year.

In its Statement of Reasons for Decision, the commission found that the Ravensworth Homestead complex, comprised of colonial buildings and gardens and located approximately in the centre of the proposed mine site, has “high to exceptional heritage value” in its existing historic location and setting.

The commission said:

The removal of the Ravensworth Homestead complex and associated heritage from the Site would constitute a significant loss to future generations.

It acknowledged the positive employment, economic and social benefits the project would bring but said that the heritage impacts meant the project “is not in the public interest.”

The commission found that greenhouse gas emissions, as well as water and biodiversity impacts, could have been appropriately managed in the event that the significant and irreversible impacts to historic heritage could have been avoided.