THE PLAN: No areas will be off limits to mining under the final version of the NSW land use plan.
TWENTY-TWO coal seam gas exploration licences across NSW, including two of the region's most controversial, are set to be renewed after the release of the state government's final strategic land use plan.
More than 2 million hectares of land in the Upper Hunter and New England regions have been deemed prime agricultural land or viticulture and equine industry clusters, but no areas will be off limits to mining under the final version of the policy, which was released yesterday.
The exploration licences, which had been on hold pending the plan's completion, include two of the region's most controversial - AGL's 267, originally granted over the Hunter's vineyards, and Dart Energy's 458 over Fullerton Cove and Newcastle suburbs.
The government said it would enforce a requirement for 25 per cent of licence areas to be relinquished on renewal, meaning less land would be covered.
Newcastle Herald
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