An Orange City Council proposal to rezone 114 hectares of primary production and environmental management land just south of the airport to a mix of general industrial and business is currently on public exhibition.

The proposal has been a contentious one for Orange Council raising the ire of nearby landholders concerned about water pollution, and the use of prime agricultural land for industry.

Opponents have stated that Orange Council should wait post-merger before proceeding with the plan. 

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment ruled the rezoning would not go ahead unless the councils agreed to an addendum to the Blayney Cabonne Orange Rural and Industrial Lands Strategy. 

But Blayney mayor Scott Ferguson said he wanted to see a full review.

The Blayney Shire already has 40 hectares of industrial land serviced by road, rail and gas, with another 40 hectares available for expansion.

“We have concerns any industrial development would have a severe impact on our site,” he said.

“We’ve sold little bits and pieces and we’re not seeing a lot of demand.”

Among those looking carefully at the proposal will be Blayney and Cabonne councils and member-elect for Orange Phil Donato due to concerns about water quality and industrial land supply.

Mr Donato said he wanted to see the rezoning held in abeyance until the proposed amalgamation between the three councils was dealt with.

“There’s three jurisdictions that relies on and that’s the first obstacle,” he said.

“We’re opposed to prime agricultural land, which is what it is, being rezoned into industry or commercial and it’s a water catchment area as well.”

Orange council spokesman Nick Redmond said demand for industrial land in Orange itself was high and while it was important to get the balance right, it was inevitable any expansion of the city would cut into agricultural land.