Wendy Tuckerman – who was installed by the Baird government after Harden shire councillors were sacked late last week – has asked staff to prepare briefings, which will shape her decision on the Blantyre Farm piggery development application.

It comes after the government forced Harden, Boorowa and Young to merge, despite a unanimous vote of 500 Harden residents at a public hearing asking to merge with Cootamundra instead.

The piggery attracted the largest number of complaints on record, but many are from animal activists suspected of not being local.

Ross Flanery, a former Harden Shire councillor for 34 years - 10 of those as mayor – felt the pulse of the Harden council just days before they were sacked by the state government and determined approval was imminent.

Now with bureaucrats in charge, instead of democratically elected officials, Mr Flanery doubts whether such a contentious intensive farming operation will pass muster.

“The administrator has no council behind her and does what she likes, so heaven knows what will happen,” Mr Flanery said.

“If you were in the administrator’s position and the planning director said don’t go ahead, you’d be pretty game as an outsider to go against it.”

Blantyre Farm piggery proponent Edwina Beveridge, who co-owns two Young piggeries, wished the new council well and hoped for a quick resolution.