Orange's wine industry risks being unable to hold evening festival events unless proposed council planning rules are changed, according to its peak body.
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Cabonne Council recently released a draft set of guidelines for cellar doors and farm stay accommodation, which would restrict trade to between 9am and 6pm, limit signage to just 0.75 square metres and require wine growers to locate any tourist accommodation within 50 metres of the main house.
The council formed the rules after receiving a growing number of development applications, but the Orange Region Vignerons Association said they would stifle the industry.
In a letter to the council, ORVA executive officer Charlotte Gundry said the draft development control plan "[put] in place roadblocks for new entrants to the rural tourism industry".
"The culmination of all the good plans and hard work that have been put in place at the local and state level means that we are currently unable to meet the demand for tourism products and services expected by visitors to the region," she said.
President Nicole Samodol said the main opportunity for the industry was expanding into conferences where groups could work during the day and have a wine tasting afterwards.
"With the current hours the council is proposing, it doesn't respond to that potential growth," she said.
Ms Samodol said the 50-metre guideline on accommodation would not be practical as visitors wanted a private rural setting.
She said ORVA also wanted the council to change rules requiring cellar doors to be located on commercial vineyards so those who owned more outlying vineyards could open cellar doors closer to town - Angullong Wines' vineyard is located at Panuara, within the Blayney Shire, but operates its cellar door from Millthorpe.
"It's actually a good idea to locate a cellar door away from your vines ... to protect them from disease," Ms Samodol said.
Cabonne mayor Kevin Beatty anticipated the consultation period would be extended to enable the industry to make submissions.
"The council is not going to make this plan without everybody's input into it," he said.