The permit covers the first 10-hectare stage of the Stawell hydroponic cucumber farm.

The permit was presented to the chief executive of Nectar Farms Stephen Sasse by mayor Murray Emerson on Sunday.

Representatives of the Kubo and Georgiou groups, who will be responsible for delivering the glasshouses, were present.

Cr Emerson said it was an exciting time for the Northern Grampians Shire.

“This game-­changing development has huge effects not only for Stawell but for the whole shire,” he said. 

“There will be about 85 jobs created for residents in the first stage, not including construction, which will obviously present great opportunities for contractors.

“It’s gone through the same rigorous and transparent process as every other planning permit and we’re happy to be able to celebrate it being issued now.”

Cr Wayne Rice said the planning approval was a step into the future. 

“In terms of significance – it’s absolutely huge,” he said. “The market is looking to expand.

“Places like China and India have had a massive population boom and don’t have the land to grow food on.

“They’ll turn elsewhere and Australia is a clean country with a great environment. 

“People love the way we control food from the farm gate to the plate.”

Cr Rice said the hydroponic produce was the way of the future and he was excited the Northern Grampians could be a part of it. 

“The future of growing food must be done in hydroponic farms to be clean,” he said. “Then we can produce the product exactly to customer requirements.”

Cr Rice said after years of discussions it was great to see the plan move forward.

“We did a tour of Flavorite Tomato nearly three years ago and started talking about hydroponics then,” he said. 

Mr Sasse said his company was delighted to invest in the Northern Grampians.

“We’re looking forward to getting construction underway and setting up our new development in the shire,” he said.

“It really is the perfect place for the hydroponics business and we’ve been made to feel very welcome by the community already so we are very pleased to be getting started.”

There have been workshops this week between Nectar Farms, Georgiou, Kubo, and various other service providers to discuss final design and construction arrangements.

Cr Emerson said construction should be completed next year, with the first harvest to take place in later in the year.