TAMWORTH councillors voted unanimously to delay plans to relocate homes at risk of flooding in the Dungowan Valley at its meeting on Tuesday night.
The rethink was prompted by a lack of "definitive advice" from the NSW government and the incomplete earthquake assessment for Dungowan Dam.
The council last year agreed to spend an estimated $17.6 million in a plan to relocate 11 houses downstream of the dam to higher ground following a report from Hunter Water Australia.
While council is not prepared to rebuild the homes, it will negotiate the outright purchase of any of the 11 properties identified at greatest risk to allow residents the opportunity to "seek closure" on the issue.
Residents voiced their concerns about the council's plan at a packed public meeting in the village in October, saying they would prefer an engineering option to improve the dam rather than be relocated.
The council's decision to shelve relocation plans was a relief for Malcolm and Nola Moore, "Waterfall", Ogunbil, who manage the 648-hectare property for an absentee owner just two kilometres from the dam.
"This is very good news for us," Mr Moore said.
"We were all bullied into thinking we had to move. This means we won't have to in the near future.
"It's been a very stressful time for everyone in the valley."
Mr Moore agreed with comments made by Water Minister Kevin Humphries earlier this year, when he told The Northern Daily Leader the council had "panicked" in its handling of the flood threat.
"They definitely rushed into the plan to relocate us
"It was all too quick. Some people didn't know about the council's plans until they got a letter saying they'd have to move.
"It was a very big ask for us to just pack up our lives and move."
The council is waiting on guidance from the NSW government before continuing a revised plan for the valley.
