To the east of Singleton, where large grazing properties have been transformed to create rural subdivisions, spacious homes with manicured gardens and modern livestock facilities now dot the landscape.
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And the owners of these properties are not happy and they will no doubt be taking that discord into the nearby polling both at Elderslie Community Hall on Saturday, May 22 to cast their vote in the critical Upper Hunter by-election.
What has caused this anger is the proposal to build a gas pipeline through their community.
Known as the Hunter Gas Pipeline (HGP) the $500 million, 420 kilometre Narrabri and Newcastle project was originally approved on February 11, 2009, but construction is yet to begin and it required a five year extension to be granted in 2019 by the NSW Department of Planning.
Since its 2009 approval, much has changed not only the rise of rural subdivisions along its route, but also the NSW Government commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, and the realisation by leading energy experts that renewables with storage are the cheapest and cleanest way to power the future.
Now, many of those whose properties are likely to be affected by the pipeline are lobbying all Upper Hunter candidates to get their commitment to stop its construction.
"There is vast opposition to this gas pipeline, 99 per cent out of the hundreds of affected landholders are opposed to it," said a determined Meg Bowman whose property at Stanhope will front the pipeline.
"We are saying [many of] the landholders are united and the HGP will not be allowed on our land."
Mrs Bowman contacted The National Party just after local the member, The Nationals Michael Johnsen, resigned.
She said they took her call, listened but is still waiting for action.
Voters gathered at Stanhope talked with Greens candidate Sue Abbott about their opposition to the project.
Mrs Abbott said she was fully committed to seeing the project canned, saying her mantra is 'no gas, not here, not anywhere'.
"The pipeline, no one wants it and we have a real issues with its legacy as the proponents say they won't decommission it, so the landholders end up with pipeline in their properties forever," she said.
"There is also the threat to soil and waterways from leakages and erosion and the gas is not compatible with us tackling climate change."
The dormant proposal was kicked back into life in May 2017 when it was linked to the Narrabri gas project and since that time landholders like Mrs Bowman have had the constant threat of their rural lifestyles being sacrificed for the construction of an energy supply that may become a stranded asset.
Pointing to her farm shed that held both solar panels and a Newcastle University development wind turbine, Mrs Bowman said, "this is the future." Both technologies are are connected to a battery, allowing the family to live off grid.
