The development approval by Bathurst Regional Council on Wednesday night will greatly change the amenity of their neighbourhood and leave them with townhouses overlooking their backyards.

The development will also see the removal of three large trees that dominate the local landscape and are home to native fauna.

As unpleasant as all that may be, though, the reality is none of those issues was ever going to be enough to deny the project going ahead under current planning rules which sensibly seek to provide a range of living options to cater for a growing population.

That's not to say, however, that the development should have been approved in its current state.

A report to councillors on Wednesday night admitted the development failed to comply with planning rules in four different areas. That alone should have been enough to give councillors pause for thought before granting the green light.

The most concerning areas of non-compliance related to parking and street frontages but council’s planning department staff recommended variations to the rules could be supported in each of the four cases.

Sadly, councillors – enough of them, at least – agreed.

Worse, though, was the fact that by the time the item was put to a vote just five councillors remained in the chamber.

A development of this significance with the potential to greatly change the feel of a local neighbourhood should require more than three approving of clothes to go ahead.

A far better result would have been to defer the item until a new nine-member council is in place. Five councillors simply is not a representative sample in a region of more than 40,000 people.

As it was, the end could not come quickly enough for this current council.

Having just seven councillors for the past six months – with another councillor who left the chamber for most planning decisions – has not been conducive to good governance, regardless of councillors’ best efforts.

After so many deferrals in recent months, though, it’s hard to see why one more was not possible. And did mayor Graeme Hanger and Cr Monica Morse really want approving this development to be their last action before seeking re-election?