Tom Groggin Station owner Duncan McDonald fears his five-year plan has “seriously stalled” with no indication received from council as to when its planning scheme review will be finalised.

“They’ve lost their chief executive, their planner and an engineer, the place seems in complete chaos,” Mr McDonald said.

Towong Mayor Mary Fraser confirmed council had suffered an exodus of staff but said the losses, which also include an acting chief executive, would not hold up the project.

“Mr McDonald has been working with a planning consultant and we’ll be holding submission hearings (on the proposed planning scheme adjustments) by the middle of June,” Cr Fraser said.

Cr Fraser said the former chief executive Ray Park “left abruptly” and that caused “ripples” among council staff.

“The planner was strongly mentored by Ray Park and he left for his own reasons,” she said.

“The environmental engineer was offered a very good job overseas for 12 months.”

Cr Fraser said the acting chief executive had also tendered his resignation, citing personal reasons.

Station manager Trevor Davis said the development “will be something like you’ve never seen before”.

He said the whole project would take about five years to complete.

Mr McDonald, who bought Tom Groggin Station 15 years ago, lost his high country leases recently making his beef cattle property unviable.

“Just the sheer economics of this situation got me thinking about other uses of the property which would preserve its heritage and the cattle operation,” he said.

“I’m just worried if council does nothing and we get a farming zone embedded automatically (instead of the proposed conservation zone) that this will cost me more money in consultants, architects and planners, making the project unviable.

“It’s pretty disappointing for me.”