Council's plan for an organics recycling facility faces yet another hurdle due to concern about "lack of detail" in the proposal.
The Northern Regional Planning Panel deferred approval of the project after a meeting on Wednesday night.
Council has been working towards the establishment of a new Organics Recycling facility since late 2015 that would divert kitchen scraps and garden waste, and other such materials from landfill.
If the panel approves the development, it is expected to be constructed and commissioned in July 2021.
Chairman of the panel Paul Mitchell said although the plan was "sensible in principle", but there were concerns that parts of the proposal lacked in detail.
"We didn't feel in an informed position to decide as to whether it was a yes or no," he said.
"There are several questions that need to be answered.
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"There are a number of potential environmental impacts that we wanted to understand better including concern about more trucks along the road and whether some of the intersections were up for that and risk to school kids along those roads."
Council offered to have an additional condition that would ensure regular groundwater testing downslope of the leachate dam to help minimise potential contamination impacts.
Mr Mitchell said that some of the conditions that the council wanted to be placed on the approval needed to be "clearer and more comprehensive".
He added that the panel took submissions from members of the public seriously.
Tamworth Regional Council Manager Water and Waste Operations, Dan Coe, said the council would continue to work through the development approval process.
"Northern Regional Planning Panel Chair Paul Mitchell has indicated we will receive the panel's formal findings and requests for additional information in the coming days," he said. "Once we have that we will be working to provide it to the panel as soon as possible."
Mr Mitchell said the report would most likely be put before the panel again in the next two to three months.