Cessnock mayor Alison Davey is livid with the State Department of Planning after it publicly released the approval before telling the main council involved.

"The first thing I knew about the approval was when I heard it on the radio this morning and I was disappointed we were not notified, not even a phone call," she said.

Cr Davey said she was also appalled to look on the department's website and find it mentioned Maitland and Singleton councils as the main local government areas in which the Huntlee development fell.

"It has nothing to do with Maitland, and Cessnock didn't even rate a mention," she said.

Members of the Sweetwater Action Group, which formed about four years ago, said they were "angry and depressed".

Spokesman Chris Parker, who sits on Cessnock Council, said the project had been taken out of community hands at the last minute.

"On the 9th of January the Minister called it 'state significant' and no announcement was made," he said.

"It was done so quietly and now it's already approved.

"It just seems there's a disregard for the information out there that's against the development going ahead in its present size and state," he said.

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Yet, Cr Davey said Huntlee New Town was now "a fact of life", with "no turning back".

"We have to ensure that whatever happens there is the best we can possibly achieve," she said.

To ease the impact on Wine Country Drive and New England Highway, the council called for more trains for the line between Singleton and Cessnock.

Greens Cr James Ryan said "despite the NSW Government's claim the development was located to take advantage of the railway line it was not planning to increase passenger rail services.

"The developer will not be required to upgrade the railway station [and] no contributions will be made for rail services."

Cr Ryan also said the development would raise the risk of extinction to the threatened native plant, Persoonia pauciflora.