Brandy Hill Expansion Project

We oppose the Brandy Hill Quarry Expansion.
We moved to the Brandy Hill area some 15 years ago in an attempt to gain a more relaxed rural lifestyle. Unfortunately we underestimated the impact of truck movements from both Martins Creek and Brandy Hill Quarries. It is part of our daily life to contend with and be affected by the large number of truck movements already present. We regularly compete on the roads with large trucks with dog trailers thundering past while entering or traveling along Brandy Hill Drive; a huge safety concern for us. The roads are inadequate, narrow and potholed, never designed for the amount of truck traffic that is already present (cracked windscreens here are all too frequent). Local traffic has been increasing rapidly due to nearby urban development putting further pressure on Brandy Hill Drive. Nearby historic bridges, Dunmore and Hinton, are single lane only and obviously not designed for vehicles of this size and volume.
Walking or push biking along the local roads cannot be done safely, it is simply frightening and regretfully, never attempted by us. School children (and buses) using ill-defined bus stops along both Brandy Hill Drive and Seaham Rd, in our opinion is also an accident waiting to happen.
Although we don't live directly on Brandy Hill Drive, we wake early each morning to the sound of quarry truck engines and their trailers bouncing along the potholed road. This would be totally unacceptable 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We believe a proposal of this nature shows total contempt for the local residents. We have also noticed high levels of dust in Brandy Hill, much more than in our previous homes which we believe can be attributed to the quarry, including particulate emissions from the quarry trucks.
We have other concerns if a quarry expansion was to be approved such as more noise, dust and vibration due to both the increased blasting/extraction volumes and addition of the proposed concrete batch, recycling and ancillary plants reportedly producing approximately 15,000m3 of concrete a year. Also with this obviously comes the addition of many concrete trucks on Brandy Hill Drive helping to compound the existing problems.
If the quarry is allowed to expand, 49 hectares of landscape will be destroyed and an enormous hole in the ground many metres below sea level will result. What will be left when the quarry finishes? A gaping hole that could potentially be repurposed as a toxic refuse dump? Brandy Hill residents could potentially have this to look forward to.
In conclusion, if this proposal or indeed any expansion was to be approved, existing traffic and road problems would be exacerbated to unacceptable levels. Also, the ludicrous request for 24/7 operation in a residential area would further compromise local resident's health, safety and wellbeing and would undeniably lead to a reduction in house and land values.
Consequently, all of our concerns mentioned here compel us to adamantly oppose this unreasonable and excessive quarry expansion proposal.

Ronald Woodrow - Submission Opposing expansion
Brandy Hill Quarry.
Ron Woodrow, 21 Brandy Hill Drive, Brandy Hill 2324.
I have reason to object to the following proposals in the Brandy Hill Quarry Expansion application.

1. Constructing a concrete plant.
2. Amending quarrying operating hours.
3. Continuing product loading and dispatch hours as 24 hours per day.
4. Increase in transporting quarry products to market and receiving 20,000tonnes of concrete waste for recycling via public roads.
On the grounds of:
1. increased risk to the health and safety of the drivers, community and road users of Brandy Hill.
2. The potential loss of the peace and quiet enjoyment of the rural community, particularly at night and on weekends.
3. The potential increase in noise, dust and diesel particulate pollution.

My wife Carolyn and I purchased the 2 acre block at 21 Brandy Hill Drive, Brandy Hill in 1987.
We have resided in the house built on the site since 1990. One of our children attended Seaham School and both children attended Raymond Terrace High School. We are familiar with the development and expansion of Brandy Hill and the Seaham, Hinton Wallalong, Woodville area.

Brandy Hill Quarry has a greater obligation to consult with the local community and has a greater responsibility for the health and safety of that community because the Brandy Hill Quarry developed the Brandy Hill community from rural grazing land.

Brandy Hill Quarry was approved by Port Stephens Council in 1983 and had 27 truck movements a day. So that the trucks were able to travel to the Seaham, Raymond Terrace Road the quarry purchased the area now known as Brandy Hill from Eskdale grazing property and had Brandy Hill Drive constructed.

Each side of Brandy Hill Drive was developed and sold off as rural housing blocks of 2 to 5 acres. The speed limit on the road at that time was 90kph and Seaham Road was 100 kph.

Following the sale of the initial release, a further seven streets were constructed off Brandy Hill Drive about 1988/89 and each side of those streets developed as 5 to 7+ acre rural housing blocks. A further 3 streets were later constructed off Warrigal Close and developed in a similar manner. The area has always been a quiet rural community.

As the population of the area expanded the speed limit on Brandy Hill Drive was changed by the RTA from 90 kph to 80kph and Seaham Road speed limit changed from 100 kph to 90 kph from the Hinton Road intersection to Alexander Drive intersection.

Truck movements have increased from the initial 27 a day to currently an average of 340 truck movements a day and this proposal increases the truck movements to 504 trucks per day (page 1 Port Stephens Examiner 23/03/2017). The road has not been altered in any way to cater for the increase in Quarry, community or school bus traffic. The speed limits on the roads have not been reviewed for some time and may be too high in the current circumstances let alone with the potential increase of traffic.

The population of Brandy Hill local government area is 859 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 Census Quick Stats updated on 28/03/2017 (abs.gov.au). That figure includes 199 school age children. 2016 Census figures are not available on the site to show the current population figures.

Since the initial construction of Brandy Hill Drive, only one formed bus stop with a shelter has been constructed outside number 15 Brandy Hill Drive. Other bus stops exist for school buses to pick up and drop off school children, however none of these has a substantive off road area or shelter for children and parents to safely wait for the buses or a marked safe area to cross the road to the pick up and drop off points. With the increased truck movements from 340 to 504 trucks a day the risk to the health and safety of the school children, parents, truck and bus drivers plus other road users is greatly increased.

The proposal also has truck movements at night and on the weekend. This presents further risk to the drivers and road users which should be assessed. This is a rural area with natural bushland and native nocturnal animals, kangaroos, wallabies and possums which move across the road at night. On weekends with people attending children's sport and other recreational activities there is additional traffic movement with vehicles towing horse floats and boats in and out of driveways and side streets onto the main roadway being used by the laden trucks. A number of these driveways are not clearly visible from the road and increase the risk to the drivers. Plus there are a number of sections of the road where there is not sufficient room on the side to drive around a vehicle turning into a driveway. Potentially stopped traffic in front of a laden truck and trailer traveling at 80kph in areas where there is limited line of vision is a high risk (death) possibility.

Add into these scenarios Council contractors undertaking roadside mowing and Council garbage collection the increased truck movements of 504 per day on a road initially constructed for 27 truck movements per day is an unacceptable risk.

Dust pollution is currently visible from the quarry's current operations. Increasing that operation and also adding 20,000 tonnes of concrete waste recycling has the potential to bring the dust and noise pollution to an environmentally dangerous level. The application should not be granted without substantial EPA monitoring.

The development application should not be granted without major upgrades to Brandy Hill Drive which should include widening of the road where applicable, safer entries to driveways, sufficient constructed areas for buses to safely pick up and drop off school children, a review of the speed limits on Brandy Hill Drive and also on Clarencetown Road on either side of the approaches to the quarry entrance. The current mayor of Maitland, Peter Black drove into the side of a truck at the intersection of Brandy Hill Drive and Clarencetown Road some years ago when he was the member of Parliament for the Maitland electorate. The speed limit on Clarencetown Road is 100kph and there is limited visibility at that speed coming from the Seaham end to the intersection to avoid a truck crossing the roadway.
Ron Woodrow
Retired Registrar Local Court.

I oppose the proposed expansion of the Brandy Hill quarry. As the father to four children I am hugely concerned about the increase in truck movements any such expansion would incur. Each morning I stand at the bus stop with my two young daughters as the b-doubles thunder by. My teenage children have to stand at their bus stop unsupervised. Brandy Hill Drive is not a road upon which trucks and the community can safely co-exist. There is nowhere safe to walk along it and riding a bike safely along it is out of the question. If one therefore wishes to visit neighbours, you have to drive. I have been recently diagnosed with a medical condition which prevents me from driving. As I must now walk along Brandy Hill Drive if I wish to visit my friends, I feel my life, as well as the lives of the children who catch school buses along the road, would be put in great danger if this expansion were to go ahead.

I oppose the expansion. The road is already in terrible condition and needs to be repaired constantly. I strongly object to this expansion mainly because there are no foot paths or bike paths or options of public transport such as a bus service to brandy hill. I am without a license and have to share the road with these trucks on a daily basis as I ride my push bike to Raymond terrace .

Already I am at great risk of being hit by a truck as they don't move or give any room for cyclists on brandy hill drive I literally have to stop riding and wait for them to pass.

In the ten plus years I've lived here council have offered no alternative for walkers or bike riders except to dangerously attempt to share the road with the B doubles.

The increased truck movements will also add to already existent road /traffic noise. It will further congest traffic.

Multiple school children catch the school bus from brandy hill drive, unless parents are there to escort children it's another great risk to have over double the amount of truck movements through brandy hill alone.

Hanson so far have offered nothing to the community in regards to these problems faced. They simply say they will be out of business if we don't agree to there terms.

It's about time we have a local member who actually stands up for the community and serves our best interests.

I object to the Brandy Hill quarry expansion due to the increased number of trucks that will need to use the roads around Maitland areas, in particular Paterson Road at Bolwarra Heights. I live in this area and will be adversely affected with regard to road safety, pedestrian safety, truck noise and increased airborne dust that will result from the increased truck movements that will occur if the expansion is approved.
Martins Creek quarry is also applying to expand to 1.5 million tons per year, the cumulative affect of both these quarry expansion applications on Maitland roads from the intersection at Bolwarra Heights (Paterson and Tocal Rds) will be disastrous if both quarry expansion applications are approved, These two application must be considered together by the DoPE with regard to increased truck movements around the Maitland and surrounding areas.

I live on Brandy Hill Drive and was aware of the quarry being worked at the time of purchase but not the proposed extension. On a whole I currently do not find the trucks going up and down the road to be excessive noise however at around 05:45 in the morning when 3 -4 arrive one after each then I do- this for me is what it will be like with the number of proposed trucks.
One of the key reasons for purchasing the property was the wild life - I do however feel saddened when on a daily basis there are 3 widlife deaths per day - not all contributed to the trucks but some are and some I have seen for myself so I know this to be true.
I know of a family whose dog was hit by a truck - they no longer live in the area.
I no longer see kangaroos unless they lie dead on the road side. Again a key reason for purchasing the house and my real estate guy would support this.
A key thing for me though is the speed to which the road is used if this number of trucks is to utilise the road then there should be speed humps and speed limit changed to that of surburban i.e 50kph. I have from time to time had to pull on to the roadside of my drive and when a truck goes past my car shakes - this would not occur on a dry still day at 80kph - I worry for those parents whose children are picked up by coaches on this road.
I would also suggest that there would need to be footpaths installed the full length of the road in order that we can continue to walk this road and not be dependent upon cars to leave our property.
The roads around the quarry have also gone down in the level of road surface and this is especially so on Brandy Hill Drive - infact today the 4th April 2017 there as been a section removed a couple of days ago and filled but not sealed it now like a similar section between Butterwick Road and Woodville store is such a hazard that I will be amased if there is not an accident - potentially a fatal one. This level of road surface could not be permitted if the number of trucks was to increase. The road surface would need regular maintenance - the whole road not patches, this would be on a regular basis especially in the summer and during periods of heavy rainfall, it should not have to wait for someone to repair but a team should be allocated to maintain the surfaces until such time that the through traffic decreases.
There is no amount of money that can be pledged that will ever allow for the wildlife to be returned - once they are gone they are gone.
People deserve to enjoy the surroundings and not be prisoners in their own property and they should be free to use the road on foot or car and not be limited - afterall we pay taxes too.

As a local resident to think that the quarry could possibly operate 24hrs a day 7 days a week is massive disappointment . One being the noise in relation to my residence is of great concern, we live with this in daylight hours and into the evening I do not care to listen to this 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Two , the increased movement on the roads by heavy vehicles disturbing peoples lives , near misses with wildlife, cars and children , so the safety is of grave concern , three , we currently enjoy some beautiful fauna and no doubt increasing noise and vehicles will impact this . Four, dust, polution and air quality

I object to this proposed development: I am very concerned as to the safety aspects of increasing the quantity of gravel trucks travelling along Brandy Hill Drive. I also wish to object to the added pollution, including dust and noise, to the local area. And the idea of having the quarry operational 24 hours a day means there will be no respite from the road danger and loss of lifestyle and ambience in the area.

I am vehemently opposed to the submission, mainly because of the negative impact the increase of heavy vehicle traffic will have on my health and wellbeing. My house sits directly on the road junction between Tocal Road and Paterson Road and will not only have the trucks drive by, but we will suffer from increased noise and air pollution because of the breaking and acceleration of turning trucks.
The roads and communities along these roads have been suffering from illegal heavy traffic caused by Daracon for years now and the air pollution (particulates from the diesel engines of the trucks) had a negative impact on my health already. If the application is allowed, this would increase by many times and the negative effects on my and my families' health and mental well being cannot be underestimated.
Again, I oppose this application.

To Whom it may concern.

My family and I have been residents of Brandy Hill for approx 10 years.
I am a retired Project Manager on Major Construction and Infrastructure Projects so have some experience on the approval process and the ramifications of it.
I have no major issues with the current operation of Brandy Hill Quarry other than road degradation and truck (traffic) noise.
The granting of the extension to the quarry and the operation 24 hours a day would seriously degrade our lifestyle and also our property values.
I object for the following reasons

1. Safety
- Safety of public and specifically school children on Brandy Hill Drive due to insufficient areas for school bus pickup, limited to no pull off areas on road verges, no safety crossings for children to reach bus stops, no walkways or cycleways to travel on Brandy Hill Drive safely for pedestrians or cyclists.

2. Road Damage from truck movement
- Further Degradation of Brandy Hill Drive and Clarencetown Rd by heavy truck movement. These roads are already in poor condition and increased truck movements will cause serious issues with the roads and increase unsafe conditions on the road.

3. Pollution
- Increased noise from the road due to heavy vehicle movements, specifically air brakes and noise of heavy vehicles hitting pot holes and rough sections of road.
If this is allowed to increase in activity (double truck movements per day) and 24 hours per day it will destroy the amenity of life in Brandy Hill (a normally quiet and peaceful semi rural suburb in the late afternoon and weekends).
- Dust from truck movements and quarry operations and more worrisome is the health ramifications of increased diesel particulate pollution.

4. Landowner Property Values
- if this proposal is approved, house and land values in Brandy Hill will be seriously lowered to the financial detriment of landowners.

5. Deaths to Native Wildlife
- on Brandy Hill Drive I have seen a large variety of animals and birds killed by traffic
Waterfowl-numerous types
Owls, Tawny Frogmouths, and other bird species
Wallabies
Kangaroos
Possums
Echidnas


I have personally witnessed a number of incidents involving the quarry trucks that by good luck have not ended in tragedy.

- in August last year while working as a field operative for the census on a wet afternoon an empty truck and dog returning along Brandy Hill Drive rounded a corner at speed??? a school bus was pulled to the side of the verge. The truck locked its brakes and veered to the wrong side of the road to miss the bus it travelled at a guess 300 or 400 metres on the wrong side of the road. If a vehicle was coming in the opposite direction it could have been catastrophic.

- A month or so ago when returning from Raymond Terrace I slowed to pull in my Driveway, a following truck did not slow and pulled out and passed me on the wrong side of the road, over unbroken lines coming up to a blind corner. Again luckily no damage done but the same thing happens nearly every week when the council garbage truck is operating.

In both the above incidents the trucks were unmarked subcontractor vehicles.

I am not being alarmist in saying that eventually one of these incidents on our poorly maintained and sometimes dangerous roads will end in serious injuries or death(s) to the public.
Increasing truck movements will only amplify the chances of this happening.

In my quick reading and listening to speakers at the recent public protest meeting it is obvious that the EIS for the proposed expansion does not sufficiently address any of the above issues but just glosses over them to Hansen's advantage
For example does the EIS sufficiently address
- the truck movements thru Raymond Terrace congestion??
- the single lane bridges at Woodville and Hinton
- the effect of increased noise and pollution
- damage to infrastructure ie roads and bridges

Please consider all the above and reject the proposed expansion

I am opposed to the expansion of Brandy Hill Quarry. I live just off Brandy Hill Drive and have two teenaged children one of whom is a red P plater and the other is just learning to drive. I am very concerned about the increase traffic on Brandy Hill Drive that will occur if Brandy Hill Quarry expands, particularly given that the extra vehicles are trucks moving at 80km an hour. I am worried about turning in and out of our side street safely or even just being able to actually get out of our street at busy times for the trucks. I am also very concerned that the road will become even more damaged making driving dangerous. We also regularly get broken windscreens on Brandy Hill Drive due to broken up bits of road or gravel that has come off the trucks. I am worried about poor air quality and potential danger due to the increase in diesel particulates and the dust thrown up by the trucks and the quarrying operations. I am of course not impressed by what the increase in trucks will do to the value of our property as buyers will surely notice that many trucks on our roads. Our family all work and study and we really need our sleep and I do not want to have our sleep disturbed by the sound of trucks at night. I am opposed to the Quarry operating 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. I am opposed to any change to their current licence.

I object to Brandy Hill Quarry expanding. I am learning to drive and I am very worried about trying to drive in and out of my street on to Brandy Hill Drive if there are more trucks. I am also concerned about what we are breathing if there is even more pollution from the trucks using diesel fuel and the dust that comes from the trucks and the quarry itself. I really like living in Brandy Hill and it is peaceful here at night and on weekends. I do not want Brandy Hill Quarry to be allowed to operate seven days a week and 24 hours a day as the noise will be really bad. I don't want my sleep disturbed by truck noise. I am about to start my HSC year and I need to be able to concentrate at school and when I am studying and if I am woken through the night I won't be able to function properly.

I am opposed to the expansion of Brandy Hill Quarry. I am very concerned about trying to get in and out of my road on and off Brandy Hill Drive if there are more trucks using the road. I am also very worried about noise at night if the quarry is allowed to operate 24 hours a day. I am a light sleeper and I like to sleep with my windows open. I am 18 and have enjoyed growing up in the country and would have thought you would be able to sleep with your windows open in Brandy Hill. Now I am worried that my sleep will be disturbed all night with trucks and that I will struggle in the daytime to do my Uni work and job. I am also worried about the air quality with increased diesel fumes and the extra dust that the quarry operations and truck movements will make. Brandy Hill Drive can already be unsafe at times with pot holing and I this will get much worse with extra trucks. I don't want to see any changes made to how the quarry currently operates.

Attention department of Planning,

I wish to object to the brandy Hill Quarry extension for the following reasons.

1. Noise - The route where the trucks will be travelling is a quite rural residential area and the trucks will make additional noise to the present approved operating hours by the following

a) the trucks will cause excessive noise travelling along Seaham road unladen through my suburb on their way to the quarry by the way the dogs bounce and rattle on the uneven road surface

b)The trucks will make excessive engine noise travelling between the intersection of brandy hill drive & Seaham Rd to the Hinton -Seaham road intersection trying to get up to speed

This will interrupt our families sleep and present peacfullness of the area

2. Safety -
a)The increased trucks travelling along Seaham rd between the Hinton rd and Brandy Hill Dve intersections will be travelling at 90klms per hour and will have limited time to stop when cars are turning into or leaving the cross streets & driveways into Seaham road due to the clear view .

b)Fog is always on Seaham road from late autumn to late spring in the night hours restricting the view to less than 10 meters on most occasions

c) There is not enough space for trucks to pass cars safely turning right from Seaham Road to Sophia Jane drive travelling North in the present road conditions.

3. Road damage

The increased truck traffic will damage our road pavements more quickly and put pressure on our local port Stephens Council to increase rates to cover road repairs.

4. Damage to private vehicle windows

The increased truck movements will leave more stones on the road which flick up and damage windscreens. These stones fall off the trucks after being loaded and constantly drop on the road. I currently have to change 1 windscreen a year due to the rocks left by the trucks at the present levels.

5. Void at the site after quarrying has been completed

Apparently their will be a huge void left after quarrying has been completed on the site which will be left to fill with water that becomes toxic for future generations. This contaminated water has the potential of leaking into the environment. This void should have to be remediated to its original condition before quarrying started so this cannot happen

I wish to strenuosly object to 24/7 operations of a quarry that uses local neighbourhood streets to access. My reasons are as follows:

1. Safety of residents in this semi rural space.
2. Devaluation of property bought in good faith on the basis that it was semi rural, not a 24/7 semi trailer route.
3. No duty of care for residents, disturbing their lifestyle, sleeping patterns and mental health.
4. Greed being prioritised above good neighbourhood relations and citizenship.
5. Constant damage to vehicles with trucks throwing up stones, smashing windscreens. The quarry owners profit whilst locals have topay $300 regularly to repair windscreens.
6. Council approving rural lifestyle blocks, and happy to take rates but then sell them out to the largest chequebook.
7. Single laned road not suitanle for such extreme traffic. Driveway access restricted by large truck movements who take umbrage for daring to slow down so you can pull into your driveway.
8. No footpaths or a safe school bus drop off/pick up areas, creating fear when trucks go screaming past.
9. Wholesale slaughter of wildlife.....how dare wildlife get in the way of the trucks! Locals have to clean the cafcasses up.
10. How am I safely going to mow council verge when trucks go screaming past well over the speed limit?
11. Conditions of the road are atrocious - pot holes patched on top of patches on top of patches.
12. Garbage bins are frequently tipped over, with litter being scattered.

If you want 24/7 operation, build a new access road that is not near homes and does not turn a semi rural area into an industrial area filled with sleep deprived and anxiety ridden people who paid top dollar to live here.

The local road network is already heavily impacted by the number of truck movements around the area in and out of this quarry. To expand the quarry to the levels indicated is just greedy and shows little regard for the concerns of the local community, particularly running an operation around the clock.

I have been a resident for the past 30yrs and have had no issues with the quarry. However, the expansion will significantly affect my family and neighbours. My grandchildren catch the bus daily to school, the bus bays are only on one side of the road and inadequate for the buses to safely pull off the road. There are large numbers of children going to schools in Maitland, Seaham, Mr Kanwary, Dungog, Newcastle etc. who also have to cross the road 80Km may be the speed limit but this is not often observed. There are no pedestrian crossings and as we are rural acreages houses are not close to monitor high traffic flow. My children are now P plate drivers, inexperienced at dodging trucks hurtling along at 80 - 100 km (especially in wet weather) as they try to get into and out of their driveways. When there is wet weather the road up to 2km from the quarry entrance is awash with water flowing freely across the road making general driving even more dangerous. The cross street from the quarry and Seaham/ Maitland road is currently a death trap - cars/ vehicles hit the top of the hill from Seaham at 80km (often faster a 100km) and are on top of the trucks and other vehicles trying to pull out to the quarry or Maitland. There have been numerous accidents at this intersection, which will only get worse if the truck movements increase. Additionally, if the development were to go ahead the speed limits would need to be dropped to 50km to accommodate for school children and the large number of people who walk/ run and cycle for exercise daily along Brandy Hill. It would also be very unsafe for the council garbage collectors as they have very little space to pull off the road to collect garbage bins. Its an accident waiting to happen. Surly the councils WH&S should be consulted in reguard to safe work process for their employees.
Clearly the expansion will negatively affect our rural lifestyle and is only a matter of time before there is an accident involving children waiting for buses, walkers, cyclists, runners, buses and those residents who foolishly attempt to either go in or out of their driveways. As well, the cost of maintenance for the road would be astronomical, the road is too narrow, no walking paths and the speed limit is clearly dangerous. It is a given that if this development goes ahead, then the residents will need to ensure we are a swinging seat again as it is not in anyone's interests to expand the quarry to this extent.

On behalf of my wife and I we wish to object to the proposal for the following reasons:

1. The scale of the proposed expansion of the BHQ appears disproportionate in relation to the existing arrangement and presents a significant shift from the original approval granted in 1983 upon which the local infrastructure (primarily Brandy Hill Drive) was developed.
2. The proponent claims the increase in production and additional services are required to support future demand for their products but appears to deliberately use arguments based on comercial competitiveness and unsubstantiated claims of future difficulties for materials to be sourced from other areas or agencies. In essence they present only their own commercial view in what might be an effort to distort the 'need' in order to upscale their operation to enable market dominance.
3. I am concerned that heavy (semi trailer) vehicle movements are simply referred to as 'vehicle movements'. There is considerable difference between a car and a large truck when it comes to rural road systems.
4. Inadequacy of road structure. The proponent claims that the local roads meet the minimum RMS requirements for a heavy vehicle but fails to explore the durability of the road system with respect to constant heavy vehicle traffic. There is already considerable damage of our local roads directly atrtributable to heavy vehicles from the BHQ. Any attempt to affect road works or repairs with the proposed number of trucks on the road would present a dangerous situation for both residents and other road users.
5. The maintenance of local roads subjected to the proposed levels of heavy vehicle traffic is well beyond the financial and logistical capabilities of the local council. The proponent fails to offer any service ( perhaps other than 'cheap' materials) to offset the affects of there actions.
6. The expansion of the quarry pit will almost certainly affect the balance of existing native flora and fauna. There is no legitimate remediation of the existing quarry proposed which might effectively offset any expansion.
7. The noise values used by the proponent are questionable and don't present a realistic position in regard to aggregated (constant) exposure. Measuring an individual vehicles noise emission provides a false indication of peak noise exposures such as that when two or more vehicles are moving at the same time. Constant exposure to noise has been proven to have considerable debilitating effect on human health and well being. This aspect is not addressed by the proponent.
8. The health risks associated with diesel fuel emissions are not addressed. Recent science has shown that there are significant health risks to humans when exposed to constantly high levels of diesel fumes. Secondary effects relating to the local ecology from the cumulative effects of fuel emissions are also not addressed.

In conclusion I would add that the proposal presents considerable threat to existing levels of personal and social amenity upon which a rural society is based. There is no question that the residents of Brandy Hill and surrounding district have chosen to live in the area with full awareness of the quarry and its current levels of activity although it could be argued that longer term residents have already sustained considerable loss of amenity over the years as BHQ has increased its operations over the years (original approval was based on 54 truck movements per day). I would suggest a continuance of the current level of activity is acceptable but expansion on the scale proposed is not.

I am concerned with the increasing wishes of individuals who own corporations and seek to disturb and pollute through dust and noise the peaceful surroundings of our district and the lives of its residents.
These individuals, working through companies, are continually using the thin edge of the wedge. They start small and then seek to expand by increments - either small or large - and in so doing surely but gradually take away the treasured environmental aspects of our community.
Presently there are two such examples, namely the Brandy Hill and Martins Creek expansions. Individually there are excessive, cumulatively overwhelming.
There has to come a time, when the vast majority of those having objections to this pollution, are not steamrolled by individual entrepreneurs. The government bureaucracies and politicians need to enact and explain laws so that the environment is protected from rapacious individuals, who live in places remote from their polluting operations, and whose only concern is their profits - bugger the people.

We have been residents of Brandy Hill for 14 years. We oppose the proposed expansion of the quarry. It will result in:
- increase in dust, both silica and deisel;
- increase in noise levels from trucks and the quarry itself;
- sleep deprivation from 24 hour operation, seven days a week, and a total lack of a quiet weekend without truck and quarry noise;
- road deterioration - local roads already regularly fall apart and the proposed increase in truck movement will only worsen the situation;
- a detrimental impact on our amenity - very concerned for our mental and physical health;
- a hazard for pedestrians - it is already unsafe for a pedestrian to walk along Brandy Hill Drive;
- a decrease in property values;
- an increase in danger from entering and exiting Brandy Hill Drive from both side streets and driveways;
- an increase in danger at bus stops.
The proposed concrete batching and recycling plant will only worsen the situation.