Brandy Hill Expansion Project

the traffic to and from the quarry in Brandy Hill is already cause of significant noise pollution, from the trucks labouring up and down the hill leaving the quarry.
With the new submission we will have a much increased degree of this, but also with trucks returning fully loaded with concrete there will be significant air brake noise increase from these trucks braking down hill to take the turn in to Brandy Hill Drive.

I also have 4 small children attending local schools. They catch the bus across the road from our house, with an increase of pasing trucks it will become increasingly hazardous to cross the road to get to this bus stop !

The quarry in Brandy Hill is already cause of significant noise pollution, from the trucks labouring up and down the hill leaving the quarry. (passing our house)
With the new submission we will have a much increased degree of this, but also with trucks returning fully loaded with concrete there will be significant air brake noise increase from these trucks braking down hill to take the turn in to Brandy Hill Drive.

I also have 4 small children attending local schools. They catch the bus across the road from our house, with an increase of pasing trucks it will become increasingly hazardous to cross the road to get to this bus stop !

Hi Genevieve,
Further to our previous conversations in regards to the approval of the Quarry expansion, I am not against the expansion but have concerns about the extra water runoff created by the clearing of trees for the development. I have contacted the quarry already in regards to a wall they have built which I believe has now interfered with the natural flow of the water and redirected the water from their land on my houses. I have sent them the Hydrologist report from my insurance company in regards to a claim I had in April 2015. I would like to be consulted in the approval process to ensure adequate planning takes place to ensure this isn't an issue. As I discussed on the phone yesterday with you, there may need to be more piping on Clarence Town Road to allow for extra water run off at an increased flow rate due to the clearing of trees and undergrowth.
Regards,
David Rakus

At present although our house is about 400 meters form Brandy Hill Drive, we can hear the noise of the quarry trucks quite clearly and although it impacts on the peacefulness of this rural area we undertood this before we settled here 11 years ago. However the proposed expansion of the quarry operation will make living here quite unbearable as having this noise present 24/7 will destroy the night time peace that we have come to expect in this rural location. At the very least Hanson should bre required to cease truck operations between 6am and 8 pm so that we can all get a good nights sleep. As well the road noise appears to be related to the size of the gravel used in surfacing of the road to handle the impact of the trucks. If the quarry expansion is given the go ahead Hanson should be required to foot the bill to have Brandy Hill Drive resurfaced with a high quality hot poured macadam surface rather than the constantly repaired large stone chip surface that is presently the case.

Please refer uploaded document

please see attached letter.

Agreed to allow my submission to be publish

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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.

Please see attached document. Note this document is an updated version to my previous entry which had a mistake in it.

Submission: Brandy Hill Quarry Expansion
I live on Tocal Rd, Bolwarra Heights and I'm one of many residents directly affected by the Brandy Hill Quarry expansion
My objections are for the following reasons;
The extend the hours of operation and increase number of trucks on our local roads will be a huge burden on residents along the haulage route and will have a major impact on community expectations and its right to peaceful life, uninterrupted sleep, safety on the roads and clean air and water.
In my view operations of the quarry should be scaled down, clearly defined, regulated and monitored for breaches.
As a resident living on the main haulage route for the quarry trucks I'm very concerned about the following issues:
Noise
Noise from truck travelling on Tocal Rd starts about 5 am, sometimes as early as 4:30 am. We had all our windows replaced to double-glazed, but it didn't help. The noise is relentless. It's impossible to open windows or sit in the garden during the quarry business hours. This has an extremely negative impact on our quality of life and wellbeing.
Road Safety
The trucks often travel in convoys, they are frequently speeding and tailgating, making a turn into our driveway a life hazard. We were nearly killed once by a truck travelling on the wrong side of the road and there are many "near-misses" to report. Daracon claims that its drivers adhere to self-imposed speed limit of 40km/h. The fact is that only small percentage of trucks are Daracon-owned (19 according to their report) and the vast majority of quarry trucks are operated by external transport companies subcontracted by Daracon on an "as needs" basis. Daracon management has no control over those drivers (as stated by the Executive Director / owner of Daracon, David Mingay, during a public meeting held at Paterson school of Arts on the 31/7/14) and the drivers have shown no intention of adhering to a lower speed limit. There are often trucks in front of our house clearly exceeding 60 km/h limit, especially early in the morning.
Road Quality
Although recent work completed by Maitland City Council on Tocal Road in Bolwarra Heights had initially improved the road surface, it has taken only few months before the road started deteriorating again due to the volume of truck movements. The road has been already resurfaced in part and is in a need of repair again. Although Daracon's trucks are the major cause of Tocal Rd deterioration, as far as I know Daracon never contributed to any repairs. It is the Maitland City Council's residents who are left with the bill. It is unfair that our rates are going towards subsidising Daracon's operations instead of projects benefiting local community.



Dust and exposure to diesel exhaust fumes
Houses on Tocal Rd, including ours, are very close to the haulage route and exposed to high volume of dust and diesel engine exhaust emissions from truck movements.
As diesel emissions contain many carcinogenic substances and are known to increase the risk of lung cancer, it is very concerning to us that Daracon proposes to increase the number of trucks travelling through Tocal Rd to as many as 80 per hour.
Environment
As a person who cares about the environment, I was very saddened to learn that Daracon wants to expand its operations and profit at the cost of threatened, endangered and critically endangered species. In my view destruction of such unique habitat cannot be justified by a project that is overwhelmingly opposed by the community, has zero positive impact on community and seems to be solely about economic benefit of an individual / a small group of individuals.


Negative impact on tourism
Paterson, Martins Creek, Bolwarra Heights and Lorn are all small settlements frequented by tourists and cyclists. They are not only significant in their own right, but are also on the route to Barrington Tops. Their reputation as places of safe recreation is currently being ruined / is at risk to be further ruined by noise, dust and truck movements associated with the quarry.
Devaluation of property prices
We are very concerned about our property value dropping due to quarry extension. So far Bolwarra Heights and surrounds has been considered a sought after, leafy, semi-rural area. What Daracon is proposing would change our suburb into an unliveable industrial zone, where nobody would want to live.
Company's Conduct
The company does not have social licence and public trust.
The huge attendance and level of passion with which many local community members spoke at the consultation meeting in Paterson 2/11/16 was indicative of community attitude towards Daracon and the frustration of having to live with the negative impacts of their daily operations.
The executive director David Mingay showed nothing but contempt for the community, even stating in one of the meetings that if it was him being affected by the quarry he would move. Although this is not about personalities, Mingay's attitude is indicative of Daracon's corporate culture with its huge sense of entitlement and lack of social conscience.

Conclusion
Expansion of Brandy Hill quarry would have an enormous detrimental impact on the lives of thousands of people living close to the quarry and along the haulage route. The economic benefits, including potential jobs, would be limited to a very small group of people.
As negative social and environmental impacts outweigh disproportionally any possible benefits, I urge the NSW Planning Department to reject Daracon's application for the expansion of the quarry. I would like the outcome of the assessment to be a strict definition and regulation of the current operations.
It's also extremely important to consider cumulative impacts of Brandy Hill Quarry and Martins Creek Quarry which also seeks planning approval to increase annual production. The impact of both applications separately, not to mention cumulative impact, on Bolwarra and adjacent suburbs would be beyond devastating.

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Please find attached my personal submission in relation to the Brandy Hill Quarry Expansion

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