Martins Creek Quarry Project

I am objecting to this expansion due to the impact on the community I live in.

I object to the Martins Creek Quarry project


I write to oppose this new Quarry proposal by Buttai Gravel part of the Daracon Group to operate the Martins Creek quarry.
I live in Butterwick and I am directly affected. I am also very concerned for all residents that live in this beautiful area.
I can’t believe we are even revisiting this proposal again considering a verdict has been ruled on previously. The Daracon Group were found to be operating illegally. Should be end of story.
Daracon can not be trusted and treat this latest proposal as tick and flick exercise.
I hope the Independent Planning Commission look closely at all the submissions on the planning portal closely as they will notice a pattern, nearly all the Quarry support submissions come from people who don’t reside or work in this community. I wonder if these same people supporting the proposal would be supporting it if this proposal was on there door step or suburb. It’s not hard to work out who is behind the support submissions and who is to gain from these support submissions.
You don’t need to be Ironside to work out what blasting (noise/dust and vibration etc) activities and extracting of 1.1 million tonnes of quarry material every year for the next 25 years will do to our natural bush land, loss of koala habitat and other already endangered animal species.
Imagine the direct effect on local residents houses in Martin’s Creek and the nearby surrounding houses on small acreage that are effected by blasting and vibrations. The air quality and pollution impacts which bring on asthma and other respiratory problems. Simple things like hanging your clothes out to dry after washing, then having to wash again due to dust particles floating through the air and attaching to the clothes whilst drying.
Then incorporate noise from trucks and large machine operation along with the road haulage in and out of the quarry.
Try living next to a road or street that has large truck movements constantly, the empty truck noise returning to the quarry is horrendous. What about the elderly and shift workers health residing along the impacted streets and roads affected by this proposal. Where not talking about a quarry out in the middle of nowhere, it’s in a village surrounded by small lifestyle blocks with people residing, choosing a quieter and healthy lifestyle.
Then we have school children’s safety to take into account. We have the nearby schools of Martin’s Creek and Paterson, plus Bolwarra and Lorn schools. With the housing boom and the influx of people moving to our lovely area, including Largs, Bolwarra, Lorn and Maitland roads are busy enough and having trouble coping with the extra traffic. The truck movements along these already busy roads will impact the risk of children being injured or worse possible fatalities. Children can be unpredictable when crossing roads, can you imagine a truck fully loaded stopping in time. The School busses also use the same roads mentioned in the proposal which constantly stop start to pick up and drop off children. I live on Butterwick Rd which is a small country road designed for minimal vehicle access not a heavy vehicle detour. When Daracon were operating previously there own trucks and sub-contractors were using this road like a race track. The road deteriorated very quickly as it could not handle the weight of the truck and trailer combinations or the excessive movements. I am sure Port Stephens Council would concur with this.

In conclusion: It's time to listen to the people who reside and have small businesses in this beautiful area, who are opposed to this Quarry. This proposal will destroy people’s lifestyles and will cause health and people’s mental health along with issues I have stated above.
People not profits.

Regards Paul Bennetts

The damage these trucks do on our country roads are shocking and the noise of these trucks going through small townships is bad for the health of the people who live there.
Daracon thinks its above rules and regulations.. it's been so much better now with the Quarry shut!

Martins Creek Quarry is a vital supplier of aggregates to the Newcastle and greater region. VGT ECS is a team of 5 staff that has undertaken numerous geological, quarry planning and environmental assessments for many years for this site. Since its closure we have noticed reduced work from this quarry. I believe the proposed of annual tonnes and internal modification to operations will meet community and Planning expectations.

I wish to object to the amended proposal for expansion of Martins Creek Quarry. The amendments do little to reduce the significant impact of expanding quarry operations on neighbouring towns, rural properties, local environment and road users. In particular I would like to point out that the existing already heavily stressed road infrastructure intended to be used by Daracon as their "haul routes", is completely inadequate to cope with the volume of truck movements proposed. The proposed road improvements are nonsense and modifications such as those planned for Paterson will only serve to ruin the existing amenity of the town of Paterson. The entire length of the haul route from Martins Creek to Maitland is inadequate for the proposed volumes of material being hauled and will damage all the communities living along the proposed route. Therefore I feel that transporting 90% of the 1.1million tonnes proposed to be extracted should be done by means of rail transport or not at all. The existing quarry approval agreed to by Dungog Shire Council should remain. I object to Martins Creek quarry project amendments.

There is an ongoing need for quality quarry products to fulfill the growing infrastructure works in and around the Hunter Valley. Martins Creek plays a major part as a hard rock quarry providing quality material. The revised DA considers the needs of the community whilst allowing the wider infrastructure need to be met.

There is a distinct lack of quarry material available on the market within the Hunter region since drastic reduction of tonnage able to be extracted from Martins Creek has been implemented.
With the large amount of significant infrastructure works about to commence within the next 1-5years within the Hunter Region, there is a need for increased Quarry materials to be available. The commencement of the Newcastle Bypass final stage, Singleton Bypass, Muswellbrook Bypass and M1 extension but to name a few will exhaust current supplies and increase trucking in general across the entire region as material will be required to be sourced from much further afield. This will provide a large cumulative impact across the entire regions road network which would be negated to an extent through the reinstatement of this important Hunter quarry's production and export capacities.
One of the Hunters main producers was Martins Creek, which has severely strained and limited the market as a result of the cessation of export generally, as well as moving profits out of the Hunter Valley as material needs to be sourced from further afield in order to service projects.
I support the proposal as submitted currently by Daracon. It supports jobs and the proposal supports further jobs and growth, as well as keeping profits from quarried material within the Hunter (not just with Daracon but between all working with and for them). I would hope that this submission is accepted.

Materials from this quarry are good quality hard rocks which can be used on various Transport for NSW current and future road and bridge construction projects. There is already a supply shortage in the current market around this area. Under current COVID environment, enable this project will create more jobs in the market which will assist in boosting the environment as well.

The project will cause pollution to the quiet amenity of villages and surrounding areas.. Numerous trucks continually passing along country roads and through villages never meant to take such continuous traffic is not safe.
NSW has managed to get by without the quarry being open for a number of years and no doubt, hopefully, will easily get by without it in the future.
Recently it was reported that no local residents are envisaged to be employed in the quarry. I agree with these envisaged employees that, if the quarry existed, it would not be a good place to live.
It is not a State Significant Development according to the "pub test". It is a venture which is hoped to make the distant owners wealthier to the significant detriment of the locals. Becoming wealthier is likely the over-riding purpose of the owners who, i understand, have illegally operated the quarry in the past.

The re-open of this quarry would create many jobs for the community and will supply lots of materials to keep our roads and rail intact

Daracon is a poor corporate citizen has breached various contracts in relation to this operation on several occasions.
Quarrying before 12 midnight Sunsay well into the morning, when its contract was limited to daylight hours, Monday to Friday. I saw trucks, graders and other machinery at 2am, a worker I sppke with fully agreed that the noiseissuong from their operations was intolerable. This company should not hold a quarrying licence and has no credibility with the community in which it operates.
Truck movements literally transform the Paterson Valley to a quarry with excessive numbers of trucks, machinery, noise, vibration and dust. Certainly the rural amenity of the region is drowned out so as to be totally unrecognizable.
Safety and well-being of motor vehicle drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians is severely compromised by convoys of quarry trucks passing on narrow country lanes. Trucks cause potholing and warping off pavement, damaging residents and tourists vehicles, compromising their safety and adding to the cost of living locally. Tourism relies heavily on road use and access to small roadside businesses, truck movements will curtail this industry, adding to cost of living and reducing property values.
The quarry ads very little, even by employment, to the local community. All members of Tyne previous quarry action group, have left the area. Whilever quarry expansion hangs like a pawl over the heads of property owners and business owners, real estate values and the ability to buy and sell is squashed . Should this proposal pass many older residents will find it impossible to live peacefully here or elsewhere. The valley was settled on the premise that it offered goes rural amenity and a quiet life. Many local businesses have grown to for three characteristics and are proving quite attractive and successful . The quarry expansion is totally outside the character of the valley and it's inhabitants, residents, tourists, wildlife and gentle rural ecosystems.

The Martins Creek Quarry Expansion should not be approved. It should operate under its current approval. There is not one positive impact for this Expansion for the communities and the environment affected by it. As a resident and house owner in Bolwarra Heights I do not want to see Paterson Road become more of an industrial corridor. It is already a death trp. Our suburb (LEP Zoned Residential R1) does not need up to 50 trucks an hour in addition to the busy current traffic. We already have many Hanson trucks from Brandy Hill quarry using the road. More trucks mean more noise, more diesel fumes, more dust, more accidents, more road maintenance and reduced property values. Unfortunately Daracon lost the respect of our community when they operated this quarry illegally for many years, running huge volumes of trucks at all hours of the day. They should use the rail infrastructure available to them to transport product in accordance with the original purpose of the quarry.

Thank you for reading.
To whom can make a difference.
I wish to express my absolute objection to Martins Creek Quarry expansion. The degradation to this thriving pristine community. I have witnessed many times the onslaught of trucks when the quarry has illegally operated. Trucks are parked and lined along the arterial roads of a morning getting ready for the constant convoy of trucks with dogs..the damage to cars, windscreens and roads is remarkable...the entire area is affected. Paterson and Maitland are recommended in the 2021 edition of NSW Viva tourism magazine as must see historical towns. The trucks directly pass through these towns and many more. The quarry had initial rules and regulations placed upon its approval to harmonise with planning in the area. The housing growth in this area over the past 10 years is huge as has the traffic increased substantially and continues to do so.
Companies need to invest in expansion of their operations with new quarries in area’s that dosent ruin the quality of life of communities.
I am opposed with any increase in truck movements at all..
With thanks.

i dont believe our roads and our bridges can cope with this enormity of trucks Martins Creek road is dangerous enough at the best of times as council lacks to maintain the growth to the side of the roads and the potholes the road is not wide enough .

I am opposed to the Martins Creek Quarry expansion.

I’ve lived in Martins Creek for 35 years and the in the early days when the quarry was owned and operated by Rail Corp, there were no issues. The nightmare began with Daracon and the blatant disregard for residents, roads, small communities and wild life. In a David and Goliath story, Dungog Council took the giant to the Land and Environment court and won.

“While the quarry under state entities went “well beyond allowed limits”, Daracon “decided to push the bounds of what was possible”, Justice Molesworth said.”


For some time now, the peaceful idillic lifestyle we chose has been returned to us, we are living healthy lives, we can safely drive our cars on country roads, we no longer have the stress of blasting that shakes the house and leaves dust and we can enjoy our small historical communities without the noise and congestion of heavy trucks.
But the win was short lived and meant nothing to Daracon, who came back with more money and a bigger plan.
A plan that will see a return to the destruction of a number of small communities in its path.

I note that most of those who support the proposal don’t live in the affected communities.
Daracon blatantly ruined our roads, made it unsafe to be on the road, ruined the lifestyle so many chose and hurt our communities, this time they’re seeking permission to do it all again.


You have a rail line, use it productively and stop impacting on peoples lives and ruining our communities.

The expansion of the quarry will result in increased truck movements through rapidly growing residential areas. The increased truck movements will further erode already poorly maintained urban and rural roads in the area. Furthermore, the truck movements pose a risk to pedestrians and other road users, such as cyclists which include families who use facilities on and near the roads, in areas such as Paterson, Largs, Bolwarra, Lorn and Maitland.

Peterson Road is already extremely congested due to the massive population growth and increase in housing in the Bolwarra / Peterson / Vacy areas. To allow any increase in heavy traffic along an already congested corridor would be immensely irresponsible.

We are opposed to the proposed extension of the Martins Creek Quarry for the following reasons:
1. We live on Lemon Grove Rd Mindaribba. Lemon Grove Rd meets Tocal Rd 50m from the crest of a hill travelling South from Paterson. The speed limit at that point is 100kms per hour which means that oncoming traffic travelling South have less than three seconds to react if there is a vehicle coming from Lemon Grove Rd. For this reason, we always wait until Tocal Rd is clear in both directions before moving on to Tocal Rd in either direction. We will now have to contend with heavily laden trucks which will not be able to stop or take evasive action in the time available, and they will be passing every two minutes. An accident at the corner is almost inevitable.

2. Daracon’s publicity document states that 22 people will be employed by them. We can assume that none of these people will be driving the trucks which will be driven by subcontractors. It is extremely unlikely that Daracon will be able or willing to enforce any elements of their contracts apart from those concerning punctuality and productivity. The “commitments” in the public relations document are unenforceable.

3. Currently, Tocal Rd is frequently subject to delays due to road repairs or upgrades because of the existing traffic. Like other roads in the area, it is not suitable for multiple truck movements. It is not an industrial highway and should not be used like one. If output from the quarry has now outstripped previous transport arrangements they cannot simply default to the nearest convenient public road.

4. It is clear that Daracon is indifferent to the effect their noise pollution and vibration will have on our rural community and its wildlife.

5. This company has a history of ignoring legal constraints. This alone should disqualify them from any further consideration.

This project will not have a positive effect on the environment, road conditions, road safety, noise pollution, house and land prices and will generally be a nuisance to the people of Martins Creek, Paterson and all the way through Bolwarra and Lorn. We have lived on Paterson Road for 23 years and the noise and vibration from the trucks has already caused our house to move and the brick work to crack and the interior walls and cornice to crack, having 50 trucks per hour traveling along Paterson road will do more damage to the roads and the houses along it and not to mention what will happen to the land and property valuations.
I STRONGLY OBJECT TO THIS PROJECT