Martins Creek Quarry Project

The local road structure is insufficient to cater for a large number of truck movements. Also the village of Paterson is a quiet historic tourist centre which would be affected by large truck movements.

As a local resident living on Gresford road Paterson who has lived here for over 8 years, works locally and operates an outdoors mental heath business from home I object to the expansion of the quarry at Martins creek due to the following issues,

1.the roads cannot cope or be maintained with the number of proposed trucks using the country roads which creates very dangerous driving conditions for local residents and tourists, pot holes that destroy tyres, flip vehicles off the side of road and accidents due to blown tyres, smashed windscreens due to rocks and gravel falling off the trucks as you pass them by or travel behind them being flung up off the road . Roads with narrow wooden bridges and unmarked lanes where trucks cannot brake quickly with full loads travelling downhill to avoid accidents and collisions .I have had many a smashed windscreen due to all the above. I have been almost rear ended by truck and dog vehicles turning into my driveway from the main road as I live near the Dungog turn intersection
2. environmental pollution due to the level of dust in the air causing breathing issues such as asthma and allergies and lung disease , dirt all over our house and clothes on the line noise and environmental pollution from exhaust and brake noise .
3. the impact of rural families and school children attending Vacy and paterson primary school who wait at farm gates on the side of the roads mornings and afternoons for pick up and drop off, and where they need to cross the roads to get to and from home safely or whom need to ride bikes on the roads - this will be very unsafe with one truck movement every 3 minutes and the safety issues of the school busses being stopped on the sides of the road with children getting on and off the busses at different times with trucks passing or stopping will be very unsafe.
4. the impact to the paterson village itself and Main Street residents and shops, post office, service station , IGA supermarket, local doctor and pharmacy and local cafes - all these services are essential services to the community where elderly people reside, there will be loss of tourism , noise pollution , dust pollution, unsafe road crossing options and unsafe parking issues such as getting in and out of cars safely . when the trucks were previously operating it was very unsafe to park and enter/exit your vehicle to access local businesses on the main street, and cross the road safely.
5.the impact of property de valuation on local houses and properties and local business services, especially local country bed and breakfast properties and Farmstay retreats where business rely on quiet environment
6. the impact on and loss of endangered Australian native animals and native flora such as the koala and spotted quoll , where their habitat will be destroyed and lives will be lost , large amounts of road kill of our native animals such as echidnas, tortiose, kangaroo and wallaby, birds the graze on the grass seeds on the side of the road such as rosellas , kookaburras and wedge tail eagles eating the road kill. 21 Hectares of koala habitat will be bulldozed and after we have already lost a huge mount due to the booral quarry located close by in the Seaham the colony cannot afford to loose anymore habitat.
7. pollution and green house gasses emissions contributing to climate change which impacts local flooding and bushfires.
8.the fact that they operated illegally for such a long period of time and collected a profit of millions of dollars without regard for any legal laws or the impact on local residents, or consequences of their behaviour.
9. the lack of community consultation or environmental studies for previous or current proposal of operations with local residents and the unwillingness to use established rail services instead of roads.
10. the noise pollution from trucks arriving at the quarry early mornings to line up , trucks drive past our property well before opening time from 5 am and park across the road at Mowbray's lane with their engines running while waiting, the proposed hours of operation will be starting even earlier and finishing even later while residents are asleep either early morning or shift workers from the mines and emergency services like nurses and doctors and disability support workers needing to sleep through the day.
11. The damage to local residents houses and house foundations ,cracking walls and safety from the blasting at the quarry itself.many local families have their homes impacted.at a great expense to fix , as Vacy is a growing community this will get worse to the new homes being built in the area.

I oppose the expansion of Martins Creek Quarry for lots of reasons.

Firstly is the safety of all road users. The trucks often travel in pairs or trios, and more often then not, faster then the legal speed limit.
The risk to school children waiting for buses or crossing roads, and the safety of the buses stopping for children getting on and off.
These huge trucks roar past our local Vacy school and community areas, and past homes, the shopping areas and cafes in Paterson.

The added danger to our wildlife with more heavy traffic and the environmental damage from the quarry, and our precious koala population which need even more protection, as we know the damage the population encountered from the devastating bush fires.

I oppose the noise pollution, the pollution from fumes and the dust from the loads, and the dust from empty, uncovered trucks, and then the even louder banging from empty trucks. The damage to our roads by these massive, heavy vehicles is extreme, the extra traffic at peak times, especially at major intersections in Bolwarra and at roundabouts and at traffic lights as we head towards more heavily populated suburbs.

Our homes are in historical, picturesque townships, we value the serenity and lifestyle, and we value tourism.
Adding the expansion to the quarry, the extra explosions, the added truck numbers, only adds noise, danger, damage, health issues, all which equals nothing positive to the area.

I strongly oppose the expansion of Martins Creek Quarry.
I VALUE OUR HISTORICAL TOWNS AND BUILDINGS, OUR WILDLIFE, OUR ENVIRONMENT, OUR LIFESTYLE AND OUR SAFETY AND ESPECIALLY OUR CHILDRENS.

Very bad proposal that doesn't consider the huge impact of heavy vehicles on single lane, residential roads.

Being a local resident I believe the quarry will impact hugely on the already insufficient infrastructure in the area. Our roads will not cope with the increased traffic.

Access out of our estate (Hunterglen) will be excessively dangerous with extra traffic. The access in peak hours is already dangerous as. People will have to take more risk to get out of the Estate.
Also the noise of trucks will be excessive and cause extra pollution from dust of the loads they will.be carrying.

I am writing to state my views regarding the Martins Creek Quarry. I am not completely against the Quarry but am against the increase of truck traffic on the local road system. The high number of trucks create a hazard regarding traffic flow and destruction of the road surface. In previous years the trucks would come through Gresford at 4:30 am to line up at the Quarry to get loaded, they drive by school zones with young children and as mentioned destroy the road surface to the degree it is dangerous. I also object to the increase of material to be taken out of the Quarry because that will most likely cause more air pollution from blasting and increase truck traffic. I do not live near the Quarry but I do sympathize with the people that live close and have house damage, bad air, and have to listen and feel the blasting. My personal opinion is keep the Quarry operating at a very low capacity taking most of the material away by rail.

Martins Creek Quarry Expansion – Application No SSD-6612

Dear Sir/Madam

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion for the following reasons:
1 - The 40 heavily laden trucks passing the front of our property every hour is a completely unacceptable level of impact to our rural community.
2 - The constant loud noise from the trucks, road damage, threat to our rural wildlife and domestic animals is unacceptable.
3 - The location of our property on the bend of the road creates a blind spot that will become an even greater road safety issue, with the additional trucks fully laden with quarry rock travelling at 80kph diminishes their ability to stop in an emergency and could add greater risk and road accident fatalities to family and friends entering or leaving our home.
4 - The current roadway along Gresford Road between Dungog Road and the Paterson Township fails to meet Ausroads standards being too narrow and does not allow 1.5m for my family to safely walk or ride push bikes along the front of our property and to Paterson. The additional traffic especially from large trucks increases the risk of accident and injury in trying to safely navigate the journey to the Paterson township.

I have not made a reportable political donation

Martins Creek Quarry Expansion – Application No SSD-6612

Dear Sir/Madam

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion for the following reasons:
1 - The 40 heavily laden trucks passing the front of our property every hour is a completely unacceptable level of impact to our rural community.
2 - The constant loud noise from the trucks, road damage, threat to our rural wildlife and domestic animals is unacceptable.
3 - The location of our property on the bend of the road creates a blind spot that will become an even greater road safety issue, with the additional trucks fully laden with quarry rock travelling at 80kph diminishes their ability to stop in an emergency and could add greater risk and road accident fatalities to family and friends entering or leaving our home.
4 - The current roadway along Gresford Road between Dungog Road and the Paterson Township fails to meet Ausroads standards being too narrow and does not allow 1.5m for my family to safely walk or ride push bikes along the front of our property and to Paterson. The additional traffic especially from large trucks increases the risk of accident and injury in trying to safely navigate the journey to the Paterson township.

I have not made a reportable political donation

To Whom it may concern,
I write this submission to the department of Planning and Environment to formally object to all aspects of the proposal of the expansion and change of operation of the Martins Creek Quarry.

The townships of Martins Creek, Paterson and surrounding areas are historic towns of great importance in the story of Australia's exploration and colonisation and because of that local residents have a great pride of our towns. For the last 100 years the surrounding towns and cities lived with and indeed grew in part thanks to the Martins creek quarry. Up until 2012 it was a semi harmonious existence but now with new ownership, increased activity and proposal for expansion the balance is lost and the proud towns of Martins Creek and Paterson stand to become dust covered places, stripped of their charm on a haul road of corporate greed and bullying.

The increased road haulage will destroy the roads, at the cost of the rate payer, destroy tourism and have adverse affects on the local environment and its human inhabitants.

This is a growing world and we should support that, sustainably and responsibly, but not at the expense of the happiness and wellbeing of so many lives that will be affected by this careless and ruthless expansion.

Thankyou for your consideration,
From a true Australian land lover

I do not want 280 quarry trucks on the local roads around here.

I live in the area and the traffic is already a mess without adding over 280 trucks passing through there daily.

To: Department of Planning and Environment.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion proposal.
I live on Paterson Road Bolwarra, in that section of road between the BP petrol station and the Flat Road roundabout.
Under the proposal the Martins Creek Quarry trucks will join the Brandy Hill Quarry trucks at the junction of Tocal and Paterson Roads (i.e. at the petrol station.)
I understand that the approximate peak number of truck movements per day will be approximately 280 for Martins Creek and 100 for Brandy Hill. (i.e. 380 total.)
I don't believe that the CUMMULATIVE effect of both these Quarries has been appropriately addressed.
That section of road is on an incline and has the Bolwarra Public School (on Bolwarra Road) at the foot of the hill.
I have many objections to the proposal but my main concerns are Safety and Noise. My objections are based on my actual lived experience from 2016 when we moved to Paterson Road and 2019 when the previous (illegal) Martins Creek operations ceased.
SAFETY.
That volume of trucks sharing the road with normal road users, including school buses will be congested, dangerous and unreasonable.
The two Quarries will have, in effect, turned Paterson Road into a quarry (mine) haulage road.
The trucks get up to a high speed when they pound down the hill, traffic turning right into Bolwarra Road (where the school is) are in peril from being "rear ended" by a quarry truck.
At certain times of the day it is currently virtually impossible to exit my property onto Paterson Road due to the heavy traffic, including the Quarry trucks.
Entering my property from Paterson Road is a "lottery" waiting to be "rear ended".

NOISE.
The noise from the existing trucks is almost unbearable, I cannot conceive what it will be like when the Martins Creek truck movements go from approximately 24 to 280 per day.
The major noise problems are caused by the empty trucks as their wagons and tailgates reverberate on the bumps in the road.
Back in 2016-2019 I used to get woken nearly every day by Quarry trucks pounding up and down Paterson Road.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION
I and understand and respect the need for the quarry product (hard rock) to be produced and utilised by society.
I also respect the need for the Quarry employees to earn a living.
Surely, the best way of managing the competing needs of the Quarry and the local community is to use the rail network.
The rail network exists and was used almost exclusively by the previous owner of the Quarry ( Rail Corp)
I suggest that if the Quarry expansion is to be approved that it be on the basis that all of the additional product be transported by rail.

Thankyou for the opportunity to comment.
Yours sincerely
Denis Shanahan.

I currently object to the project on the basis that the Traffic Impact Assessment (18 EIS_AppH) is insufficiently detailed and does not address my safety concerns.
I am a resident of Lorn and my wife works at Bolwarra. My concerns relating to traffic are centered around the intersections of Patterson Rd & Hunterglen Drive (Bolwarra Heights) and also Patterson Rd & Bolwarra Rd (Bolwarra). These two intersections are regularly used by my wife and I. There are considerable delays currently, particularly around school start and end, and I have witnessed many "close calls" with vehicles over many years and even collisions at the Bolwarra Rd intersection. Both of these locations are not addressed in the Traffic Impact Assessment in terms of vehicles trying to get back onto Patterson Road and cross the lane of oncoming traffic. The provision of some sort of merging lane should be provided at the least, especially as loaded trucks coming down hill on the approach to the Bolwarra Road intersection are a high risk currently around school time with an inadequate intersection to promote optimal vehicular safety. To exclude truck traffic around school start and ends times should be considered unless the 2 intersections above are made safer and more conducive to traffic flow.
Page 12 of the Traffic Impact Assessment also indicates that trucks will continue to go through the historic village of Lorn along Belmore Road and over Belmore Bridge. The truck traffic going through Lorn from these trucks is noisy and potentially more hazardous to local vehicles and residents. To have these vehicles go through Lorn is currently unsatisfactory, particularly around school start and finish windows. Why can trucks not be routed to avoid this residential village. The other issue I have is that no mention has been made of the Lorn Bridge impact. Can the bridge handle the extra fully laden trucks? What is the bridge's Safe Working Load? How many loaded trucks can be on the bridge at the same time when traffic is at a crawl? The same can be asked of all older bridges along the proposed haul routes.
If the project does need to go ahead, why can't road trucks just avoid Lorn altogether to maximise safety of the local community. At the very least, traffic should be excluded during school start and end times, and also scheduled so that there are not an excessive number of vehicles in certain time windows. The current trucks are noisy, cause vibrations to the road that I can feel as a pedestrian, and are a hazard to the cyclists that use the road currently (not that I like cyclists much either!).
Thank you for your consideration of the above.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion Project.
I have many concerns based on my lived experience from 2016.

(1) Impact on the road maintenance, I pay for this from my Maitland Council rates.
(2) Safety on the road, it is sometimes impossible to get out of my property onto Paterson Road.
(3) Road safety, particularly in the villages of Lorn, Bolwarra and Paterson. (I understand the empty trucks may return via Lorn.)
(4) Noise, the truck noise now is "deafening"
(5) I worry about the loss of "quality of life", particularly for the residents of the village of Paterson.
(6) I am concerned about the impact on the flora and fauna at Martins Creek itself.
(7) I can't understand why the Quarry does not make greater use of the rail.

Thankyou
Frances Shanahan.

Expanding the quarry to so many trucks per day on regional and rural roads, is dangerous. In NSW it seems money is poured into projects and never into infrastructure. The noise and disruption of these trucks impacts locals . This quarry has been a rumoured large source of overmining for years. Not a project I would support.

I oppose the expansion of Martins Creek Quarry, with a particular focus on the proposed transportation of quarry materials via trucks.
It is insanity to allow 280 heavily laden trucks per day to drive through the village of Paterson and then down through Tocal Rd on to Maitland.
All of Paterson’s community and the landholders along the proposed route have purchased their properties based on a rural lifestyle which will be blown apart by:

1. Noise of the Trucks
2. Pollution of the trucks
3. Damage caused by the trucks to roads and property
4. Intimidation of driving with trucks and on a more regular basis. (not a comment on the drivers just driving with trucks in general)
5. Road safety issues created by the sheer volume of trucks
6. Increased danger to cyclists that use the area in ever increasing numbers

The village of Paterson is the economic epicentre of the valley and anecdotally is on a similar trajectory to where Morpeth is now in terms of attracting a tourist base. This use of the road will stop this dead. Imagine staying at the historic Paterson B and B to be wakened by the continuous screech of the air brakes of multiple double bogey laden Mac trucks as they negotiates the 90 degree corner in the centre of town after the 6:45am commencement time.

Reading the project’s documentation I notice the real revenue over the life of the quarry is $540 million. Unfortunately I couldn’t find exact or even approximate figures of how much is being proposed as a contribution by Daracon to the various Councils to try to keep the road in reasonable condition .

A rail solution is talked about but summing up the documentation it seems it’s all too hard. Reasons given are cost, environmental impact and social impact. It seems it’s much more cost effective to impose these costs on to the residents living along the road route.

In an extract from the Plateway paper “Review of Quarry Products Distribution by Rail and Rail Logistics Options for Martins Creek Quarry”

“Market Viability of a Remote Rail-Served Distribution Centre
Key factors which make a rail served distribution centre and logistics chain commercially viable are that:
• the annual production rate from the quarry;
• the size of the market can support the capital investment required;
• there are no alternative sources of supply with lower distribution costs; and
• the competing road based logistic chains are at a cost disadvantage as a result of haul distance and suffer from poor reliability due to road congestion.
As an example, Boral’s rail based logistics aggregate distribution operation from the Illawarra and Southern Highlands as well as Holcim’s rail based logistics operation are viable as they achieve all of these outcomes.
None of these conditions exist for the local and regional markets currently served by the Martins Creek Quarry which:
• has a lower output;
• operates in a much smaller local and regional market
; • has several competing alternative sources of supply; and
• has a road logistics chain which operates in an uncongested road network.”

These reasons predicting rail transport failure with their astounding lack of detail show the complete lack of motivation by the Daracon group to get committed to a realistic solution for moving the aggregate. The fact the area has:

- “a road logistics chain which operates in an uncongested road network” doesn’t give Daracon the right to go and congest it with massive trucks and destroy multiple communities and their lifestyle and their wealth base by devaluing their properties.

- “has several competing alternative sources of supply;” means maybe supply of the material is best left to those competitors who can transport the material without the destruction of communities.

As shown by the multiple number of Daracon employees supporting this submission, Daracon is a great company to work for and has been a trailblazer in Hunter Valley Civil engineering works. However this time they’ve got it badly wrong.

My submission is outlined in the attached document

I frequently visit my in-laws on Gresford Rd, the number one haul route to Martin’s Creek Quarry. On multiple occasions I’ve been tailgated by a truck heading to the quarry on this road. Even using an early indicator, I wasn’t able to safely slow down to enter into their driveway, but instead, had to drive past the house until I reached Dungog rd so I was able to turn around safely.
The roads en route to the quarry are in extremely poor condition due to the high truck thoroughfare. The noise pollution during the day is considerable and consistent.
If the quarry expansion goes ahead, it will severely impact the quality of life for the residents not only on Gresford Road, but all surrounding areas.

Too many truck movements. Road is already too busy at the Melbourne Street Intersection with large queues.