Martins Creek Quarry Project

Due to traffic pollution
Poor infrastructure
Increased truck traffic In residential areas

I am grateful for the opportunity to object to this project.
I have resided in Paterson for the past 50 years and have several concerns regarding the increased extraction of quarry product material. I would appreciate consideration of the following :
- Truck movements impede travel on Dungog Road, Gresford Road, Maitland Road, Tocal Road, King Street and Duke Street.
- Entering and existing driveways, some of which are obscured, has become dangerous with increased truck movements impacting the flow of traffic resulting in lengthy lines of vehicles.
- Insufficient space for trucks to negotiate the Paterson Post Office (PPO) corner, (cnr King & Duke Sts), with the need to cross to the incorrect side of the street. This is a disaster waiting to happen due to the high volume of pedestrian and car movements in this particular area.
- Unsafe environment for school children attempting to negotiate the bus stops located close to the PPO.
- Existing delivery vehicles loading and unloading goods to local businesses already impedes traffic.
- Train movements already create chaos and restrict emergency vehicle access, creating extreme lines of traffic, an increased number of trucks will only add to this congestion.
- Disturbance to residents with early morning truck movements, through a residential area, is problematic.
- Paterson has been attracting visitors for many years for its culture, history and cafes - increased truck movements will result in reduced tourism.
- The topography of Tocal Road is not compatible with a high volume of heavy vehicle use.
Paterson township, and the roads leading to and from, were never designed as a thoroughfare for a project of this magnitude.
Yours faithfully.

See attached submission

I do not wish to see our rural area swamped by endless trucks, congestion and pollution. I don't wish to see koala habitat bulldozed. This after devastating bushfires have already had such a devastating affect on the koala population. There comes a point in time when we all need to stop and think about what we are doing to our environment and the animals that we share this earth with.

This is a small rural town containing large amounts of various wildlife. We don't need the quarry and definitely don't want it. Take your business elsewhere

The company had for 2 years operated this facility against the requirements of the contract it held and therefore cannot be trusted to operate in any new contracts that could be awarded if successful with this current submission for a licence looking at their past history with Contact adherence.
The town of Paterson and the surrounding area is a very Historical region for NSW, with the proposed volume of traffic put forward with the companies submission this will detract visitors and tourists that frequent this region causing a major lack of income being spent in the region with the possibility of people loosing their income and jobs, this would also force businesses to close causing a major problem for the area.
The roads that we have in the region are not built with the allowance of the volume and weights of the trucking that the company is proposing in it's submission, the roads at present and in the past have broken down substantially and fast with the Trucking traffic cause a dangerous and unsafe situation that the local traffic has to travel on, the roads have to be continually patched and are being continually patched giving the local residences a very dangerous and uneven surface to travel on.
It would be far safer and viable if the company set-up a rail loading site and send all their product by rail to save Paterson and the region the continual disruption and loss of income due to the Trucking traffic through the area.

Paterson is a historic village 10 minutes drive from where I currently live.
The trucks have to pass near me to get to Paterson.
Our roads are not made or well maintained enough to have 280 heavy work trucks going on it 2 times each

This project will significantly impact the local environment due to noise dust visual amenity flora fauna and biodiversity. The increased truck movements will significantly impact all residence along the proposed routes on already congested and over loaded peak time flows. The traffic study based on data from 2016 is not valid by todays flows and increased population density in the surrounding suburbs of the major flow paths indicated.

I am a local resident at Bolwarra Heights, I have found over recent years, with the developm ent of housing estates in Largs and Bolwarra that the traffic along the road between Maitland and Paterson has increased significantly. The proposed Martins Creek Quary development, will only increase traffic congestion, making it difficult for residents who love along the main road or side roads to access the main road. It will also increase road degredation, increase noise and air pollution. It will further decrease the amenity of the local Paterson area which thrives on being s beautfiul small and freidnly country and historical town.

Please do not approve this project.

This expansion adds nothing to the local community, we have two quarries within 20 minutes drive ( Brandy Hill, Seaham)
Its a huge safety risk with the increase of large trucks on our narrow local roads and to surrounding residents and residents on the proposed transport path with silica dust.
our property prices will decrease and already have due to the proposal and if its approved residents will need compensation
The quarry was made to build the railway and should be closed !

I am a resident of Bolwarra Heights.
My residence is approximately sixty metres from Patterson Road.
My objections are based on increased heavy vehicle traffic through the residential areas of Patterson, Bolwarra Heights, Bolwarra, East Maitland and potentially Lorn.
The intersection of Patterson Road and Hunterglen Road is dangerous now with the current traffic volumes and is expected to increase substantially due to the expected exponential housing development soon to occur in the local area. This intersection requires upgrading via either a round about of preferably traffic lights.
The intersection at Flat Road and Melbourne Street in East Maitland becomes excessively heavy now especially between the hours of 7:00am to 10:00am and 2:00pm to 7:00pm. Additional heavy vehicle traffic will render this intersection unmanageable for both residents and truck drivers.

Should the Martins Creek proposed expansion be approved it must be on the proviso that ALL material extracted is transported via rail.
This is an opportunity for both State and Council governments to think logically and force Martins Creek Quarry to use the infrastructure currently in existence ie the rail network.
All too often the easy option is taken with insufficient thought into the immediate and long term effects on the community.
Adding 280 plus heavy vehicles a day onto an already busy and substandard residential road network is ludicrous when an existing viable alternative exists.

Kind regards

John Beesley

I object to the Martins Creek Quarry expansion. Please fins 2 photos attached to letter

To whom it may concern,

I strongly object to the expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry. Having lived in the area for 6 years, with Daracon operating the quarry without a licence, I found commuting along the route of the heavy vehicles was unsafe. Having large trucks tailgating you because they have a deadline and there is no safe overtaking opportunities along Gresford Road is an accident waiting to happen. There are also school buses along this route, with road side pickups along the route.

The roads in the area require regular road works to be maintained especially when being heavily used by heavy vehicles, at great cost to council and the state government. It also adds to traffic delays and the heavy vehicles are a safety issues for the road workers.

Traffic in East Maitland along Melbourne Street has congestion problems during morning and afternoon peak times. The heavy vehicles will add to the traffic problems.

The noise disturbance to the businesses in Paterson and the dangers to pedestrians was also unacceptable.

Following trucks along the route and the blasting operations are creating silica dust an unacceptable health impact to the residents and the traffic around the heavy vehicles.

The impact statements submitted only covers a 1km radius of the quarry but people who live just outside this area are heavily impacted by the noise of the operations and dust.

24 hour operation of the quarry will heavily impact those living within a few kilometres of the quarry and devalue their properties. The rail link will not be economically viable as stated in their report due to the lack of track time available.

Adjoining the quarry is Koala habitat that needs to be protected. This area of the Hunter was spared from the devastating bush fires of 2019/20 and provides important habitat.

There are many other quarries operating in locations that are near major arterial routes that can more than meet the demand for the product.

Yours sincerely,
Robyn Hyde

I object to the Martins Creek Quarry expansion

I believe the proposed truck movements through Bolwarra and Lorn will result in major traffic and health impacts. Surely the rail system currently in place should be utilised.

It is unacceptable to allow expansion of Martins Creek Quarry when it involves 280 truck movements per day through the village of Paterson. The mental health of all residents in this area will be negatively impacted by the noise, pollution and environmental damage of so many trucks. In addition, the civil liberties of residents along the truck route will be disregarded when, having chosen to live in a peaceful, rural environment, they would have to contend with heavy industrial traffic, noise and pollution. The roads in the area are not suitable for so many trucks and there is no bypass of Paterson to accomodate them. Residents from surrounding towns of Vacy, Dungog, Gresford, the upper Allyn and Paterson valleys all must go through Paterson for work or commerce, often daily, and the traffic congestion of so many trucks would create an unacceptable risk for these drivers.
The NSW Rail line runs through Martins Creek so why is Daracon not advised to do the environmentally correct thing and ship all the material from the quarry by rail?.

I strongly oppose the expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry due to the excessive congestion on Patterson rd.Already this road is dangerous due to housing development in the Hunterglenn estate and already the large amounts of trucks already using this road this expansion is only going to add to more congestion more accidents . This road has become extremely unsafe for cars it’s like playing a game off Russian roulette and children who have to cross the road to get to the bus stop in the mornings and you want to add more trucks to the congestion it’s a joke . Not to mention the environmental impact that is going to have we have already lost an koala habitat at Brandy Hill what more do the greedy money hungry thieves want .

My objections are for the noise, dust and the danger created by the trucks being on the roads of Paterson that are not designed for such movements.To navigate the intersection of Duke & King Sts., trucks need to either swing wide of or cut across the opposite lane creating a dangerous situation with the many parked cars on the streets and damaging the curbing & guttering.The streets of Paterson are regularly parked out by residents & visitors attending the post office, cafe, service station, chemist and Dr's surgery all situated on or near the intersection. Not to mention the bus stop where our school children catch their buses.
Further shops namely the butcher and IGA supermarket along with the School of Arts are situated along Duke Street and when the trucks move along the road, the room for people disembarking from or entering their vehicles is very precarious to say the least. The trucks rumble past Tucker Park playground, a popular area frequented by families with children creating a possible danger to the children.
The noise and dust created by these trucks is unbearable and a hazard to peoples health. As a senior member of the town I find navigating the streets with these trucks extremely dangerous, particularly when I have grandchildren in my care.
These matters do not affect just Paterson, but all residents along the road to the intersection at Melbourne Street East Maitland which is already regularly congested and experiences many traffic delays as it is a major intersection.
All these matters are the reasons for my objection to the expansion of the quarry. The lives and health of the people of Paterson will be greatly and unnecessarily impacted by any expansion of the Quarry as well as the people along the roads that the trucks will use.

I wish to support the local residents around the Martins Creek area in the Hunter valley, in objecting to the extension of Daracon's Martins Creek Quarry Project in it's current form. I understand that the gravel excavated from the quarry is transported by trucks, increasing to 40 trucks per hour, 280 per day, & 31,000 per year. The local roads in that area cannot sustain this amount of traffic: The Dungog shire is already struggling to maintain it's local roads, with no state significant funding. The quarry is adjacent to a rail siding on the north coast railway line: why can't the gravel be transported by rail & keep the trucks off the otherwise quiet, local roads in the Paterson/Maitland area? It seems environmentally irresponsible of the NSW Government to consider approving a project with this much negative impact on our environment. I hope that this Amended DA will be seriously questioned in the light of it's carbon footprint & negative impacts on the Hunter community. It is time rail transport is utilised in locations like this, & road transport minmised where possible.

I am opposed to this project because of the traffic and environmental problems of the additional quarry trucks using the busy and narrow roads leading to the Hunter river crossings at Morpeth bridge, Harry Boyle bridge and Belmore bridge. The Morpeth bridge is a historic structure with a narrow approach on both sides. The latter two bridges have traffic light controls close to the bridges which are already generating congestion at peak hours. All the roads involved run through areas with houses, shops and cafes and are used extensively by school and other local traffic. The roads are unsuitable for regular daily use by hundreds of additional large, heavy trucks and trailers.