When first moving to this area, it was a very peaceful, quiet location. About 2 years ago, Daracon trucks started running in the area, starting as early as 5.30am and are generally running constantly until about 5 pm. On the rare occasions they don't run along our road for the day, the serenity is very noticeable. The trucks are noisy and cause damage to the road. Potholes are a continual safety issue, and repairs don't last long. I don't believe the roads were built for such heavy, continuous traffic. Increasing truck numbers will only make the roads more dangerous and noise pollution excessive. Thank you

My employer contracts our services to the Martins Creek quarry.
Our work at the quarry has been ongoing for the last 3 years and we have a contract for a further two years of service.
This site is close to home for me and a primary client for my employment.
I support the expansion proposal in full.
Each day working at the quarry, I stop in Paterson and purchase items from the local stores.
I also purchase diesel fuel from a local supplier for use in our machines on site - 400l each day per machine.
This quarry operation is of vital importance to my job security.
I fully support the expansion

To whom it may concern,
I object to the expansion of Martins Creek Quarry due to the following impacts:
*Noise and vibration
The noise and vibration from trucks and trailers passing through the village of Paterson is already at an unsustainable level. I am awoken 6 days a week by the noise from the trucks and I live three houses back from the main road. We close all our windows and doors prior to bedtime to minimise the noise in the morning. My home is over 100 years old and the windows frequently vibrate when the trucks travel near the intersection with Sloane St. I am fortunate to have a timber clad house which has better flex to absorb vibrations but many of the historic brick buildings in our town are suffering severe and ongoing damage.
*Unsafe and unpractical road issues.
Currently, as a driver in a car I am able to access the main road relatively easily, however in the past, when Daracon had a major project on at Hexam, the sheer number of trucks travelling to and from the quarry meant that they had to travel in convoy and it was extremely difficult and dangerous to turn onto the main road from any side street, but especially if turning right as that meant crossing into both lanes, and two lines of trucks. The proposed expansion will allow even more trucks each day than at this busy time. Of particular concern to me is the intersection of Church St, and King St/Gresford Rd Paterson as this road is the only access to and from the Paterson Public School and Paterson preschool and as such suffers already from congestion at peak times. Add to this the fact that it is so close to the train line, so when long trains are passing through the wait to access Gresford road will be considerable if the increase in truck and train movements is allowed. Another intersection of major concern is that of King and Duke streets, in the CBD of Paterson. I have personal experience of the danger at this location as my car has been hit by a Daracon trailer while parked out the front of the Paterson Service Station (King St) where I work. I reported the incident to Maitland police (COPS event number E56086316). Thankfully myself or my children were not in the car at the time, but it could so easily have been different. The truck driver was unaware that he had hit anything, as the trucks and dogs are so large. As I work at the Service station, I have an excellent view of that intersection every work day and I have witnessed many near misses during the years I have been there. The trucks have to veer to their left either in King St or Duke St or both to be able to negotiate the corner. My complaint is not with the truck drivers themselves but with the situation whereby an excessive amount of trucks in an already dangerous area increases the risk of a life or lives being taken unnecessarily. This is an area of high pedestrian activity, vehicles turning into businesses, driveways and into the 'quiet' end of King st, and the main northern rail line also creating frequent long queues of waiting traffic.
*Damage to local roads.
Our local roads are already in a shocking state. All roads suffer damage from normal traffic levels over time, however the number of truck and dog movements currently through our village (both loaded and unloaded) is already causing a huge amount of damage, and our council is unable to repair due in part to the fact that Daracon do not pay any money towards repairs. If the numbers of trucks were allowed to be increased, I would not only feel unsafe travelling on the road, but would not want to drive my car for fear of the damage that would be done to it. This may sound like an exaggeration, but I can assure you it is not.
*Decrease in tourism and land values.
Paterson is well known throughout the wider area for its beautiful natural scenery, historic buildings, beautiful public parks and the like. It is a much sought after location to buy or build a home, raise a family or spend retirement years. However, Daracon's proposal threatens to undermine our peaceful way of life, our quiet country atmosphere and the roads which are the means of travel for so many locals travelling to work each day and which also bring tourists to our village and businesses. The quarry itself will become a bigger blight on our landscape. The noise of the trucks reverberates throughout the village, and many tourists that I have spoken with through my work at the Café express astonishment at the size, noise and volume of trucks already travelling through. It is simply not feasible to expand these numbers any further.
*Loss of local jobs.
If the proposal is approved, the volume of trucks and the proposed road changes to manage them, will inevitably mean a dramatic reduction in local trade and therefore jobs. I do not expect that there will be enough business in the town for my workplace (family owned and operated) to employ as many staff as they do now, and I expect that I will have to travel further afield to find work. The more locals that have to travel away to work in turn means that they are more likely to spend their money in other towns rather than our village, which in turn means less jobs, and so the cycle will continue. This proposal will spell the death of our community as we know it.
I implore you to consider the environmental, social and economic factors of this proposal on our area.
Thank you for taking the time to read this submission.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry expansion.
My family has owned property in Webbers Creek since 1964, and my husband and I have lived here since 1994, during which time we have raised 4 children.
We had no issues with the quarry until Daracon took over early 2013, and truck movements through Paterson increased enormously, especially during the Hexham contract when there were 500-600 truck movements daily, commencing before 6a.m.
I have grave concerns for safety on our local roads as follows:
* Drivers regularly speeding, especially in the 80 kph zones near Tocal College and along Butterwick Road.
* Drivers often tailgaiting and intimidating elderly and novice drivers.
* Trucks often drive in convoys.
* Trucks often cross over the centre lines around sweeping bends.
* I have often seen drivers on mobile phones or two way radios as they drive through the village of Paterson.
* I have seen gravel being spilt from trucks which have cracked or shattered windscreens.
* Crossing the road can be dangerous, especially for young children and the elderly.
* Getting in and out of cars at the shops and Post Office can be dangerous.
* The main T intersection in Paterson of King St, Duke St and Gresford Road is especially dangerous, as trucks have to swing out wide to get around the corner, and there is often 2 trucks passing around the corner at the same time.

I am also concerned about the impact on the serenity and heritage character of our historic, once peaceful village. Where it used to be very pleasant sitting in front of the Cafe or on the verandah of the CBC, enjoying lunch, this is now totally ruined by the constant passing of noisy trucks. I have heard so many comments from visitors to Paterson that they are appalled that so many trucks are permitted along our roads, through small townships, instead of having a haul road, or having the quarry product being moved by rail.

Road damage is occurring as our roads were not built to take this amount or type of traffic. When Railcorp operated the quarry, they were paying a levy to assist with the upkeep of the roads; this has not occurred since Daracon took over. Also Rail Corp had an agreement limiting the annual extraction of product to 450,000 tonnes, and when this was reached the quarry would shut down until the start of a new year. they also had an agreement to remove 70% of the product by rail. Since Daracon took over, these agreements have been ignored.

Daracon has blatantly ignored the community's concerns. I attended the public meeting in Paterson in March 2014, along with more than 300 other concerned residents. The solution stated at this meeting by David Mingay, Daracon owner, was to "move somewhere else, away from the Paterson area".

I also attended the recent meeting in Paterson with representatives form the Planning Department. Again, there were over 300 in attendances, all voicing the same concerns and pointing out that nothing has changed in 2 1/2 years.

Regards,
Cathy Easdown

As a local resident along the haul route through Bolwarra my family supports the development of the Martins Creek Quarry due to job security it brings to my employment as well as other support services to the quarry.

Despite the negative publicity I believe the quarry expansion will have an overall positive impact on the local area. The increase in trucks will barely be noticeable due to the already high volume of general traffic on Paterson road.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry expansion.
My objections to increased quarry production and expansion are:
1. Road Safety
* Traffic congestion and road safety as a result of an increase in truck and dog movements as many travel at the maximum allowable speed.
* Pedestrian safety within the village of Paterson.
* Loss of parking and amenity as a result of the proposed road widening and traffic calming arrangements within the village.
* Traffic congestion created when the rail corridor gates are closed causing a bank-up of trucks in the village. Some coal trains are 70+ wagons long taking 5+ minutes to clear the gates.
* The local road transport network is totally inadequate to handle this volume of heavy traffic on the very soft bitumenised surfaces. Many local roads are only built atop soft river soils and were never designed for high volumes of heavy transport.
* Congestion on the one lane (Dungog Road) Gostwyck road bridge. I have twice been subjected to road rage by trucks carrying quarry products forcing their right of way. The Give Way sign is on the wrong end of the bridge. At the very least the bridge will require demand-tripped traffic lights to control the flow.
2. Noise
Empty truck noise in the early morning disturbs a large corridor within the Paterson community. Transport hours should be restricted.
3. Dust
Dust monitoring should be established in the Paterson village as it is becoming quite obvious that dust emissions both from the quarry and the moving trucks is increasing.
4. The Paterson intersection median works
Proposed traffic arrangements by Daracon's ACOR Consultants appear (it's unclear from the diagram) to prevent traffic from turning right from Duke into King Street. When you live in King Street you need to turn right at this intersection!
5. Amenity
Loss of amenity and income to the Paterson village business hub.

I propose that the quarry production be pegged at the existing 500 000 tons per annum and should utilise existing road/rail transport arrangements.

We have recently moved to the area and the main road from Martins Creek travelling into the Maitland CBD is busy already for a single lane each way main road. From where we live my wife and I and our teenage children who drive have to turn across both lanes heading into Maitland. With the current traffic load at times it is either a longish wait or a strong acceleration to move in to the traffic flow with us witnessing a couple of accidents already. With the planned 80 additional heavy truck movements each hour how is the current road network going to handle this? There are not enough roundabouts in place already.

This road is mainly a residential street with houses along each side with no current work being undertaken to improve access for the current traffic flow.

The main road through Lorn is a narrow residential street and crossing the road while walking is only available on 2 crossings. Mornings and afternoons the traffic is at standstill with the current traffic flow, how is the additional truck movements going to affect an already choked road system.

I and my family are against this expansion under the current conditions the roads are in and the projects to improve them are not adequate.

I object to the submission for the following reasons
* The area is sold as a lifestyle area and 80 vehicles an hour on top of the exiting traffic would make our road travel unbearable and unsafe
*The town of Paterson is an historical and unique village that retains a village atmosphere. The noise from the trucks makes any conversation or out door dining in the area impossible.
*The roads through the village are not wide enough for the trucks and the suggestions made by Daracon to widen the roads and basically change our village for their convenience is arrogant and wrong.
*There are three primary schools within short distances from the quarry which poses a risk to our children, not only from the dust generated but by the huge increase in trucking movements
*Our wildlife is already being descimated by the trucks (kangaroo killed in the main street the other morning at approx. 7.30am, in front of school kids and locals) There is also a koala population that would be aversely effected by detonating and quarrying another 38 hectares of native vegetation
*How can the commercial interests of one company take precedence over the health and lifestyle of the existing residents

I have been employed by Daracon for 6 year. My understanding that this quarry is a vital part of Daracon business growth as the quarry supply a lot materials to the site I work on. For Daracon to remain competitive in the Hunter Civil industry I feel that the Martin Creek quarry will therefore help in the future job security , not only for me but my fellow work mate

Hi my name is Dennis, I am a labourer working for Daracon. I am 26 years old, have four children and I am married. I have been with Daracon for 5 years and they have looked after me whilst I have brought up my young family. As part of my job I am responsible for building roads and infrastructure. Most of our roadbase and stormwater backfill is sourced from Martins Creek like stabilbase or 5mm dust. HAving access to these materials helps us make quality roads that comply with the local specifications. It also means that we can be competitive because we are sourcing local material. The quarry plays abig part in the Daracon organisation which helps maintain employment for over 800 people in our community. Daracon is a family company with good values who also do a lot for the local community through donations and sponsoring events. I think it is important not just for Daracon but for the wider community if the Quarry expansion is approved. Cheers, D.