Martins Creek Quarry Project

I have been employed with Daracon for 6 years and have enjoyed the stable employment it provides,martins Creek Quarry is a big part of the organisation and supports many of the infrastructure jobs we undertake,the Success of the quarry helps maintain the jobs of over 850 employees and over 1000 contractors and their families i support the expansion

I have been employed by the Daracon Group for almost 24 years during this time I have been employed full time through hard times, through the downturn in the mining industry and GFC
Daracon are a very loyal to their employees and their are many long term employees amongst the Daracon family.

I live in the Maitland council area which rates as one of the highest growth areas in this region, the Martins Creek quarry supplies materials to both Daracons projects and other Developers in this area. If this quarry doesn't expand for future developments it could possibly make it very difficult for developers to fiancé future development as material cost could increase due to there only being 3 hard rock quarries of this kind in this region. The Quarry provides materials to many projects crucial to the growth and prosperity of the region: road construction, housing, railway construction and other public infrastructure.

As mentioned above I have been employed by Daracon for almost 24 years and I intend to stay here to I retire, the success of the quarry will help maintain mine and the jobs of over 850 employees and over 1000 contractors and their families

yours faithfully

Paul Greathead

I oppose the Martin's Creek quarry expansion.
It is ridiculous to expect the residents of Paterson to have to put up with the noise and impact on the roads and environment that this expansion and subsequent increase in number of trucks would entail. 80 trucks an hour thundering past residential homes and on the narrow roads in the area is a hazard and will lead to major problems for the families in the area. Safety of children, old people, dog walkers etc is also going to be at risk.

I have been employed with Daracon for 5 years and have enjoyed the stable employment it provides. Martins Creek Quarry is a big part of the organisation and supports many of the infrastructure jobs we undertake and the success of the quarry helps maintain the jobs of over 850 employees and over 1000 contractors and their families. As a resident of the Hunter Valley, Daracon creates opportunities for people from many different backgrounds and is a great supporter of local community charities and sporting groups. I believe it is one of only 3 hard rock quarries of this kind in the region and as such plays an important part within not just the Daracon group but also in the supply to many projects within the Hunter Valley area and to numerous local businesses. For the region to grow at the rate we would like, and at a rate reported in the Hunter Regional Plan 2036, not only do we need to support local jobs but we also need to be able to service the demand of a growing population with the necessary construction materials.

Martins Creek Aggregate is a good source of Hard Rock and well located to supply materials into Newcastle and the Hunter. The quarry is an important entity within the Daracon Group and also provides direct employment opportunities for operational staff at the quarry as well as many more indirect employment opportunities - i.e. contract truck drivers etc.

* Martins Creek Quarry is a big part of the organisation and supports many of the infrastructure jobs we undertake
* The Success of the quarry helps maintain the jobs of over 850 employees and over 1000 contractors and their families
* Daracon is a supporter of local communities and charities
* There are a lot of infrastructure projects in the Hunter. Limiting material supply may increase the cost of projects which the taxpayer is funding
* The construction industry relies on the Quarry as one of only a couple of hard rock suppliers in the region and if the Hunter Valley is to prosper and grow, Martins Creek Quarry will be required to provide the necessary materials for major infrastructure projects.
* I believe the Quarry plays an important part within not just the Daracon group but also in the supply to many projects within the Hunter Valley area and to numerous local businesses.

being the great company that Daracon is I think they need to forge ahead with business as it provides work for a huge amount of local people

The construction industry relies on the Quarry as one of only a couple of hard rock suppliers in the region and if the Hunter Valley is to prosper and grow, Martins Creek Quarry will be required to provide the necessary materials for major infrastructure projects. For the region to grow at the rate we would like, and at a rate reported in the Hunter Regional Plan 2036, not only do we need to support local jobs but we also need to be able to service the demand of a growing population with the necessary construction materials.

Daracon group provides a great support network for local organisations in newcastle as well as supports a large amount of families ranging from Sydney, newcastle, central coast and hunter valley. Not to mention all of the subcontractors that we engage to assist with our works. the impact of Martins Creek on Daracon's business and ability to support this network of families and companies is vital for for their survival. i have a young family who rely on me to provide for them whereby i rely on daracon for work ...they have been able to to this for me for the last 10 years of my employment and i would like for them to be able to do it for me again for the next 20 years ... this would ensure that my kids and other peoples families and kids are educated well and our jobs are secure

Dear Sir
I oppose the expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry on the following issues
1 Damage to houses ( cracking and vibrations)caused by trucks and blasting
2 Our country roads are too narrow and not maintained
3 Dangerous to cross roads in Paterson because of the amount of trucks
4 Dust caused by trucks and quarry activities
5 Noise from trucks and quarry activities
6 Loss of village atmosphere due to constant truck movements
7 Phycological impact on residents due to constant truck and quarry activities
8 T intersection at Paterson Cafe dangerous trucks constantly have to go over the solid white line to get there trucks around the corner

Regards

I have a few concerns about the proposed expansion of the Martins Creek quarry. The main concern i have is the damage to my property due to vibration caused by a high volume of big dump trucks passing close by. My house is almost 200 years old, one of the oldest building in the area. It is listed in the Dungog Councils Local Environmental Plan as a building of historical significance. I have been living at the address since March 2015 at which time we had a pre-purchase building inspection conducted on the house. Since that time, and most notably in the last few month, large cracks have developed and existing cracks have worsened. I cant prove that the damage is being caused by the dump trucks, but i cant help but believe that a significant increase in the amount of heavy traffic will only exacerbate the current structural issues.
The second concern i have is the dog leg in Maitland rd near the intersection with Prince St. It is already a very dangerous intersection for both vehicles pulling out from Prince st onto Maitland rd as well as pedestrians making their way down to John Tucker Park. An increase in the amount of heavy traffic just worsens an already bad situation.
My concerns are heavily based on the amount of of trucks passing through Paterson and i feel that idealy the quarry expansion be rejected, however, if the quarry expansion is to proceed than the rail line must be used to transport all of the extra material as any increase in the number of trucks is unacceptable.

Martins Creek quarry makes up a big part of the Daracon organisation, in turn providing stability for thousands of employees and local contractors.

The quarry is one of the main hard rock suppliers in the area for the construction industry, supplying high quality products for various large projects all around the region. By limiting the materials, the cost of supply will increase resulting in some projects becoming uneconomical and not proceeding.

Martins Creek quarry plays a crucial role in the future growth and development of the Hunter region, and without its operation many local jobs and infrastructure upgrades would not be possible.

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I strongly oppose the Martins Creek Quarry expansion....

I have lived in this area since I was 17 years old. I'm now 47, and chose to buy here and raise a family.
I love space, wildlife, bush, the country.
I don't like the quarry, but its there and I accept it. I oppose the greed surrounding the expansion.

I have to wonder whether large corporations ever consider anything other then their bank balances.
You want to destroy a large part of native bushland, what about the wildlife and the environment?
What about the huge, ugly scar left from that clearing that will never regenerate?
What about our roads? They are in disrepair now, Daracon doesn't contribute to the upkeep.
What about the noise?
What about the safety of our school buses picking and dropping off our children?
What about safety in the main street of Paterson?
What about simply crossing the road?
What about having 80 trucks per hour tearing past your house?
Moving isn't an option for us, like we have so bluntly been told to do.
What about the pollution?
What about trying to leave your driveway safely?
What about our beautiful, historic town?
What about the tourism here?
What about the relative peace and quiet?
What about the other multiple towns you also want to drive through around the clock?

This expansion has no positives. It doesn't contribute anything to our community except noise, danger, destruction, pollution and lots and lots of big trucks.

Go away with your greed.

Rebekah

To Whom it may concern,
I Tony Latham live at the above address which is not far from the quarry and I have serious concerns over the quarries expansion, the proposed extra traffic (i.e trucks) that will be traveling on the proposed route really causes serious safety concerns for myself and my children that travel that road, the main road traveling through Paterson is too small for heavy haulage traffic as well as the state of the road itself, the main corner where the post office is in Paterson has had one incident and many more near misses that I have heard about and I think its only a matter of time before someone gets injured or possibly killed due to the trucks now so extra trucks means more interaction with families and children and I fear for the safety of all people in our community, the little IGA store where I buy my groceries is a real concern crossing the road and large trucks DONT stop as well or have the vision of cars, I should know I have been working on trucks for twenty six years, the road is too small for large vehicles in parts, the road surface really needs replacing also, my daughter travels that road during the week at the time the trucks go though and due the trucks now she says causes driver frustration with drivers taking unnecessary risk to get around the trucks and I believe are taking risk themselves, the noise we hear from the quarry will also I suppose increase which is annoying now, we live in a beautiful quiet little community and the quarry has been there also for a long time but the increase will make it a real concern for everyone who lives here, I was under the impression that government were more inclined to approve this sort of thing if it was taken out by rail, which the quarry has its own rail line, why put peoples lives at risk? why not make them do a rail expansion and ship it out by rail? where I was working over ten years ago at Mt Thorley in the hunter valley the coal was moved by coal trucks from United, Wambo and Lemington mines back into Mt Thorley coal loader due to not being able to get it out by rail, and there was so many movements the counsel made them put in a rail line to stop all the truck movement, why are you are probably about to approve running more trucks though a lot smaller road where there is more of a concern for safety, plus Paterson and Vacy get a lot of tourism with older people and motor bikes and old cars during the week as well as the weekend besides the safety factor do you think they are going to want to sit in what was quiet little Paterson and look at and listen to noisy truck and dogs trailers running through? I think even a consideration would be an extremely bad move on a proposal that has not considered all other options, at the current rate its a concern for safety so I can only hope you consider public safety before you make any detrimental decisions.

Martins Creek Quarry is a big part of the organisation and supports many of the infrastructure jobs we undertake
The Success of the quarry helps maintain the jobs of over 850 employees and over 1000 contractors and their families

* The quarry provides materials required in many of our projects and without the quarry, some of our projects would not be commercially viable and would not proceed

- Two of my children have contracted asthma in the last 13 years that I have been living in area, my 2 asthma suffering children only visit on rare occasions due to their suffering for weeks after visiting the area.
- I have had a pet goat that was tethered & when blasting occurred goat was startled & coathanged it self almost breaking its neck.
-Another occasion when i had a pregnant sheep that went running mad when blasting occurred resulting in the loss life of my pregnant sheep & its baby inside when the foetus was distressed it died & then the cost to have Veterinarian assessment more $$$ spent.
-One occasion when blasting was occurring a bottle of wine fell from a shelf & smashed onto the floor.
- My wife is always complaining about damage to crockery that walks from the cupboards when blasting is occurring.
-I have repeated occasions where i had to drive behind trucks leaving quarry that continue to have gravel & water spilling from their trailers damaging paintwork & wind screens of my collectors car which has dramatically lessened the value of.
- I have had numerous punctures in my & my wife & children's cars from hitting potholes that have been caused by trucks continuously destroying the roads surfaces in the area not to mention the untold damage occurring to suspension parts as well.
-On one occasion i asked my sister who lives out of the area to chaperone my daughter to her year 12 formal in the Hotrod that my sister owns & she would not drive to my house because of the pot holes in the roads fearing damage to her car, thanks for that i had to hire a car costing me $$$.
- I have had cracks appear in the brick walls of my home & when i have been home at the time of blasting occurring the concrete veranda knocks against the brick wall of my house creating small cracks in mortar that's holding brickwork together.
-Major concern with expansion is that there will be more underlying issues & problems with the extraction of 1.5 million tons of rock on the other side of the hill from the back of my property less that 1 Kilometer away & will have disastrous affects to the value of my own personal property & the local community.
- My investment of the property was for the future inheritance for my children that will no doubt be dwindled away if operation of quarry is expanded or even continued.
- No I cant just sell & move even if i wanted to, who would want to buy a property with so many problems & future problems that will continue under the new expansion proposal.
-My biggest gripe would have to be the taxes I pay out of my pay each week that goes to fixing roads mostly caused by continuous movements of trucks along the haul road & the quarry owners don't contribute 1 cent to the repairs in the local area roads.
- I am very disappointed that the proposed expansion has even be considered by the authorities given that they are not even adhering to the current requirements of the last Environmental Impact statement signed off by local government.
- Stop this profit making destructive company continuing to ruin the lives so many people.
- It is about time that some of the profits made from the quarry to the detriment of living standards of locals in area are used to
rehabilitate roads & contribute to the ongoing health issues related to the conditions created by the extraction of hard rock extraction.
-This local community has put up with the quarry & its related issues for decades.
-Maybe it is time to look at other area's to extract from where less impact on people would be more moral thing to do?

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion.
We moved to the Brandy Hill area some years ago in an attempt to gain a more relaxed rural lifestyle. Unfortunately we underestimated the impact of truck movements from both Martins Creek and Brandy Hill Quarries. It is part of our daily life to contend with and be affected by the large number of truck movements already present. We regularly compete on the roads with large trucks (with dog trailers) thundering past while entering or traveling along Brandy Hill Drive; a huge safety concern. The roads are inadequate, narrow and potholed, never designed for the amount of truck traffic that is already present. Cracked windscreens are the norm. Walking or push biking along the local roads cannot be done safely, and is never attempted by us. Although we don't live directly on Brandy Hill Drive, we wake early each morning to the noise of quarry trucks bouncing along the potholes.
Local road traffic has already been increasing steadily due to constant urban & regional development. Existing problems would be exacerbated by increased truck movements. Local resident's safety and wellbeing would be further compromised if this proposal was to proceed. I oppose this unreasonable and excessive quarry expansion proposal.