Martins Creek Quarry Project

Tocal College and its students, staff and public visitors will be affected by this proposal, in particular by any changes to traffic movements and their nature. Tocal College asks that these be considered when evaluating the net public worth of this proposal. Should the proposal proceed it asks that any increased risks or negative impacts to the College be addressed or mitigated.

I oject the Martins Creek Quarry expansion

I object the Martins Creek Quarry expansion

I would like to object to expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry. The information that Daracon and Umwelt come up with does not correlate with what us as residents actually experience (such as noise, vibrations from the blasting, dust and stones flicking up from loaded trucks leaving the Quarry). The amount of trucks going through Paterson(Historical Village) and further down the line such as Bolwarra, East Maitland, Lorn and Butterwick is in my opinion totally unacceptable to have on Residential Streets. Daracon are claiming this site as State Significant which in my belief is only Daracon significant as there is no benefit to the local community only a downside with damage not only to local roads (which are not the greatest at the best of times) but also to the Businesses of Paterson. Before the Courts put a stop to the Quarry a lot of people would not shop locally as they felt to scared due to the amount of trucks going thru the town. The general feeling of our Community is that Daracon can not be trusted to do the right thing. My personal opinion of Daracon and Umwelt is I have no trust in either of them as you always get the feeling that they are not telling the whole truth and are always trying to hide something. So as you can gather with what I have written, I am totally against the Quarry Expansion as I can see nothing good coming from the expansion of the Quarry especially for the local communities of Martins Creek, Vacy, Paterson, Butterwick, Bolwarra, East Maitland and even Lorn.

Please see attached letter.

Dear Sir/Madam,

As a local resident, I strongly object to the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion.
The proposed huge volume of intended trucks from the quarry will be travelling through historic residential and farming towns. These towns have minor roads which will be grossly overpowered by the sheer volume of daily truck movements.
Social impacts will be felt via vastly increased traffic congestion, noise, road damage, increased risk of major accidents, wildlife injuries, etc etc.
This expansion submission is via a company who previously flouted the rules and held total disregard for the quotas imposed.
Your sincerely Murray Wilks.

I have attached my Submission and do not support the project. Reason as per attached. It contains lived experiences of the past quarry operations impacting on myself, my home and my community, flora and fauna and environment.

I object to the proposal Martins creek Quarry Expansion Application SSD6612 the reason are detailed in the attached document

I object because I believe it to be a massive over development because of;
the unsuitability of quarry location for massive extraction volume increases,
the unsuitability of proposed product delivery and distribution methods,
the unsuitability of proposed operational hours,
the truck noise, numbers and the disturbance they create as well as other key safety concerns.

I wish to object to the proposed expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry due to the negative impact it will have on me, my family and people in Lorn and surrounding areas.
My main concerns involve the significant increase in truck movements on Paterson and Tocal Roads.

There has been a significant increase in population and traffic in the Bolwarra, Bolwarra Heights, Lorn Largs and Maitland Vale areas in recent years.
It is estimated that extra truck movements will occur every 90 seconds due to empty trucks travelling out to quarries at both Martins Creek and Brandy Hill and loaded trucks returning significantly increasing congestion and delays at intersections of Paterson and Tocal Roads and Paterson and Hunterglen Rd, Victoria Rd, Canna St, Bolwarra Rd and Maitland Vale Road. It is inconceivable to imagine an increase to the the traffic problems we are already facing.
The heavy traffic already being experienced in the area is quite dangerous and increasing this increase the danger. If this development goes ahead Restriction on travel times (eg 7am similar to building site start times) will be needed especially for empty trucks in the morning.

Please use some common sense here and understand the absolute negative impact this will have on our community.

Please see attached submission

Please see the attached document for details but in summary my primary objections are:
1 Increased traffic noise and vibrations
2 Increased traffic volume and congestion with increased risk to pedestrians and drivers
3 Negative impacts on local environment and wildlife especially koalas
4 Negative impacts on personal well-being, lifestyle and property values
5 Deterioration in local road surfaces

I wish to oppose the application by Daracon and Umwelt to triple rock extraction from the quarry at Martins Creek based on the significant impact on:

· the safety of the community

· the local environment

· the historical buildings

· rural amenity.

Community Safety

This expansion will mean truck movements of up to 280 per day along Tocal Road, the main road that runs through the township of Paterson and across the rail crossing. This is the road that is used by everyone in the community to go to the butcher, the IGA, the post office, petrol station, pub, takeaway and newsagent-all these business front onto this road. Their customers park on this road to go in and out of these businesses.

The School of Arts Hall is also on Tocal Road and is used frequently. The local dance school operates from the School of Arts Hall so you have parents dropping off and picking up children.

The high school bus stops are on both sides of Tocal Road taking students to and from school each day to Dungog in the northern direction and to Maitland in the southern direction. This road is also the only way to get to the Paterson Primary School, Preschool and the sports and recreation area which includes the Golf Club, Sportsground, netball courts and tennis courts.

I ask you to visualise the line up of trucks on both sides of the tracks when the railway gate is closed. This is going to cause major congestion. Consider that this is the main railway line on the eastern seaboard.

To add an increase in truck movements of this scale to this road, that is so heavily used by all parts of the community, poses a substantial safety risk for pedestrians and drivers. This is not a road to nowhere-this is the main street of town.

I have been a resident of Paterson since 1997 and witnessed the steady increase in truck movements and the safety risks that went with this. We should not be placed at risk again. The safety needs of this and surrounding communities should be the priority.

Local environment

The environment will be impacted by the extraction and removal process and the transport process in a way from which it is unlikely to ever recover due to the level of extraction being sought. For those of us living in this community we will also have to live with the noise, dust and impact on the visual amenity.

Historical buildings

The vibrations from the blasting and the massive increase in truck movements along Tocal Road, the main street of Paterson, will have a negative impact on the historical buildings that line this street and are in surrounding streets.



Rural Amenity

The Paterson Valley is a beautiful and unique environment and is a drawcard for those seeking a rural location that is close to facilities. This is a special place-do not let a quarry irreparably damage this beautiful valley. Protect this for those of us that live here now and for the future.



The quarry expansion and the associated truck movements will also have an impact on the values of the homes and land in the area, particularly those that are on the main road.



Summary

The Paterson Valley is a glorious part of the world. The expansion of Martins Creek quarry will have a negative impact on the environment and many aspects of life for those who are lucky enough to live here. Save it for us and for the people of the future. If this is not compelling enough, the substantial truck movements present a significant and real safety risk to all parts of the community. We have enjoyed life in Paterson without trucks part of everything we do.

The main benefactor is Daracon, who operated illegally for many years. Their interests so not be given greater consideration than the safety and wellbeing of the surrounding townships.

This quarry is not taking into account the impact on the surrounding communities and should use the rail line it has to move the material.

Martin's Creek Quarry previously exceeded their truck quotas and hours of operation causing a marked decline in quality of living for all residents on Truck route through quiet suburban communities.
I oppose any planned expansion owing to increase in Noise Pollution, air pollution, destruction of natural fauna habitat, destruction of road surfaces not built to cope with volume of heavy truck traffic, danger for communities as route passes schools and preschools, increased traffic congestion in an already congested area, devaluation in land and property prices etc etc. I cannot believe this will be allowed to occur. Surely we have a responsibility to be caretakers of our land for future generations.

Please see the attached document.

I object to the application as detailed below

I oppose the expansion of the Martin’s creek quarry for multiple social, environmental & amenity reasons.
I am a past resident of the Dungog LGA & have a desire to return to this region upon retirement. My previous lived experiences of the current truck movements, damage to road infrastructure & safety aspects when travelling local roads in the Dungog LGA were quite unappealing & at times unsafe. Multiple times our private vehicles suffered blown tyres from pot-holes which would most certainly be a consequence of heavy vehicles using the roads. Dungog LGA is unable to afford the repair work necessary to maintain the current road infrastructure. If the expansion was approved, a further 280 extra truck movements per day would create an enormous amount of damage to the road network, which would lead to possible incidents/accidents as a result.
Further concerns as follows-
1/ A loss of amenity in the rural villages of Paterson & Lorn due to increased noise & diesel pollution
2/ Impacts to historical buildings in Paterson
3/ Removal of 21ha of riparian forest, where threatened fauna & flora have been located
4/ Loss of vegetation capable of carbon capture, further influencing climate change
Sincerely
Stewart Bray

Please see my attached document

As a resident of East Maitland and a regular visitor to Dungog I have experienced the increased heavy traffic flows from East Maitland to Paterson.
The increase has created traffic queues, noise, and safety issues on an already narrow, poorly maintained road surface.
The people of Martins Creek are experiencing congestion, noise and health impacts as a result of quarry activities, and this will only incease with the proposed expansion and increased blasting and large vehicle movements.
The increased development of East Maitland and Thornton has had a huge impact on daily traffic movements in Melbourne Street and the New England Highway for sometime. Future development of the Martin Creeks Quarry will create a severe impost on the current situation.
The threat to the endangered Spotted Tailed Quoll cannot be ignored with both State and Federal Legislation created to protect our increasing number of extinct native animals.