Mod 2 - Increase in truck movements

I request that the Department consider the following points: 1. I believe
that there should be no increase in traffic allowed along the Princes
Highway until the Albion Park Road Bypass has been built. 2. The
increase in trucks will not benefit local employment as the truck
drivers used are contractors.

I object to the Bass Point Quarry Extension Project - Modification 2, an
application to increase the number of heavy trucks "despatched on
roads", as proposed - for the following reasons: 1. This proposal
means a significant increase in noise, during the night and early
hours of 0500-0600 & 0600-0700. It is not "negligible', as proposal
would like to describe. * It means that there would be a truck every
2.22 minutes between 0500-0600 hr. *Between 0600-0700 hr. there would
be a truck on Quarry Road, every 1.57 minutes. -That is a lot of
traffic, a lot of noise for this time of night & early morning. The
trucks have to drive up a hill, heavily loaded & at such quiet hours
the acceleration can be heard, along with air brakes. This is the
period when people are still sleeping/resting. People are at home.
**This proposal means 19 MORE heavily loaded trucks,
despatched/leaving quarry, during a 2 hour period. (=65 trucks/2hrs
-Total) 2. IMPORTANT Note: There is no mention in proposal, of how
many trucks will be 'Entering' the Quarry Road at this time, in order
to 'load-up'. -Common sense dictates, at least as many despatched/
leaving, will enter. So the maths is: - that this proposal has 65
trucks (total), despatched/leaving the quarry with heavy loads (some
double tray trucks), between the hours of 5am & 7am. So please
consider: - empty & loaded OR entering & exiting truck traffic, in
entirety. **Could this mean that there is actually double what is
being proposed in truck movements, in & out of Quarry? =130 trucks? 3.
The Shell Cove coastal town is a very quiet rural area. Despite the
Shellharbour City Council (SCC), zoning it as "urban area" - it is not
typical or comparable in noise levels - to that of an urban city. **
Has the noise level been measured in Shell Cove, at the times in this
application (such as: 0500-0600 hr. and 0600-0700 hr.)?? -There are no
noise level measurements in proposal. Measurements should be compared
and zoned appropriately, to be fair. Note: As a resident, this period
of time is extremely quiet, all we can hear are the ocean waves and
crickets, then the night peace of rural-coastal living is disturbed by
semi-trailer trucks at 5am (some double tray trucks). As a resident
who has lived in Sydney and now here in Shell Cove, this period of
night time is extremely quiet, except for the sound of these trucks.
This truck traffic starts at unreasonable hour of 0500 and awakens
residents from sleep, (despite the noise abatement measures that our
home has). 4. Residents, who live in the 'newer' Shell Cove marina
area, DO NOT have the benefit of a concrete" Noise Abatement Wall",
along the Quarry Road. This wall, does help, but it stops where the
new eastern marina zone is. -It should extend all the way. This should
be looked at in the proposal, as the entire Quarry Road should be
covered by such a wall. The current wall, (covers both north & south
sides of road) - it was considered important to build it initially by
Quarry & SCC - for first western part of Shell Cove's Quarry Rd.. 5.
The impact on road safety will not be "negligible" -65 trucks just
"despatched" in 2 hrs. is not negligible. There will be a huge
increase on local public roads of heavy AND empty trucks, puting the
safety of the community drivers at great risk. Some of the local roads
and roundabouts have not been taken into consideration, with the SCC
(Shellharbour City Council). *These trucks can not stop quickly with
such heavy loads. There are 'at least' 2 local danger zones: A) These
trucks enter the public roads at a small roundabout, which merges near
"Links Golfcourse', Shell Cove's west entrance and Dunmore Road.
Dunmore Road is currently rapidly growing - having a huge development
of new homes along it. It will be affected & affect this truck traffic
and there is no noise abatement for these homes. B) Dunmore Road has a
school and a railway station, (set of lights) and then there is to be
built - the new entrance to a new suburb (-which is under
construction), "Shell Heights". It is unclear how this new suburb's
entrance/exit, will be affected by truck traffic, but it is only going
to increase the danger factor for the currently small Dunmore Road.
Thus the traffic on Dunmore Rd. will greatly increase, within the next
few years. It already is a major road that SCC needs to assess with
Bass Point Quarry & it's impact on local traffic needs vs. major
commercial heavy trucks. -Traffic from vital services such as -2
schools & the areas' railway station. 6. Road-Driver safety Risks are
not fully considered. These 65 trucks/2hrs, are heavy newly loaded
trucks -some of these trucks have double trays, (& thus are "Long"
trucks). This increase of truck traffic means a truck every 2 minutes
& will no doubt affect the safety of drivers on the following: *
Roundabout at Shellharbour & Dunmore Road - which is already very
busy, as it is Shellharbour regions access point to Princes
Hwy/Freeway. * Actual on-ramp to Princes Hwy -north & south, at
Shellharbour/Shell Cove; * General increase impact on Princes Hwy,
especially at congested Albion Park Rail and the very dangerous Mt.
Ousley Rd.. 7. Every heavy or empty truck, affects local road surface
conditions. All SCC needs to do is take a look at the road surfaces,
especially the smaller one's like Shell Cove & Dunmore Rd. -the impact
of trucks can visually be seen. There is also the rock debris that is
dropped from trucks onto the roads. The Bass Quarry Co. "tries" to
regularly clear this debris, but the risk for broken windscreens is
visually evident.

I would like to put forward two points which I would ask to have
considered;
firstly my wife and I are retired and live on the noise barrier in
Rangoon and it is already very noisy in the early mornings, we
understood when we moved in last year that it would be quite noisy,
but it is so much noisier than we expected, it isn't really a noise
barrier!!!. The gap at the base of the wall is a minimum of 10cm which
we have tried to cover in with timber or rocks, but the noise still
comes. A increase of 4 between 5-6 is really annoying as it is so
early to be disturbed. Then the 15 extra between 6-7 is still early
for a lot of noise.
Apparently a noise assessment been done by SLR Consulting, it would
have been nice if they had visited our home to do some tests. .What
are the decibel readings and when were they done. We have been advised
that an assessment was done at Shell Cove school, that's a joke, the
school isn't as close to the wall as us and the road is a good five or
six metres below the road, so of course it wouldn't be as noisy.
The second point is the congestion on the roads, especially at the
roundabout at Albion Park which is already a nightmare, that number of
extra trucks will only add to the pain and frustration of drivers
heading to Sydney, maybe it will improve when the by-pass goes through
but that will be years off. Another problem is Mt Ousley it will add
to the problems already faced and when there is a breakdown it becomes
a carpark an so dangerous. Lastly have people from the RMS or Dept of
Planning actually been down here to view the situation.

We wish to object strongly to the application by Hanson Construction
Materials Pty Limited in which a modification has been sought to
increase the maximum number of trucks dispatched from Bass Point
Quarry during the morning period.
Shell Cove residence, particularly those who reside in Hicks Terrace
adjacent to Dunmore Road already currently experience excessive noise
from trucks to and from the quarry.

We refer to Hanson Construction Materials Pty Limited Environmental
Assessment Report No 706/02 October 2016, in particular the Transport
Management Plan and Truck Driver Code of Practice. Section 2.7 Vehicle
Departure and Arrival. This acknowledges that heavy vehicles
travelling in close proximity can increase noise through or adjacent
to residential areas. It further states that when a driver becomes
aware either through visual or two-way contact of vehicles in close
proximity that a suitable gap should be maintained between vehicles.

Quarry vehicles fail to comply with this on a regular basis. Large
numbers of quarry trucks regularly stop along Dunmore Road behind the
residences on Hicks Terrace with engines running and lights on,
awaiting entry to the Bass Point Quarry (Video can be provided for the
5/3/18, 4-:50am). This not only impacts residence with the noise but
impedes traffic and creates a dangerous situation with some of the
trucks ( with trailers) stopping illegally in the merge left lane,
that acts as an entry point at the roundabout to Bass Point Quarry
Road and Southern Cross Boulevard. Further to this, trucks stop during
the day directly behind the houses lifting the trays on their trucks
to dispose of small residual amounts. It is our understanding that the
quarry was contacted in relation to this matter and yet the practice
continues.

Section 2.4 Heavy Vehicle Compression Braking states that due to the
relative proximity to residential homes, haul drivers have been
requested to limit the use of compression braking. Regardless of how
many requests are made, the fact remains that residents are currently
impacted by the noise generated through the use of compression brakes,
particularly when quarry trucks approach the roundabout at Dunmore and
Shellharbour Roads.
We refer to Shellharbour City Council's email dated 8th January 2018
and note that they have no objection to the increase in quarry trucks
however they also acknowledge that residents adjacent to Dunmore Road
will be impacted.
We have therefore lodged a request with Shellharbour City Council in
order to obtain full details in relation to the proposed roundabout
that will enable access to the Shell Heights housing estate from
Dunmore Road. This request included full details relating to the
geometric design, proximity to boundaries of existing properties along
Hicks Terrace including the exact location of the roundabout on
Dunmore Road. To-date we have received no response from Shellharbour
City Council, however should the Quarry proposal be approved,
residence will see a substantial increase in noise from the quarry
trucks travelling along Dunmore Road, including the additional gear
changes and use of their brakes in order to negotiate a second
roundabout or the possibility of the trucks travelling over the top
thereby creating yet again further noise. The level of noise generated
now or the projected noise is not simply an "irritation to the
community" as stated in Hanson's documentation it is much more than
that to residents who live in the vicinity and live with the constant
noise from quarry trucks. Any increase in the number of trucks will
see a further impact on residents' health and lifestyle.


.
Residents will also see a substantial increase in noise levels due to
the Shell Heights and The Links Estate housing developments. Council
documentation states that 175 lots were proposed in the Shell Height
Precinct however they consider that a high percentage of these will be
dual occupancy, resulting in an assessment of 300 dwellings.
Documents sighted at Shellharbour City Council indicate that acoustic
requirements will be mandatory for homes built on building lots that
run along the boundary of Dunmore Road within Shell Heights
Development. As a result of the projected noise levels, Marshall Day
Acoustics has put forward recommendations in relation to acoustic
requirements relating to architectural treatments relative to
predicted external noise levels and noise levels to internal areas
within future dwellings on these building lots. Recommendations
include alternative ventilation enabling residents to close windows to
alleviate noise, specific glazing requirements and suitable
construction options for barriers to further alleviate traffic noise.
Both Hanson Construction Materials Pty Limited and Shellharbour City
Council acknowledge that an increase in quarry trucks will adversely
impact residents adjacent to Dunmore Road. However, Shellharbour City
Council has made no provisions for current residents on Hicks Terrace
in relation to alleviating this noise and yet continue to support
increases in traffic including heavy vehicles from the quarry.
Therefore we request that the application for the proposed
modification of the Bass Point Quarry Extension Project be rejected.

Dear Melissa,

We the undersigned object to the Bass Point Quarry extension (MP
08-0143 Mod 2) for the reasons below.
Dunmore road is already a very busy road with Trucks going to and from
the Garbage Dump, the building of 2 new sub divisions of several
hundred homesites who are required to have a large wall built around
them to stop noise and dirt from spoiling their homes and
lifestyle.Why can't a wall be built on the other side of the road?

Everywhere else in Shell Cove that the trucks pass through the owners
of the Quarry have built high walls to stop the mess and noise. We
already have trucks going down this road without adding to our noise
levels with more!

We feel very disappointed that what applies to other areas that back
on to a noisy road we have not been provided with a wall to keep out
the noise.We know that we can't stop "progress", but in the 3 years we
have lived here the dirt from the development behind us has almost
ruined our quality of life with red brown dirt. The council have fined
them but to no avail. We now live inside with windows and doors closed
and any outdoor furniture is covered up. Now we are expected to put up
with more dirty noisy trucks. I feel like moving but cannot afford the
expense.

The letter that you sent to us did not include neighbours in Green
Circuit that are also affected by this.

Regards



Terry & Sue Beaumont
2 Hicks Terrace
Shell Cove
NSW 2529

H. 02 4297 5932
M. 0412 247 511

Connie & Joe Vella
14 Green Street
Shell Cove

John Dalby
18 Bribie Ave
Shell Cove 2529
Melissa Anderson,
Here are three things that I would like to be address please
There are three things that I would like to rise to you
The road surface, there is a need to repair the road, and resurface
the road. When the vehicles hit the irregular and the broken surfaces
this adds to the noise especially when the trucks are empty.
Will the dust increase as our home has considerable dust on our
eastern side of our home to the point when I hose the home the water
is grey, also I was at killalea state park and noticed dust coming
from a few trucks leaving the quarry
I would like a grantee that trucks will not use their compression
brakes, they have stopped most of them using them but there has been a
few trucks still using them
I am sorry to trouble you but the letter from Hanson quarries is
missing here. I am more than happy for you to pass this doc onto
Hanson quarry.
Yours sincerely
John Dalby

Neighbourhood Forum 5 Wollongong's Heartland Coniston, Figtree,
Gwynneville, Keiraville, Mangerton, Mount Keira, Mount St Thomas,
North Wollongong, West Wollongong, Wollongong City. Monday, 12 March
2018 Submission re Bass Point Quarry Extension Major Projects
Department of Planning and Environment NSW Government The
Neighbourhood Forums have been set up by Wollongong City Council to
reflect the views of the community on matters of concern.
Neighbourhood Forum 5 made a submission in 2013 to the Department
objecting to placing more quarry products on the Mt Ousley and other
roads, and recommended conditions to mitigate noise and provide some
compensation to offset the high external costs of the road haulage of
bulk commodities. These external costs were noted by IPART in its 2012
report on access pricing for grain transport, and have been estimated
at 3 cents per net tonne kilometre. For the 100 km or so haul from
Bass Point to Glebe, for each tonne of quarry product moved by road,
there is an impost on the wider community of $3. The withdrawal of the
ship, the Claudia I, was reported by the Sun Herald on 10 July 2011
(p19) in an article "Ship out, congestion in". In summary, More than
200 extra trucks are now on inner -city roads after a ship which used
to carry more than 9000 tonnes of gravel into Sydney Harbour each week
was withdrawn from service by Hanson Concrete of Glebe. The ship
Claudia 1 which made three return trips a week from the company's
quarry at Bass Port to Glebe, carried 3100 tonnes per trip. The
company was reported as looking for a replacement vessel. However, it
was also noted that this could take some time. `The February 2018
Environmental Assessment for the Bass Point Quarry Extension Project
Modification 2 Project Approval 08_0143 notes, inter alia `"In recent
years, Hanson has increasingly found that the morning peak hours for
vehicles travelling north from Bass Point, towards Wollongong or
Sydney, are occurring earlier in the day. To improve the efficiency of
transport operations and to avoid adding to the traffic and subsequent
delays experienced by motorists in the morning peak hour traffic,
Hanson proposes to modify its transport operations at the Quarry to
moderately increase the number of trucks leaving the Quarry between
5:00am and 7:00am." However, in its Director-General's Environmental
Assessment Report (EAR) of January 2014, it was found, inter alia "The
Department's assessment found that the project requires effective
management of water impacts and road transport operations as well as
management of operations to ensure acceptable noise impacts on nearby
residential development." Also, on page 3 of the DG EAR, Until July
2011, when Hanson decommissioned its transport ship MV Claudia, up to
one third of the quarry product was shipped to Hanson's central Sydney
concrete batching plant at Blackwattle Bay. As well, on page 11, the
2014 DG EAR report noted, inter alia re Transport The key
transport-related issues raised during consultation include: *
potential impacts on other road users and wear and tear from heavy
vehicles associated with the project on local roads; * cumulative
impacts on the regional road network, particularly Mount Ousley Road;
and * a preference for increased use of shipping for the project,
particularly given that the project's reliance on road transport has
increased following the decommissioning of the MV Claudia. Later, on
page 21, the 2014 DG EAR states Submissions also argued that shipping
should be prioritised over road transport, with Transport NSW
recommending that modal share targets are imposed on future
operations. The Department generally supports this approach, and has
recommended conditions requiring Hanson to maximise the transport of
product by ship to the greatest extent practicable, once it has
procured a new ship. It is of concern that the February 2018
Environmental Assessment for the proposed modification, fails to
mention the Mount Ousley Road, and makes no reference to a replacement
ship. In respect of options to road transport, the 2018 EA notes on
page 8. PA 08_0143 approves the despatch of Quarry products via road
or shipping. Currently all material is despatched by road as the
facilities for receipt of Quarry products by ship are not available.
The transportation of Quarry products by rail has been considered by
Hanson and is currently cost-prohibitive. This statement that
"facilities for receipt of Quarry products by ship are not available"
appears to contravene the 2014 "recommended conditions requiring
Hanson to maximise the transport of product by ship to the greatest
extent practicable, once it has procured a new ship." It is submitted
that this cavalier treatment of alternate options to road transport by
the applicant and its consultant should not be acceptable to the
Department. Neighbourhood Forum at its meeting of 7 March 2018
recommended that if the current application is granted, it should have
a condition including to the effect that "Hanson be given twelve
months to produce a report examining the feasibility of reinstating a
ship to move some quarry product from Bass Point to its operations
near Glebe, and show cause why it should not pay to the NSW Government
an amount of 3 cents per net tonne kilometre of road haulage to offset
external costs as noted by IPART in 2012, to be applied to road works
and mitigating truck noise." Turning to truck noise, the RMS notes
"Noise from heavy vehicle engine compression brakes is a significant
and on-going cause of complaint for many NSW residents." Truck noise
has been of ongoing concern to Neighbourhood Forum and indeed was a
subject of a resolution at its meeting of 7 February 2018 It is of
concern that the applicant and its consultant did not address either
Mt Ousley and other Wollongong and Sydney road impacts, or propose a
higher standard for trucks operating in the early hours of the
morning. Neighbourhood Forum at its meeting of 7 March 2018 also
recommended that a condition of consent be imposed "that all trucks
being dispatched before 7 am be NOT fitted with compression/exhaust
brakes and all such trucks meet the new environment and safety
standards, and be fitted with tachographs and or telemetrics." David
Winterbottom Secretary

See attached file

My submission has been uploaded, see File attachment 1. Please let me
know if additional information is required.

I would like to object to the modification Bass Point Quarry Extension
Project - Modification 2. I would like to object to the increase in
trucks to the Bass Point Quarry as proposed due the large amount of
noise they cause in a residential area. Last year the trucks in the
middle of the night were waking up my baby as the noise was very loud
and they were exceeding the number of trucks allowed. In July last
year I complained to both the Shellharbour Council and the NSW
Department of planning compliance team and I was told that they would
check the books to see if they were exceeding the limit and conduct a
overnight audit. The council did contact Hansen and they said that it
maybe their contractors making the noise. The quarry road is in the
middle of an residential area and there is only one way in and out,
therefore the number of trucks per hour are doubled as they have to go
down the same road. An increase to the maximum number of product
trucks that may be despatched from the Quarry between 5:00am and
6:00am to 27 trucks (an increase of four trucks) would actually be 8
truck movements as they are going up n back making a huge noise in a
residential area. This is a key time where families are sleeping. I
think the residents need to be considered and not take on the extra
noise pollution. An increase to the maximum number of product trucks
that may be despatched from the Quarry between 6:00am and 7:00am to 38
trucks (an increase of 15 trucks) would actually be an increase of 30
trucks increase. If there are any modification to be down it should be
reduced.

Please see attached