A residents action group has voiced its concerns about a proposed expansion of Martins Creek quarry to a packed out crowd at Tocal College.
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The Thursday night meeting was organised by Martins Creek Quarry Action group to discuss the proposed quarry expansion, which is currently on public exhibition and open for comment.
A maximum crowd of about 200 people from Martins Creek, Paterson, Mindaribba, Bolwarra Heights, Bolwarra, Lorn, East Maitland, Woodville, Butterwick and Brandy Hill, were told about the proposal and the action group's objections to it. Residents may be affected by the quarry itself or its primary haulage route.
It comes after Daracon was found by the Land and Environment Court to be unlawfully operating the site, which led to the quarry's operations being significantly scaled back.
Martins Creek Quarry Action Group president Chris Atkinson said the group was most troubled about perceived impacts to rural amenity, health, air quality as well as the affects of industrial noise and blasting vibrations.
"If you walk up the main street [of Paterson] now, it's quite relaxed... 280 trucks a day is going to destroy that rural amenity, the historic village won't be a pleasant place to be," he said.
He explained the group were not happy with the four-week window to make submissions about the project proposal, considering it contains thousands of pages of information and has taken five years to produce, but urged residents to voice their concerns before the cut-off on July 2.
"After next week it's use it or lose it, you won't be able to have any say whatsoever," Mr Atkinson said.
Group representatives also fielded questions about the proposal from the audience, with residents discussing their experiences with the quarry's previous operations and worries about the proposal.
Mr Atkinson said the Department of Planning, the Environmental Protection Authority, the Department of Health and Roads and Maritime Services were all invited to attend the meeting but declined.
Daracon says it did not receive an official invitation to attend the meeting, but encouraged members of the public to submit feedback to the department for consideration.
"We look forward to responding to that," a spokesperson said.