Increased extraction proposed in Mullaley quarry

The application is for an increase from 90,000 tonnes a year to 600,000 tonnes per annum.

The proposal is worth an estimated $3.5 million and was lodged with the Council just before Christmas by Stewart Surveys on behalf of Gunnedah Quarry Products.

?There?s a big demand in the area,? said Brendan McKellar, owner of Gunnedah Quarry Products. ?We currently employ 30 people and we will employ another 40 [if the application is approved].?

The council’s director of planning, Mike Silver, said the council is following planning guidelines to the letter.

“It’s been advertised both locally and also in a regional newspaper and it’s been referred to the EPA,” he said.

“It’s also been sent to the [NSW] Department of Primary Industry’s Office of Environment and Heritage, as well as the neighbourhood being advised of the development.”

?The proposal is on public exhibition and we hope to get a response by March or April,? McKellar told Quarry. He added that two major factors are behind the increase: one is a number of new projects in the area that require quarry materials and the other is the shut down of Ardglen quarry 12 months ago.

Silver said the council is short on information about the number of truck movements that may occur (believed to be up to 70 per day), the roads that will be affected and the type of trucks that will be used and has asked for more detail.

“Currently, Council is seeking more information from the proponent, particularly in relation to truck movements and also routes to be used in terms of movement of product to market,” he said.

“Certainly we will be requiring that information during the course of the next month and at this point in time we haven’t actually set a time frame for completion of the assessment process.”

Adjoining landholder, Bill Hobson, expressed his concern about the proposed quarry expansion. He said that nearly two dozen landholders met in Mullaley to discuss the possible impacts on their farming activities if the development application is approved.

However, McKellar said there were many locals in favour of the expansion as it brings more jobs to the area.

Original information, courtesy of ABC News. With thanks to Brendan McKellar, Gunnedah Quarry Products for additional comments.