The quarry, which has been in operation since 2010, will increase its throughput as part of the expansion.
Under the terms of the Development Application (DA), an extra area of 15ha has been approved for development. However, the first stage of development will only encompass 7ha, according to Middle Creek Quarries owner Zac Rowlandson. The DA permits the site to produce 150,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of quarry products and another 100,000 tpa of organic and soil processing.
As previously reported by Quarry, the strongest opponent of the expansion was neighbouring tourist attraction Mayfield Gardens. It is one of the world’s largest privately owned cool climate gardens, located approximately 5km from the site. In order to alleviate community concerns, Oberon Earthmoving was involved in a conciliation process.
“There were two main parties at the conciliation hearing: Mayfield [Gardens] and a closer neighbour. We worked through the exact concerns of each, mainly traffic and hours of work, made some concessions and reached an agreement where all parties were satisfied,” Rowlandson told Quarry.
Oberon Earthmoving agreed to plant extra trees, erect some screening and put some measures in place to ensure ongoing consultation.
Community support
Throughout the long process, Rowlandson said he’s been encouraged by the community’s support.
“We received a lot of positive support within the local community, both privately and publicly during the approval process. It’s very reassuring and appreciated at a time when things are up in the air,” he told Quarry. “Obviously it depends on the uptake of the product but we predict up to 10 to 15 direct jobs over the next few years and that’d be the biggest positive to a small community."
Although some time away, Oberon Earthmoving has already made plans for the site’s rehabilitation.
“The rehabilitation is a long way off but we’ve planned it out step by step to improve the final result and to keep the cost reasonable,” Rowlandson said. “The final landform will be free draining and re-established pastures for grazing with planted areas using native trees and shrubs.”
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