Their retirement dream was to move from Hornsby to their piece of paradise.

With the dream almost realised, they lodged their home plans but were not given any idea what was percolating regarding other developments.

“A couple of days after we lodged our plans with the council, we received notification from them about a proposed new quarry that will overlook our farm,” Ron said.

The land planned for the quarry is Broken Bago State Forest which is owned by the people of NSW for the sustainable management of timber both now and into the future.

To make extractive industries permissible, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council had to change the planning legislation.

Council said the changes were “fairly minor”. They bundled 13 miscellaneous issues in the change and buried extractive industries amongst them in a way, I believe, that confused the community and lacked transparency.

I don’t know how it can be considered “fairly minor” when the change has made extractive industries permissible in all 24 state forests in the Hastings district which is well over 20% of our land area.

Council told NSW Planning that their community consultation included “Written notification to affected and appropriate adjoining landowners”.

This did not happen.

My husband Gary and I operate a beef cattle and thoroughbred operation at Herons Creek. Horses and explosives do not mix. The proposed quarry activities will include blasting and thoroughbreds are very easily startled this creates a danger to both the horses and the handlers.

We receive 1.6 million visitors to the Hastings per year, they visit for our natural beauty.

Paul Kolbe said his family was notified of the development four months after moving into what they believed to be a peaceful rural setting.

“It was dropped on us for our first Christmas here. We’ve spent more time campaigning against this proposal than we have setting up our farm. It’s quite depressing at times,” Paul said.

“The developer has said we won’t be able to see the proposed quarry, then sheepishly backtracked and said we would.

“The developer told council just prior to the determination meeting, Forestry may compromise the visual screening.

“That tree buffer is our only hope of possibly retaining any visual amenity and they want to take that from us as well.

“They are planning on putting the quarry right in front of us, on top of the hill at an elevation well above ours and the surrounding homes. It will stand out like a beacon.

“The trees have already been felled in anticipation of the development and prior to any approval being granted. So there is no doubt, we will see it.

“The noise from the hammer drill and all the other associated equipment and trucks will reverberate throughout the valley, everyone will be affected by it.”

The noise study has been computer modelled which is only as good as the data input. The consent authority at the recent determination meeting was heard to prompt the developer as to what the decibel result should come in at. It’s like cheating in an exam, they were given the answer and surprise, surprise that prompt was the exact result.

We are challenging that result and want to prove it with science. We need access to State Forest to conduct our own on-site scientific noise investigations. 

Alicia Bales, whose farm adjoins the proposed quarry, said, “It’s been wonderful seeing all the young families move back to Herons Creek and regenerate the area. We really feel part of the community here. When our friends visit us from Sydney, they can’t believe how lucky we are being in the country and so close to the beach.

“It’s the dust and the health of our young children that really worries me. The dust can spread for miles. It will land on the roof of homes, then go into our water tanks that we rely on for drinking water. Our family wasn’t even notified of the development, a neighbour alerted me to it.”

Martin Parish, community leader and the local pastor of Herons Creek Church concluded with the following: “There is already a quarry in Herons Creek that has been part of our community for over 100 years, that quarry, within 2kms of the new proposal, has just been given a 16 fold extraction increase from 30,000 to 490,000 tonnes per year.

“The accumulative effect of two quarries in such close proximity, will shatter our amenity. The safety of Bago Road, which is already dangerous, will be further impacted. Bago Road is particularly treacherous and I fear for everyone’s safety when they dice with the heavy vehicles on that road, especially Paul’s children who have just got their drivers licences.”

If town planning is about balance and creating liveable neighbourhoods, this new proposal will tip the scales and irrevocably shift that balance. Our pristine river systems and fragile ecologically endangered communities which include yellow bellied gliders and glossy black cockatoos, are also in grave danger.

DA 2015/953 Lookout Road Hard Rock Quarry Herons Creek, is currently on public exhibition at Council and online at www.pmhclistening.com.au

The wider community are encouraged to lodge their submissions with council by close of business 18 November 2016.

By Maureen Churnside, No New Quarry Herons Creek