A proposal to expand the Martins Creek Quarry Project has been rejected by the Independent Planning Commission.
The commission found, increasing traffic by 160 truck movements per day, would have adverse impacts on local residents, tourism and business.
Daracon wanted to extract 1.1 million tonnes of material every year for 25 years, with almost half this amount to be transported by trucks through the rural village of Paterson.
The company agreed to reduce this amount by 40% following a public meeting last November.
However, the IPC has ruled this would still result in significant impacts on local residents which would far outweigh the benefits of the project.
Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell said he's glad to see common sense prevail.
"It was obvious to the councils, to the community members, and to the residents in the area, that having that number of trucks running through those small villages, was totally unacceptable," Mr Layzell said.
"There is a railway line that goes right past this quarry site, so I am appealing to the proponent that they should be looking at a rail-based solution going forward."
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| Image: Newcastle Herald |
