THE State Planning department has identified 21 breaches of consent conditions related to the Ardmore Park Quarry at Bungonia.
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Multiquip Quarries is in the spotlight over its operations on Oallen Ford Rd, 4km east of Bungonia. It comes as the Department ups its compliance checks on major developments in the southern region.
Council general manager Warwick Bennett confirmed the audit and that it was sparked by residents’ complaints.
“Both Council staff and the Department (have been) investigating what’s going on onsite to ensure that what’s been applied for and what the applicant had to do prior to commencement, are happening,” he said.
Officers from both organisations met at the quarry last Thursday. Multiquip general manager Jason Mikosic said most of the breaches related to the fact the quarry was still in the establishment phase.
Mr Mikosic said the breaches included the lack of noise and groundwater monitoring but maintained this was impossible until operations actually started.
Residents have complained that Ardmore Park trucks are travelling through Bungonia in breach of consent conditions. Under the 2009 state government approval and a modification last year, the quarry had to build a bypass road around the village for its trucks before any operations started. None were to travel through the village.
Mr Bennett said the council was investigating whether the vehicles were associated with the activity or simply travelling to a depot at the quarry. The Department is also probing truck movements as part of a separate investigation.
Mr Bennett pointed out that Multiquip had approval to take some trucks through the village. These were to deliver sand and product to Bowral cricket pitches.
But Bungonia Progress Association president Bill Dobbie said this related to an earlier approval, separate to the quarry.
He told the Post these trucks only ran for six weeks of the year, around January, and he could distinguish them from Ardmore Park vehicles through the subcontractor’s name.
Furthermore, he maintained if trucks were being taken to an onsite depot, a development application was needed for this activity.
Mr Dobbie claimed the quarry’s trucks were going through Bungonia on a regular basis.
“This morning (Monday) I noticed an Ardmore Park low loader and excavator,” he said.
“There have been other small and large trucks and sometimes they’re in convoy. They also use Lumley Rd.”
Mr Dobbie said residents were concerned about safety, road damage and dust at the quarry itself.
“He (Multiquip managing director Steve Mikosic, Jason’s father) hasn’t done any work on the bypass road whatsoever, despite getting approval in 2009. The only thing he has done is a merging lane on Oallen Ford Rd into the quarry,” he said.
“Residents are not happy about it (the trucks) because we’re getting a lot of road damage and they find it very hard when they have to pass a truck. They have to take evasive action.”
Mr Dobbie wrote to the council recently on behalf of the Progress Association asking it to install a camera in the village to monitor truck movements. He has not had a response yet.
Jason Mikosic rejects any suggestion his trucks are travelling through Bungonia in breach of the 2009 approval.
He said this was not identified in the Department’s audit. Moreover, he said the bypass road was almost complete.
He was confident all the issues identified in the audit could be resolved.
Mr Bennett said the council would facilitate a meeting between Multiquip Quarries and the Department in coming weeks.
Mr Dobbie said residents were tiring of constantly being on the alert.
“It seems residents here continually have to be the policemen of these consent conditions,” he said.