Trucks and money were among the most common words that first came to mind for Hunter residents surveyed about community perceptions of Martins Creek Quarry.
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The results of Martins Creek Quarry Action Group’s online survey, which gauged the perceptions of more than 80 people between April and August, were released recently.
It came amid plans to increase output from the quarry from 300,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes a year, which have caused concerns about noise, dust and traffic for residents of nearby towns of Paterson and Martins Creek.
While quarry operator Daracon questioned the methodology behind the survey, a company spokeswoman said that the results reflected what Daracon had found during its community consultation.
A word association section was among the several parts of the action group’s survey, which asked the respondents to type in the first word that came to mind when Daracon was mentioned.
The word trucks was the most common response, followed by money/greed, civil engineering and noisy trucks.
Action group spokesman Darach Saunders said the survey results had been given to Daracon.
“We have yet to see Daracon conduct a social impact assessment on the proposed expansion which incorporates impacted residents concerns,” he said.
“MCQAG understands the importance of jobs and industry within the region. The mine site has operated for 100 years and there is no reason it can’t continue for a further 50 years, but there is yet to be acknowledgement of the current and future impacts to communities that surround both the site and the haulage routes.”
The survey also asked respondents to rate their feelings about Daracon and the Martins Creek Quarry on a scale from zero, which represented an extremely negative perception, to 10, which indicated extremely positive feelings.
The average score was 3.27, after 35.9 per cent of respondents registered a zero rating and 5.1 per cent recorded a score of 10.
About 63 per cent indicated their feelings toward the company had become more negative, while about 7 per cent noted their perceptions had become more positive.
A Daracon spokeswoman said the company had been communicating with the action group about the survey since August.
“Daracon has acknowledged that the survey’s findings are consistent with the issues that have been raised throughout the community consultation processes to date,” she said.
“Daracon raised some questions with MCQAG about the methodology of the survey, but agrees that the issues highlighted are still worthy of consideration.
“The survey is consistent with what Daracon has already heard and understood through the community consultation processes it has voluntarily established in addition to the Department of Planning’s requirements.”
