ETTT Alliance proposed site compound – Quarter Sessions Road, Westleigh
Community impact, alternative sites
November 2013
ETTTA Proposal
Site compound use:
•
Stockpiling, workforce car parking, lay down and storage and crushing and sorting
excavated material (i.e. sandstone) from the rail corridor.
Site compound operating hours:
•
Staff presence: 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday –Friday and 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday.
•
Construction activities: 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday –Friday and 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturdays.
•
During rail line shutdown periods, site will be in outside the above hours including use at
night.
Impact on local traffic:
•
ETTT Alliance Letter indicates up to 60 heavy rigid tipper trucks per day and 20 heavy truckand-trailer vehicles per day.
•
In addition, approximately 80 vehicles for the Workers who will park at the compound
before being bussed out to the rail corridor.
Duration site will be in use:
•
Until the end of 2016 with peak usage in 2014 (assumes no schedule delays).
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Concerns from Westleigh/Thornleigh Residents
The traffic impact of the proposal
•
Excessive traffic on residential roads unsuited to heavy vehicles of this volume (i.e. Quarter
Sessions Road which is a single lane each way).
•
The EIS states “heavy vehicle movements during construction are estimated to be, on average,
12 movements per hour (six arriving and six departing) eight hours per day and five days per
week. Vehicle movements are considered to be at their maximum during bulk earthworks
required as part of the proposal. This would result in approximately 15 to 20 movements per
hour’’. THIS EQUATES TO TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY per day or ONE TRUCK
MOVEMENT EVERY 3 MINUTES over an 11 hour day. This assumes all trucks leaving the
rail corridor will carry excavated material to Westleigh.
•
Quarter Sessions Rd narrows on the approach to the proposed compound entry point and is just
past a crest in the road and is therefore in a dangerous location considering the volume of traffic.
•
The constant heavy vehicle movements pose a safety risk to other motorists and public buses.
There is a school bus stop in close proximity to the proposed site access road – a heavy vehicle
and school bus could not pass safely at this location.
•
The intersection of Quarter Sessions Road and Duffy Avenue will be adversely affected – it is
unlikely that a truck and trailer type vehicle could safely navigate the roundabout at this
intersection where there are two pedestrian crossings used extensively by Thornleigh West Public
School children and parents in the morning and afternoon.
•
Quarter Sessions Rd is the only access into the north of Westleigh and the Westleigh Rural Fire
Service base is located on Warrigal Drive directly west of the proposed compound. The high
volume of additional truck and light vehicle movements, particularly around the proposed site
access, will create congestion – of particular concern during a bushfire emergency.
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Concerns from Westleigh/Thornleigh Residents
Pedestrian and cyclist safety, particularly, school children
•
The pedestrian crossing on Duffy Avenue is only “manned” with a traffic controller before
and after school, however, the crossing on Quarter Sessions Rd is not. Heavy vehicle trucks
passing through this intersection and the high volume of truck movements, will result in a
serious safety risk to school children and other pedestrians.
Site compound proposed hours of operation
•
The proposed hours of operation from 6.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday-Friday and 7.00 am to
1.00 pm Saturdays are unacceptable and will unreasonably disturb residents early in the
morning and late into the evening. These hours of operation are also outside the approved
construction hours under condition E1 of the Conditions for Consent for the Project which
are 7.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday-Friday.
Noise and vibration impacts both of truck traffic and site compound
activities
•
Crushing and sorting excavated material (sandstone) on the proposed site will generate
excessive amounts of noise and vibration over an extended period of time each day for the
duration the site will be in use. The high volume of heavy vehicle truck traffic will also
create significant noise which will have a detrimental impact on all residential properties
adjacent to Quarter Sessions Road and Duffy Avenue.
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Concerns from Westleigh/Thornleigh Residents
Air quality impacts
•
The proposed use of the site and trucking of excavated and processed material has the potential
to generate significant dust. Also the considerable volume of heavy truck movements will lead to
an increase in fumes which will lead to potential short term breathing and long term health
impacts.
Likelihood of asbestos fibres present in excavated materials including
topsoil
•
ETTTA can not give an assurance to residents that the excavated material sourced from the rail
corridor will not contain asbestos fibres when dumped on site to be processed. ETTTA
themselves acknowledge the use of asbestos in freight train brakes over decades along the main
northern train line and the risk of it contaminating the Westleigh site and local residents’
properties during the dumping/processing activity is far too great to take the risk.
Westleigh Sydney Water site was not identified in the original
Environmental Impact Statement as a construction compound
• The EIS has not considered the environmental impacts of the Proposal therefore a full
environmental assessment should be undertaken and made available for public comment as
part of the community consultation process for the proposal and prior to the ETTTA seeking
approval for use of the site from the Department of Planning and Infrastructure.
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Concerns from Westleigh/Thornleigh Residents
Flora and Fauna Impacts
•
Hornsby Shire Council Westleigh Local Environment Study PLN407/98 in section 5.0 headed
"Areas that are Unsuitable for Development", states that "The Study notes comments from
Sydney Water that the reservoir on its land will be required for the foreseeable future and that a
buffer should be provided between the reservoir and any future development. The study also
states that the development on parts of the Sydney Water land is constrained by remnant
vegetation along its Western, Southern and Eastern boundaries which contains endangered
ecological communities and species that are to be retained."
•
The Construction of the Westleigh Compound will directly affect the areas outlined by Hornsby
Shire Council that are "endangered ecological communities and species that are to be retained."
Land Contamination
•
Hornsby Shire Council Westleigh Local Environment Study PLN164/99, in the Section titled “Land
Contamination”, says “The LES comments that part of the Sydney Water land was also used as a
night soil depot where waste from septic systems was deposited on the land. As a result, the area
in which night soil was disposed has the potential for soil contamination. Migration of leachate
from the night soil area may also result in soil or water contamination.
These concerns highlighted in previous Council Local Environment Studies, and concerns by
Sydney Water about the security of the reservoir, have contributed to the fact that no
development has occurred on the Sydney Water land.
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Proposed location - Sydney Water site and distance to closest residences
140m
50m (as per Google maps)
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ETTTA – noise maps
The ETTTA claims the noise
level will be 50-55dB(A)
during the daytime at the
closest residential property
boundary (refer to Intrusive
noise L A eq (15min) graph).
According to the NSW
Government EPA’s Industrial
Noise Policy, Acceptable
noise levels from industrial
noise sources in suburban
areas are 55dB(A) during
the day. This appears to be
right on the threshold with
no margin.
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ETTTA – noise maps
The ETTTA claims the noise
level will be 45-50dB(A) at
night time at the closest
residential property
boundary (refer to Intrusive
noise L A eq (15min) graph) .
According to the NSW
Government EPA’s Industrial
Noise Policy, Acceptable
noise levels from industrial
noise sources in suburban
areas are 45db(A) in the
evening. It appears this will
exceed the night time
threshold.
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Condition E29 of the Conditions of Consent
As the Sydney Water site was not identified in the original EIS for the Project, Condition
E29 of the Conditions of Consent must be satisfied for any proposed Ancillary Facilities.
The site fails to satisfy conditions E29 (d), (f) and (i) and therefore CAN NOT be
approved.
Minister’s Condition of Consent
E.29 – Ancillary Facilities
Meets Why
criteria
(d) To be located to minimise the need for
heavy vehicles to travel though residential
areas
X
Truck access to the site would be solely
reliant on travelling through residential areas
using Duffy Ave and Quarter Sessions Rd
(one way and out) – Duffy Ave and Quarter
Sessions Rd are 50 km/h residential roads.
There is no through industrial traffic
(f) To be separated from nearest residences
by at least 200 metres
X
Proposed site location is approximately 140m
from the nearest residences on Quarter
Sessions Rd
(i) Not unreasonably affect the land use of
adjacent properties
X
The use of the site will clearly affect adjacent
residents due to noise, dust (particularly
asbestos) and traffic impacts which will occur
for a three year period and the level of
impact will be unreasonable
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Impact to Westleigh – representative vehicles (rigid tipper truck)
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Impact to Westleigh – representative vehicles (truck & trailer)
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Alternative Locations & benefits - Mt Kuring-gai Industrial Estate
•
Hornsby & Mount Kuring-Gai railway stations are just a few minutes away from the Mt
Kuring-gai Industrial Estate and are well-serviced by buses (Route 597 TransdevTsl
Shorelink Buses).
•
There is no traffic congestion allowing workers to enjoy abundant, unrestricted street
parking in this dedicated industrial zone.
•
The nearby M1 Pacific Motorway ramp provides easy access to the major road networks
providing a relatively short trip to Thornleigh and the rail corridor using Beaumont Rd,
Pacific Highway, the M1 Pacific Motorway and Pennant Hills Road (national truck routes).
•
Hornsby & Mount Kuring-Gai are a unique gateway to both Sydney and the Central Coast.
•
30 - 40 minutes from Sydney CBD and right on the M1 Pacific Motorway.
•
The area is extremely well serviced by the large skilled and semi-skilled workforce from
the Central Coast who commute to Sydney daily yet can effectively avoid the traffic at the
Wahroonga Interchange.
•
Benefit from the minimal restrictions and traffic thanks to the absence of any residential
interface.
•
Co-located with many other industrial based businesses (electrical, geotechnics,
engineering, drilling, construction machinery, pumps, steel, etc).
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Alternative Locations & benefits – M2 Corridor
•
Another viable option is the now unused M2 widening compound on the corner of Delhi
Rd and Epping Rd, North Ryde.
•
The benefit of this location is that as most of the fill will be coming from between Pennant
Hills and Beecroft rail lines, trucks will have access straight onto Beecroft Rd and then
onto the M2 to Delhi Rd. A much easier route as it avoids residential areas, 50 km/h
streets and is much easier for the trucks to use. The M2 of course also has the benefit
have having built in sound barriers as well.
•
There is space there (currently zoned Urban Activation) that could be leased back and
used for the site compound.
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Alternative Location – Mt Kuring-gai Industrial Estate
Notes:
15
•
Map shows route from
Pennant Hills Rd to Mt
Kuring-gai Industrial Estate
on Beaumont Rd;
•
Uses Pennant Hills Rd, M1
and Pacific Hwy - suitable
for large trucks;
•
No residential areas are
passed;
•
Distance is 15.6km or about
14 mins drive);
•
Distance covered offset by
time and fuel used while
trucks sit in traffic in
Westleigh trying to exit
Quarter Sessions Rd, Duffy
Ave onto Pennant Hills Rd
Warning about any perceived “Sweetner”
In some forums there has been mention of using large quantities of spoil (approx 35,000 m3) from
the excavated material to fill in and level out sections of the Westleigh site rather than trucking it
away for disposal with the intent that this could also be used for future re-development of the
Westleigh site for sporting and recreational use as a “benefit” to proceeding with the proposed site by
the ETTTA. Issues identified include:
•
High risk of contamination of the soil with asbestos from the material obtained from the rail
corridor.
•
Will take 5+ years (and Westleigh residents will have endured during that time huge
inconvenience, intolerable noise and traffic impacts through site activity and truck movements
and placed residents safety at increased risk through the enormous volume of traffic and
unsuitable use of an industrial site in a quiet residential area).
•
Will still need funding approval – not guaranteed by Government.
•
Many residents would not obtain any benefit from having the area re-developed into sporting
ground.
•
The area has already been rejected in the past (1998 for housing development and 2003 as an
off-leash dog area) and as it was previously used as a tip and night soil depot (land
contamination) and Sydney Water previously had security concerns regarding the proximity of
the Water Reservoir.
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Next Steps
Confirm the use of the Mt Kuringai Industrial Estate as the first option or M2
corridor as a second option.
Perform a full environmental Impact Assessment and Construction
Environmental Management Plan including:
•
Undertake a Traffic Impact Assessment for Westleigh
•
Undertake an Acoustic Impact for Westleigh
•
Undertake an Air Quality Assessment - dust (incl asbestos), fumes at
Westleigh, and
•
Undertake a Flora and Fauna impact Assessment for Westleigh.
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