Hy-Tec Industries, a subsidiary of Adelaide Brighton Ltd, which has operated the Austen Quarry on Jenolan Caves Road at Hartley since 2002, distributed a community update to nearby residents towards the end of December, flagging that the company would be applying through the Department of Planning and Environment to increase its operating hours.

Owners of tourist accommodation venue Glenroy Cottages, Mr and Mrs Barber said they were alarmed to read that the company now hoped to begin operations at 4am. 

The change from a 5am to 4am start would, according to the company, avoid more trucks contributing to traffic delays in morning peak periods throughout the Blue Mountains. 

For Glenroy Cottages, it means the truck noise will be waking up paying guests and residents before dawn. 

“And disrupting all the bird life as well – we have a treasure here as good as any other place in the world. We’ve got to show our deepest respect to the environment,”  Mrs Barber said. 

“Hospitality and tourism are such important industries for Hartley and it is all based on our natural assets, on our birds and wildlife.

“When the quarry is finished, employment will be coming from places like ours, from the environment.”

Mr Barber has lived on the property since his parents purchased it in 1954 but he said the site had a camping history all the way back to 1815 and a stay by Governor Macquarie. 

The Barbers said they understood and respected the quarry’s role as an employer, and as a contributor to Hartley community projects, but asked that the changes to its operating hours not go ahead.  

“We get people from all over the world staying here – the Hartley Valley is a natural treasure just west of Sydney,” Mrs Barber said. 

They said they would object to later operating hours for the quarry.

If approved, the changed conditions would also see the average daily number of laden trucks dispatched from the site increase from 150 to 200. Annual production on the site is set to increase from 1.1m to 1.6m tonnes. 

A Hy-Tec spokesperson said the increase in annual production was to satisfy customer demand in the Sydney market. It was estimated in the community update that a 33 per cent increase in average daily truck levels would be sufficient to manage the larger volume of materials produced. 

Hy-Tec also flagged it would be applying for a variation to its extraction area. The statement says this related to “manage potential impacts to the threatened plant” the silver-leaved mountain gum. 

The Department of Planning and Environment (DEP) confirmed it had received a modification application for the quarry. 

A DEP spokesperson said the application had been returned to the applicant with a request for more information. When it is returned to the department, it will be published on the website and opened for public comment. 

“Additional opportunity for stakeholders and interested parties, including the Lithgow Council, to find out information and make submissions on the Hy-Tec application will be available through the DPE website http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au where the document will be publicly exhibited,” a Hy-Tec spokesperson said in a statement to the Lithgow Mercury. 

The Barbers were concerned that the approval process was not, in the first instance, to go before Lithgow City Council. 

“Lithgow Council should have some say in this decision right from the start,” Brad said. 

There has not been any timeframe specified as to when Hy-Tec would wish to implement the changes at this stage.