Council wrote to the consent authority objecting to the proposal, which will allow truck movements as early as 4am on the site, which is operated by Hy-Tec Industries, a subsidiary of Adelaide Brighton Ltd. It has operated the quarry on Jenolan Caves Road at Hartley since 2002.

Glenroy Cottages residents Rosemary and Brad Barber had objected to the proposal, which they said damaged their quality of life and their ability to run tourism accommodation nearby. 

“Hospitality and tourism are such important industries for Hartley and it is all based on our natural assets, on our birds and wildlife,” Mrs Barber told the Lithgow Mercury when the modification application was made. 

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

The need to increase annual production was to satisfy customer demand in the Sydney market, according to a Hy-Tec spokesperson at the time of the application. Hy-Tec was also granted a variation to its extraction area. 

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. 

At Lithgow City Council’s meeting on September 24, council noted a report stating that the extension had been approved under the Environment, Planning and Assessment Act. 

Cr Stephen Lesslie said the outcome was “totally unacceptable”. 

“It should be an embarrassment to the state government that they could put in a development application and approve this application for the extension of a quarry when we have in Sydney a multi-billion dollar airport that has a curfew of 6 o’clock in the morning,” he said. 

"And yet local residents in Lithgow are subject to a 4 o’clock opening, of starting of business.”

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Cr Lesslie said a proposal from the company to introduce a driver’s code of conduct to ensure compliance for the 300 daily truck movements was not good enough. 

“What are they going to do? Have someone get up at 4 o’clock every morning just to find out if these truck drivers are maintaining a quiet approach?” he said. 

Cr McAndrew said he was disappointed with the outcome. 

“You'd recall yourself, mayor, the long debate that was had,” he said to meeting chair Cr Ray Thompson. 

“My simple question is, now it’s been OK’d by the powers that be, I take it that any complaints will go to the powers that be, not to this council, when it starts operating at 4 in the morning.”

In the conditions of the consent, it was stated that Hi-Tech could not transport more than 1.6 million tonnes of quarry products from the site during any financial year; dispatch more than 300 laden trucks from the site on weekdays and 167 laden trucks from the site on Saturdays; and dispatch more than 200 laden trucks from the site per weekday, averaged over the total number of dispatch weekdays in any calendar month.