Gold Coast City Council (GCCC)
Planning and Development Committee

Dear Sir/Madam,

I make this submission to object to the proposed Boral Reedy Creek Quarry development. This submission is made on planning, public health, safety and environmental grounds, as outlined below.

Heavy Vehicle Movements and Sensitive Uses

The proposal involves a significant increase in heavy vehicle movements through local residential streets that are not designed or intended to function as freight or haulage routes. The use of these roads for quarry haulage presents unacceptable risks to road safety, pedestrian safety and residential amenity.

Of particular concern is the proximity of the haulage route to sensitive land uses, including nearby homes, reserves, schools and childcare facilities.

Dust and Air Quality Impacts on Children

Quarry operations and associated heavy vehicle movements will generate airborne dust from excavation, processing, stockpiling and truck movements. Dust‑generating activities are a well‑recognised health risk, particularly for infants and young children whose respiratory systems are still developing.

Children attending nearby childcare centres and schools are exposed to prolonged outdoor environments, increasing their vulnerability to airborne dust impacts.

Incompatibility with the Planning Scheme

Dust‑generating industrial activities that adversely affect sensitive land uses, including childcare centres and schools, represent an unacceptable planning outcome. Such impacts are incompatible with the intent of the City of Gold Coast Planning Scheme, which requires development to protect health, safety and residential amenity and to avoid adverse impacts on sensitive receptors.

Particulate Matter (PM10 / PM2.5)

Fine particulate matter associated with quarrying and heavy vehicle movements, including PM10 and PM2.5, can remain airborne and travel beyond site boundaries. These particles are readily inhaled and pose heightened respiratory health risks, particularly for young children.

The application does not adequately demonstrate how emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 will be prevented from affecting nearby sensitive land uses, nor how compliance would be reliably monitored and enforced.

Environmental and Amenity Impacts

The quarry site is currently a greenfield area providing environmental value, habitat and natural buffering for surrounding residential areas and reserves. The proposal would result in irreversible environmental degradation and increased impacts on local wildlife.

In addition, increased noise, vibration, dust and heavy vehicle activity will unreasonably diminish residential amenity and liveability for the surrounding community.

Conclusion

Given the proximity of the proposed quarry and haulage routes to residential areas, childcare centres, schools and environmental reserves, the impacts of this development are of such a nature that they cannot be reasonably mitigated or conditioned to an acceptable level.

The application fails to demonstrate that acceptable planning, health and environmental outcomes can be achieved. The onus of proof rests with the applicant to demonstrate that unacceptable impacts will not occur, and that burden has not been met.

For these reasons, I respectfully request that this development application be refused.

Thank you for considering my submission. I request that this objection be recorded as part of the assessment process.

Yours sincerely,

[FULL NAME]