By Sumeyya Ilanbey
There are plans to turn a former World War II training camp in Darley into a sand mine.
Zhong Yin Group Australia is proposing to operate a 15.8-hectare open pit quarry at 48 Camerons Road, Darley, with access to the site from 222 Lerderderg Gorge Road.
Project manager Andrew Helps told
Star Weekly that truckloads of sand from other parts of the state were already being used in Bacchus Marsh and the western suburbs.
Mining sand from the area was the “logical” solution, he said.
“There are already two sand mines in the area working the same deposit,” Mr Helps said. “If you look at the recent utterings of state governments, one of the critical issues in the western suburbs is shortage of construction material.
“There’s a whole lot of uses for this deposit [sand], which has been at the site for a long time … we’re doing the logical extension of the mining that’s already going on.”
Ahead of applying for a permit from the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, and a planning permit from Moorabool council, Zhong Yin Group Australia is required to hold community information sessions. One has been planned for 7pm tonight (September 18) at Bacchus Marsh Golf Club.
“When it comes to quarries, this one is about as benign as it gets,” Mr Helps said. “There won’t be any blasting … we may have to [blast] in the future, but we’d certainly seek permission.”
If the project goes ahead, the site will be fenced with a 2.5-metre high cyclone fence and a two-metre earthen beam inside to screen the quarry.
Nearby property owners will be given the opportunity to sell their houses to Zhong Yin Group Australia. Mr Helps said the company was also open to work with VicRoads to improve the road network near the site.
But several residents have expressed their concerns about the project, particularly about traffic, noise and dust.
“I’m concerned about access with traffic … as a resident that’s going to be a crow’s fly 50 metres from the boundary, the peace and tranquility we have here will be lost,” Darley woman Allison said.
Noel Langshaw lives on Camerons Road. He says he was hoping to retire and live there for the rest of his life.
“I’m not going to be able to do that anymore,” Mr Langshaw says. “We’ve been here for over 20 years.”
