Piallaway residents are seeking more transparency and greater consultation on significant developments in the local area.

It follows an approval for the continuation and expansion of Bolgers Pit Quarry on Oakey Creek Road at Piallaway.

The site is one of several quarries operated by Gunnedah Shire Council across the district.

Council was approved to extract and process up to a maximum of 40,000 tonnes per annum of quarry material from the Piallaway location.

Consultants for project noted the historical rate of extraction at the quarry ranged between 556 tonnes per annum (2017) up to 18,355 tonnes pa (2018).

The quarry was re-approved in August with conditions similar to the previous agreement.

A preliminary site investigation indicated the quarry has been used since the mid 1970s.

Extraction increased in the early 2000s before significant expansion took place around 2014.

The quarry’s recent continuation approval was a significant talking point among community members when council hosted its ordinary meeting at Piallaway Hall in September.

Residents explained they were not concerned about the quarry’s expansion but rather the process and manner in how the project was managed with the community.

“The way the third parties when about it left us in the dark,” one resident said.

Others at the Piallaway meeting provided similar experiences of being left out of the loop on the development application process.

Residents were also confused why consultation and information sessions were not held locally.

“They could have held meetings at Piallaway Hall … it looks like they’re avoiding consultation,” another resident remarked.

Gunnedah Shire Council said the quarry’s DA process was managed by a third party consultant hired to prepare and lodge on council’s behalf.

Piallaway residents were told engaging specialist consultants is a common occurrence for council when reviewing quarry projects – a process which happens about every 20 years.

Gunnedah council’s director of infrastructure Jeremy Bartlett said consultants are regularly reviewed based on internal and external feedback to council.

“Past performance is a consideration in future engagements,” Mr Bartlett said.

Council’s development assessment manager, Wade Hudson, said the consultancy firm was not the only third party involved in the process.

“The consent authority is the Regional Planning Panel,” Mr Hudson said.

There are four planning panels located in the Sydney region and another four throughout regional NSW. Gunnedah is located in the Northern region, which takes in all areas from Quirindi to Port Macquarie, north to the Tweed coast and west to Moree.

The NSW Government described these organisations as independent bodies that strengthen decision making on regionally significant development applications and other planning matters including certain planning proposals and Aboriginal land planning. Determinations made by the Planning Panels are not subject to the direction of the Minister for Planning.

Several planning panel meetings were held in relation to the Bolgers Pit Quarry application but all were held outside the Gunnedah region.

Some meetings were live streamed but it appears only those who made a formal submission about the project received a notification.

Mr Hudson said council fielded “a lot of calls” from people who were unaware discussions were ongoing about the quarry’s future.

He said council attempted to ensure as much information as possible was available to the wider Piallaway community about the quarry application, which is considered a “regionally significant” project.

Council hosted a live stream in Gunnedah of one of the planning panel meetings in Gunnedah but many residents were already frustrated by the process.

“I received a late notification but still drove into town for it,” one resident said.

“I was disappointed with the lack of communication with the community.”

The resident highlighted the irony how authorities noted there was minimal “community interaction” about a proposal which few local people knew about in the first place.

Mr Hudson said council tried its best to alert the Regional Planning Panel about the feedback from the community.

He raised the issue with the panel chair but said the panel’s review process was ultimately not his decision.

“It’s not something I had control over,” Mr Hudson said.

Local residents suggested the dissatisfaction with the planning panel’s conduct should be addressed via council to the local member of parliament.

Cheaper to freight in than buy local

Another Piallaway resident expressed their frustration at the apparent high price quarry product from the Bolgers Pit Quarry.

The resident explained it was cheaper to buy gravel from a commercial vendor at Carroll, about 30km away, than purchase from their local Piallaway quarry.

As the quarry is operated by Gunnedah Shire Council, the resident enquired if more flexibility on product prices was possible for local residents.

Gunnedah shire councillor Kate McGrath said there is no flexibility for discounts in council’s fees and charges schedule outside its regular public exhibition period when the community is invited to submit feedback.

Residents explained the price was still high for a local government operator.

“You’re not competitive with commercial providers,” another resident said.

Gunnedah Shire Council was approached for comment about the communication and engagement process. A council spokesperson said: “The application for Bolgers Pit Quarry at Piallaway was considered to be a regionally significant project, so the Northern Regional Planning Panel became the determination authority. The assessment report was prepared by the Department of Planning, Housing and Industry, and the development was tabled to the Northern Regional Planning Panel for determination at a public meeting on June 18, 2025. The determination was deferred by the panel, seeking additional information, and an addendum report was tabled to the Northern Regional Planning Panel on July 22, 2025. The development was determined as approved on August 25, 2025, subject to conditions of consent, and a notice of determination was issued to the applicant and people who had made submissions during the public exhibition period.”

Reports and details of the application can be reviewed here: www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/planning-panel/extractive-industry-7