PROPERTY owners will be billed for safety works at the intersection of Pottery and Jones roads, Somerville.

Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have authorised a special charge scheme to help pay the estimated $565,000 needed for the “high risk” works.

The shire will pay 35 per cent of the cost with the rest being apportioned among property owners seen to benefit from the works.

However, unlike most special charge schemes which are based on road frontages, the apportionment will be judged on properties seen to be receiving a “special benefit”.

Peninsula Quarries, established by Bayport Industries in July 2017, operates a clay and stone quarry at the end of Pottery Road (“Growing discontent over clay quarry” The News 16/3/16).

The December 2019/January 2020 issue of Sand & Stone magazine (published by the Construction Material Processors Association) says the clay quarry has been owned by Bayport since 1995.

“Whilst the quarry itself is still in its infancy stages, the site has well and truly matured since quarrying commenced in the 1950’s. The site was originally identified, and used to produce pottery and clay-based products until the early 90’s. With the introduction of PVC and synthetics during that period the requirement for the clay and pottery-based material dissipated and the business was acquired by Bayport,” the article states.

The shire’s traffic and transport team leader Ed Pocock in a report to councillors in November 2017 said concerns had been raised about noise, dust, road and pedestrian safety, public nuisance and the degradation of Pottery Road.

“In particular, there have been a number of concerns about the volume of truck and trailers during the quarry’s extraction campaigns and the potential impacts on road users and pedestrians at the intersection of Pottery Road and Jones Road,” Mr Pocock said.

He said traffic counts had shown there were up to 280 truck and trailer movements a day “during a recent extraction campaign”.

Earlier in 2017, Rob Gerrand was appointed inaugural head of the Peninsula Quarries Community Engagement Group (PQCEG).

Established by peninsula Quarries, the group lists its aims as helping Peninsula Quarries “to consult with the local community … identify community attitudes and expectations” as well as reviewing and analysing its complaints register and establishing a community grants program.

First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 10 March 2020