Federal funding of $370,000 isn't enough to seal the entire length of The Hatch Road near Blackmans Point, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council says.

Lengthy discussions at the council's August meeting led to a decision to undertake detailed surveys and design for The Hatch Road upgrade.

That will determine the scope and cost of the work.

The council will write to Cowper MP Pat Conaghan outlining the investigation findings and costings with a view to seek further funding, if required.

Mr Conaghan told The Port News the $370,000 was a commitment to tar the 1.8 kilometres of roadway that affected the residents.

He said the most practical and, one might think, common sense approach by council would be to tar the stretch of road where the concrete dust had the greatest impact on the families living along The Hatch.

"This would at least allay concerns by the residents that they are not being exposed to the harmful silica in the dust," he said.

The council in November 2018 resheeted a 1.98km unsealed section with recycled crushed concrete road base in response to residents' concerns about the poor road condition.

The Hatch residents say the crushed concrete includes crystalline silica and raised fears over the potential health impact fine particles from this material might cause.

Testing did not detect crystalline silica, asbestos or heavy metals above the relevant exposure standards.

The Hatch resident Stuart Redman believes the air quality testing results weren't valid due to rain.

He says the best outcome would be for the council to use the $370,000 in federal funds to seal the road's length using a product called otta seal.

"Any improvement would be welcome but they must have the ultimate goal to seal the whole road to make it safe," Mr Redman said.

The council is awaiting the results of an ongoing trial of the otta seal product in the Nambucca area.

The Hatch resident Tom Webber said he would like the entire length of the road taken back to tar so it became a more stable and safer surface.

He also raised health concerns about the dust finding its way into people's drinking water.

Mayor Peta Pinson said there was an element of great frustration for her in relation to The Hatch Road.

"I'm sure the community members aren't expecting a gold plated highway along The Hatch but looking to have the services they had reinstated and the dust minimised around their homes," she said.

But Cr Justin Levido said he would be staggered if a reasonable job could be done for $400,000.

A report will come back to the October council meeting detailing a proposal for the council to borrow or otherwise raise $25 million for six projects including $1.2 million to upgrade The Hatch.

Mr Redman does not support the proposal to borrow funds to upgrade The Hatch as he believes it would be a huge impost on ratepayers.

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