“In my opinion it’s inevitable the mines’ expansion will be approved and therefore everyone in Bulga will be affected and their property values will decline,” owner of the Bulga Bridge Café Toni Silk said.

“No one buys a house or a property to lose value but because of the expansion of the mines, that’s exactly what is going to happen to my property and everyone else who lives in Bulga.

“So the mine owners or the government should provide compensation for that loss and offer everyone who wants to sell the opportunity to do so before the expansion gets underway and destroys this village.”

The expansion plans for the two open cut mines is about to head back to their final Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) review following the Department of Planning and Environment’s recommendation for approval of the projects.

The first PAC report noted that the impact on Bulga may be so great that consideration be given to relocating the village. 

Ms Silk, who first moved to the district in 1994 before buying the business in 2008, said at the time of her purchase she believed Warkworth mine would never become a major headache because of the 2003 Deed of Agreement, which protected in perpetuity Saddleback Ridge from open cut mining.

“That piece of land protects the village from the worst impacts of the mine but now that’s gone – so the residents should receive proper compensation,” she said.

“We put our trust in the government and the company to abide by that agreement but, as it doesn’t exist, living here will become intolerable.

“And that means every resident should have the choice to sell and not leave the acquisition zone to some computer modelling program.”

Lee Williams and her partner Warren Welsh fully support Ms Silks’ call for all properties in the Bulga village to be included in the acquisition zone.

“It’s stupid having houses located side by side and one is in the acquisition zone and one isn’t,” Mr Welsh said.

“If that doesn’t happen we will all end up with stranded assets once the expansion gets underway.

“Currently, 14 houses are on a list to have additional mitigation work undertaken but there would be more than 100 houses in the village that will be badly affected.”

What has also angered these residents is the fact Singleton Council is still approving homes to be built in the village.

“On the one hand we have a PAC saying the village may need relocating due to the impacts of the mine and at the same time new houses are being built,” Ms Silk said.

“Why is that allowed to happen?”