It was scheduled to be discussed at Council’s  April meeting but it was unexpectedly withdrawn from the agenda after the integrity of the exhibition process was questioned.

Singleton Council was forced to publicly re-exhibit the VPA following a letter from the NSW Environmental Defenders Office advising them that an explanatory note needed to be drafted and exhibited along with any proposed Planning Agreement.

At the time no such explanatory note existed.

The current VPA which pledges $11 million to Singleton Council to be spent on various works - including $6.6m to the Bulga Community Project Fund – contains an additional clause that was not in the original 2015 version considered by the Planning and Assessment Commission.

The company will suspend payment if Wallaby Scrub Road remains open.

Planning agreements are part and parcel of the state’s mine approval process and this one was considered originally by the Planning and Assessment Commission prior to that body giving Rio Tinto the go ahead to expand their open cut mine near Bulga.

So this version of the VPA Councillors are set to vote on contains the new clause stating the mine operator will be entitled to suspend payments if Wallaby Scrub Road has not been closed.

Under the clause 5 (b) when the proponent requires access to the land west of Wallaby Scrub Road for mining and the road has not been closed to allow for mining provided for in the Development Consents then they are entitled to suspend payments.

Singleton Council general manager Jason Linnane says the Mount Thorley-Warkworth VPA is a significant matter and provides opportunities for benefits for our community.

"All parties involved are very keen to reach an outcome as soon as possible and Council is mindful of timeline commitments to the Department of Planning,” he says.

"Given those factors, councillors deemed it was worthy to call an extraordinary meeting to consider the matter."