Singleton Council and YanCoal have formalised a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) associated with its Mount Thorley operations that will potentially deliver $11 million to the community over the next 15 years.
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The agreement was signed on Friday, with an up-front payment of $2 million to be paid within 28 days.
Getting to this point has been a controversial process as the former owners, Rio Tinto, included a clause that stipulated Wallaby Scrub Road had to be closed before any funds would be allocated. However, YanCoal has accepted Council’s resolution passed at an extraordinary meeting on June 5 to endorse the VPA with the removal of clause 5b that related to the possibility of the closing the road.
The life of the agreement comprises $6.6 million for a Bulga Community Project Fund to support the sustainability of the Bulga village and surrounds. This includes the implementation of the Bulga Village Master Plan.
The draft plans were scheduled to be up for discussion at November’s Council meeting but were removed from agenda at the last minute because as they had not been available for viewing on the website.
A total of $4.4 million has been allocated to the Singleton Economic Development Fund with the aim of contributing to economic development initiatives within the local government area.
Mark Ihlein, Council’s Director Infrastructure and Planning, said the conclusion of the VPA opened up significant opportunities to benefit the people of Singleton and Bulga in particular.
“The VPA is a formal arrangement to offset the impacts of the Mt Thorley Warkworth westward expansion with a substantial investment in projects to benefit the Bulga community and the Singleton economy generally,” he said.
“With the agreement now in place, the community will see the benefits immediately with $2 million to be paid within the first month of the life of the agreement and a further $2 million in early 2018.
“The VPA is a tremendous outcome for Singleton, representing about 1.5% of the capital investment of the mine expansion where previous negotiated VPAs have represented approximately 1% of capital investment.
“After a long process to reach this point, Council will commence the establishment of the committee to oversee the funds in February 2018 and I’m confident the community will soon be celebrating the outcomes that will come as a result of this agreement.”
