With all the change in the Singleton Town Centre over the past few years – and fingers crossed for more to come – the groundwork is now underway for the transformation of the village of Bulga.
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I was really happy to chair the inaugural meeting of the Mount Thorley Warkworth Voluntary Planning Agreement Community Committee last week, because it marked the start of an exciting project to reimagine the future of the historic village. The Voluntary Planning Agreement was signed between Council and Yancoal in December 2017, to potentially deliver $11 million to the Singleton community over the next 15 years. That includes $6.6 million for a Bulga Community Project Fund to support the sustainability of Bulga and surrounds.
Comprising representatives from the community, Council and Yancoal, the committee is a sunset committee of Council that will assist in engaging with the community to implement the VPA. The first challenge for the committee is to recommend a list of principles to prioritise projects that build sustainability and enhance the quality of life for the people of Bulga and Milbrodale. The community can have input into the projects via their community representatives.
That will then lay the foundation for a works program to guide the projects on the ground in accordance with the community’s desires. There’s a lot of planning to do first, but it’s important that we get the right projects with the right amount of funding, and that we do the proper design work and consultation with the community before we rush into construction.
I have no doubt this will be a very positive committee and we will see a lot of good things come out of this process for the benefit not only of Bulga and surrounds, but everyone across our LGA. What will also benefit everyone in our LGA is the ongoing conversation about improvements to public transport. I’m joining members of Two More Trains for Singleton to meet with senior representatives from Transport for NSW in Singleton, to discuss the need for more services.
It’s no secret our community rates more public transport, and particularly rail services, as one of our major issues. There have been numerous meetings with the Minister for Transport Andrew Constance both in Singleton and in Sydney. I appreciate he is taking this matter very seriously and look forward to the outcomes that I’m confident will eventuate.
