Narrabri Shire Council is determined to see the Boggabri community benefit from the Vickery Coal Mine, Vickery extension project, if it’s approved by the NSW Government.

The proposed project would be located within both the Gunnedah and Narrabri local government areas.

Mayor Cathy Redding said it was important that Council had a conversation with the community before it agreed to any monetary contributions to be paid to the

Council under a Voluntary Planning Agreement with Whitehaven Coal.

At Council’s July Ordinary Meeting, the current VPA offer from Whitehaven was revealed to be a $2.712 million one-off, upfront payment upon commencement of construction.

Council said it equates to about $108,000 for each year the Vickery coal mine will operate.

“It’s negligible, one-and-a-half cents to the tonne – it’s nothing,” said Councillor Ron Campey in the meeting. “It’s an insult to the people of the Narrabri Shire, it wouldn’t even fix the potholes in the gravel road.”

A VPA is an agreement between a planning authority and a developer, whereby a developer agrees to provide or fund community needs such as public amenities or services, affordable housing, transport or other infrastructure.

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