Bathurst Regional Council has grand plans for the village and is ready to give the go-ahead to a major expansion.

The plan includes allowances for more residential development, creating more open space for recreation,

reconfiguring land for the future expansion of Eglinton Public School and identifying a new business area.

Part of the bigger picture also includes a tract of land to the north of Cox Lane to be developed by Crighton Lifestyle Resorts as a retirement

village.

A report by the city’s chief town

planner David Shaw to Wednesday night’s ordinary monthly meeting of council outlines the vision for Eglinton and recommends the planning proposal for the expansion be approved.

The report notes the project has been in the pipeline for many years. The Eglinton Village Expansion Local Environmental Study (LES) was prepared in 2006.

“The Bathurst Region Urban Strategy 2007 reviewed the recommendations of the LES and recommended the expansion at Eglinton proceed,” Mr Shaw’s report states.

Mayor Greg Westman said Eglinton is ready to move ahead in leaps and bounds.

“Council has for many years now had long-term plans for that part of town,” he said.

“Eglinton has gone from being a once tiny

village and is now a vibrant suburb of Bathurst.

By adopting this plan we’re setting in motion an initiative which will provide new residential land for a growing population.

“Since the last Census in 2006 our population has grown by seven per cent and is currently nudging 40,000.

That’s why a planning proposal of this magnitude is so vital to the region’s future.”

Cr Westman said that out of the local villages in the region, Eglinton had the best scope for sustainable growth.

“Its close proximity to Bathurst is a key and all along people have shown a willingness to live out that way,” he said.