Figures suggest Bathurst will reach a population of 51,550, and be among the top five fastest growing regional councils over the next 17 years.

When compared with data from 2011, the projections indicate there will be around a 36.4 per cent increase in the number of households in the region by 2031, and a 96.36 per cent increase in the number of residents aged 65 years or older, meaning around 21 per cent of the population will be made up of senior citizens.

The projection also shows the average house size will dwindle to 2.34 people, that  there will be a 51.9 per cent increase in the number of people living alone, and a 48.75 per cent increase in the number of households comprised only of couples.

Council Environmental, Planning and Building Services acting director Janet Bingham said the population and household figures were inline with council’s own projections. She said the average annual population growth of 1.3 per cent was sustainable and in line with growth in Bathurst in recent years.

“We feel that it is sustainable growth for Bathurst, we have the water and sewerage infrastructure in place and the community and cultural infrastructure in place and are also planning new infrastructure to enable this growth to occur,” she said.

Ms Bingham said council had been proactive in planning for the future, and had developed an Urban Strategy in 2007 and the Bathurst 2036 Community Strategic Plan, which looked into key infrastructure projects to meet the demands of an increasing population.

She noted council would face a number of challenges in the coming decades.

“There will be a real combination of issues. There will be dealing with urban sprawl, reducing our environmental footprint, creating a diversity of housing types to meet the needs of ageing population and providing the infrastructure and parks that we expect of a regional centre.”

Western Research Institute chief executive officer Danielle Ranshaw said challenges faced by local governments dealing with population growth could also include – the need to increase employment opportunities, increase services (in particular health care services) and cater to the demand for more affordable housing and transport and education services.

She said the ageing population was a national issue, and regional areas needed to develop the required infrastructure.

She said regional areas would see the demand for improved health care systems, demand for more carers and face workforce and skills shortages as more people retired.

Apart from releasing population projections, the Department of Planning and Education have recently released draft region boundaries for the Regional Growth Plans they are developing, which will help plan for sustainable growth and change within regions across NSW.

Ms Bingham said council lodged a submission expressing concern over the proposed regions, which see Bathurst placed in the Central West and Orana region.

She said council were concerned by the large size of the region and variations in growth and change across the region would need to be taken into account if the draft boundaries were adopted.

She said council would prefer to see two separate plans prepared for the Central West and Orana region.