As part of its draft Bathurst Regional Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2014 there is a proposal to rezone around 500 hectares of land east of Kelso and Laffing Waters from rural to residential.

However, to cope with the growth and additional residential development, council has now moved to tackle the expected demand on the existing road network.

As a result new infrastructure to cater for the increased traffic movements will need to be put in place as the building blocks come online.

Bathurst Regional Council’s director of environmental planning and building services David Shaw said the aim is to put in place the necessary measures for future infrastructure now as part of planning for the city’s future.

“You only have to look at the transport problems they have in the north-west areas of Sydney to realise how vitally important this is,” he said. 

“There was massive housing growth in places like Kellyville, but the transport network was totally inadequate. The roads just couldn’t cope with the population that lives there now.

“The State Government is now trying to address this, but it’s come way too late and should have been done before all those houses were built.”

Mr Shaw said land releases for about 250-280 dwellings a year occur in Bathurst, and the 4400 allotments would come on line over the next decade to 15 years.

“We want to have everything in place to cope with the growth so the region can continue to forge ahead with the infrastructure in place to cope with the growth,” he said. “Other items like having adequate sewer and water are already in place, so we’re looking good.” 

According to Mr Shaw’s report to a recent ordinary council meeting, council engaged Aurecon Australia to compile a traffic study of the Kelso area, which has recently been completed.

“The Kelso Traffic Access Study identifies a number of road and intersection projects (local and state roads) which will need to be completed to ensure the road network at Kelso continues to perform in a satisfactory manner,” the report states.

“The new local road projects form part of the Bathurst Regional Section 94 Development Contributions Plan Roadworks – New Residential Subdivisions (Amendment No 2). Council also reviewed the estimated costs for the projects identified in the four other catchment areas (Abercrombie, Eglinton, Llanarth and Windradyne), together with updating the estimated population for each of those areas.”

Mr Shaw’s report notes the purpose of the DCP amendment is to identify the collector road network at Kelso and ensure it is constructed at each relevant stage of development.

“The works identified by the Kelso Traffic Access Study are identified as either being the responsibility of the developer or being included in the Section 94 Developer Contributions Plan. A new section was also added to the draft to add clarity.“

Mr Shaw notes the draft DCP amendment and Section 94 Plan aim to address the local road infrastructure required to support the future expansion of Kelso. The draft plans have been exhibited, the issues raised in the submissions being received and addressed and the final plans have now been adopted.