Most people don’t realise that in the past few years, the region’s population growth has increased quite markedly.  

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald (The Sydney Exodus, February 26), since 1971 more than one million Sydneysiders have moved to regional NSW.

In contrast, over the same period less than 700,000 people living in country NSW relocated to Sydney.

But these figures don’t tell the whole truth. The pace of Sydneysiders leaving the Harbour City has picked up dramatically in recent years. What started as a trickle, is now turning into a flood.

Net migration out of Sydney each year (42,500) is now running at twice the rate of 40 years ago (20,600).

Don’t worry, Sydney’s population is still booming.

Thanks to a healthy birth rate, low death rate and high overseas immigration, Sydney continues to grow by nearly 90,000 people a year.

So where in regional NSW are these people going? The Hunter region, Illawarra and the Central coast continue to be the most accepted choices. But recently, the Central West (and Bathurst, in particular) has been rapidly gaining popularity.

At the 2016 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the 11 local council areas which make up the Central West attracted 2,300 new residents in total that year. This makes it one of the fastest growing regions of NSW.

More impressively, the Bathurst Regional Council area is attracting the lion’s share of that new growth, with approximately 550 new residents moving in a year. In comparison, Orange is growing by less than 400 a year, Lithgow 135 and Oberon Shire by only 40 additional people a year.   

Where in Sydney are they coming from? Mainly, two groups from two areas.

Young families from the outer west of Sydney comprises one group and cashed up retirees from Sydney’s inner North, East and Southern suburbs are the other.

Why are they leaving Sydney? No surprises here.

When interviewed, the main reasons for moving away focus on Sydney’s incredibly high cost of living; it’s astronomical house prices preventing young couples from entering the real estate market; congestion on the roads; population overcrowding and finally an uneasy sense that Sydney is becoming unsafe.

In short, young families are leaving for jobs and affordable housing. Cashed up retirees are leaving for a more comfortable lifestyle. Both groups now perceive that regional NSW presents a safer environment than Sydney.

Bathurst Regional Council general manager David Sherley once told me his greatest test would be preparing Bathurst and its infrastructure for the anticipated flood of people as they pour over the Blue Mountains from Sydney.

At the time, I thought he was exaggerating. I now realise he was spot on.

Congratulations David, Bathurst is lucky to have a man with such foresight in charge of the day-to-day operations of this region.