The consultants who drafted the Bathurst Town Centre Master Plan included a recommendation to increase residential densities in the CBD.

In its response to the draft master plan, Bathurst Regional Council staff have said the concept is supported, and noted it will require a review of the planning controls.

READ MORE: Increased car spaces, fewer cycle paths in council's plans for Bathurst CBD

However, some councillors are reluctant to support this element of the plan.

Councillor Warren Aubin said he was supportive of the idea in theory, but worried about its ramifications.

"I 100 per cent agree with 'increase residential densities in the CBD'. I think that's something that we should be looking at 100 per cent, but it's the type of residential quality we should be looking at, because we do not want to end up with slums in the middle of the city," he said.

"... We can't just willy-nilly throw buildings in and fill them up with not quite the standard of housing and inhabitants we need to keep it spot on, because you can see from cities around the world this sort of thing happens and you just end up with rubbish in the middle of your CBD, so we don't want to go there."

Cr Christian also expressed concern about the quality of housing and potential tenants.

"In regards to increased residential densities in the CBD, that is something that terrifies me. It has to be done 110 per cent correctly, because if it's not high-ish end accommodation we may attract certain people that will turn this area into a slum," he said.

Cr John Fry, though, hit back at the idea of "social housing" turning the Bathurst CBD into a slum.

He said people in that situation need to be looked after and would benefit from being in walking distance to shops and medical facilities.

"I'm not scared of social housing in the CBD," he said.

Council's full response to the draft master plan is currently on public exhibition, giving members of the public a chance to make submissions on the concepts put forward by the consultants.

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