Mr Packham is the chief executive officer of Bathurst disability service provider Vivability and has lived in Bathurst all his life. He is also heavily involved in the Giants AFL club.

Mr Packham has previously run for council in 2012 and 2017, finishing 10^th on both occasions to miss out on election by the narrowest of margins.

He contested both of those elections as a solo candidate but says he will run a five-member ticket this year, giving him the advantage of above-the-line voting.

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

Mr Packham listed a range of priorities for his tilt at council but highlighted the importance of working with the other eight councillors "for the benefit of the city".

"Infrastructure projects to support growth will be a priority and these need to include water security, an additional river crossing as well as an upgrade to the existing crossing and road network to cope with the current and future usage," he said.

"Our CBD traffic and parking need to be addressed and local businesses need to be considered in regard to the effects any changes have on their businesses.

"Business and tourism opportunities to promote growth, employment and prosperity need to be priorities and council needs to take a lead role and work with the Bathurst Business Chamber as well as business owners to achieve this."

Mr Packham said council must liaise with culture and heritage stakeholders on ways to develop and grow the region without losing Bathurst's "cultural identity".

He also favours creating jobs for council staff over the use of external contractors.

"We need to shop local for council projects and promote local business as part of the promotion of Bathurst," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: