Cessnock grows three times faster than regional NSW but still has no special
Cessnock's population will nearly double to 115,000 by 2046, but the council says it lacks the funding other growth areas receive.
Cessnock is growing at 2.9 per cent a year. Cessnock is growing at more than three times the regional NSW rate of 0.86 per cent.
The council now has 71,443 residents and forecasts 115,000 by 2046. Cessnock is not officially recognised as a growth area, so it does not get the infrastructure funding that councils like Camden, Blacktown and Maitland do.
Mayor Dan Watton says the city is being asked to deliver housing at Sydney's outer-suburb scale without the same government support. Four main housing zones are planned to add tens of thousands of residents.
Watton says the backlog is already real: roads, pipes, schools and health services need to keep pace. This week the council votes to formally ask the state and federal governments for growth-area status and matching investment.
- 71,443
- Current population
- 115,000
- Forecast population 2046
- 2.9 per cent
- Annual growth rate
- Dan Watton
- Mayor
Why it mattersCessnock residents face years of congested roads and delayed services unless governments fund infrastructure to match the growth already underway.
AustraliaCessnock is a major housing pressure valve for NSW, but without recognition and funding it risks becoming a warning sign of how Australia's growth planning lags behind actual growth.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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