You don't have to go too far down the Hunter Expressway to encounter what growing pains in regional centres looks like.
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Think overcrowded primary school and no high school for Huntlee /Branxton, a bit further along Lochinvar is bursting at the seams with traffic chaos during peak school arrival and departure times and then head into Maitland were traffic congestion and a sense that public services appear often overwhelmed for example take the emergency department at the new hospital.
For those of us living in Singleton even, if you wanted a bigger town would you want all the problems that are often associated with that growth.
And Singleton is growing, albeit at a slower rate than those lower Hunter centres - Singleton's population grew by 6.9% between 2016 and 2021 (Australian Census data).
Between 2020 and 2023, 30% of Development Applications approved by Singleton Council were for new dwellings, which is an important measure of growth, and equates to 446 new dwellings in total.
Governments all levels are looking at ways to solve the 'housing crisis' but a quick fix may create more problems than it solves.
Last year Singleton Mayor Sue Moore noted if the State Government are serious about removing roadblocks to unlock land, accelerate residential infrastructure and supercharge supply to tackle the current housing crisis, they would do well to support regional areas like Singleton to access funding for integral lead infrastructure like roads, telecommunications, and water and sewer assets.
"This is the biggest constraint on the housing supply across the state, and it's certainly the case here in Singleton with 5,700 development-ready lots ready to go in our LGA, including in strategic growth areas of Branxton, Hunterview, Huntlee, Singleton Heights and Lower Belford. Without the government's support, these will be unlikely to progress, with at least 2,800 of these lots requiring access to critical water and sewer infrastructure to realise delivery."
Getting the infrastructure up tp speed before the growth is the vital ingredient needed to build a vibrant and sustainable Singleton.
"What everyone loves about Singleton is its country town feel," says Singleton Council general manager Jason Linnane.
What everyone loves about Singleton is its country town feel
- Jason Linnane, general manager Singleton Council
"As a Council we want to see Singleton grow and receive all the benefits that come from being a bigger centre.
"But what we don't want is all the problems associated with the type of rapid growth you can see in the Lower Hunter. Our aim is to see Singleton grow successfully, sustainably and with good planning that is achievable."
One of the advantages of Singleton is the fact it is around hour from Newcastle, it is close to the tourist destinations of Pokolbin and Broke Fordwich and Lake St Clair and there is plenty of room for new housing.
"Our proximity to Newcastle and our transport links the Hunter Expressway and the passenger rail services and now with the construction of the bypass this all makes Singleton the ideal growth centre," Mr Linnane said.
Like the Mayor he is keen to see state and federal governments help councils build the social infrastructure needed to making regional and rural centres attractive residential growth hubs.
Singleton Council has been working on residential growth plans and strategies for a number of years and are currently completing an Employment Land Strategy with Upper Hunter, Muswellbrook and Dungog councils (this is due to go before Council in March 2024).
In 2021, Singleton Council adopted Singleton Local Housing Strategy 2041. This strategy identifies 18 strategic growth areas for residential development.
Mr Linnane said one of the challenges Council faced was increasing housing density but where and how much?
"Do we see more housing in downtown Singleton in the CBD as it already has services and is close to all the amenities and transport lines," he said.
"But is that growth a problem with Singleton's history of flooding - some would say yes others no," he said.
Someone interested in seeing regional centres grow sustainably is Professor Philip Thalis, a founding principal of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects, established in 1992.
He is also the Professor of Practice in Architecture at UNSW,
Not unfamiliar with Singleton, having worked on projects in the centre such as the Singleton TAFE precinct, he described the merits of the town as being its strength, as possessing some beautiful landscapes and having good transport connections to Newcastle
He said there are many question about how to grow communities in the era of climate change with the increased likelihood of floods and bushfires both of which impact Singleton LGA.
Today we have to build more compactly, intelligently and in an affordable manner
- Professor Philip Thalis
"Put simply what worked 150 years ago won't work now. Today we have to build more compactly, intelligently and in an affordable manner," he said.
"No more sprawling suburbia. We must protect our farmlands, bush and floodplains from sprawl and we must build more social and affordable housing."
He said poor strategic planning, where a 'silo mentality' often led to growth without the necessary infrastructure being in place.
"Real planning needs to be about more than just housing growth, we need all the engineering and social services to be rolled out together" he said.
One of his priorities would be more planting of street trees.
"We need to be aiming for a minimum of 50 per cent shade canopy in our streets, with less areas of hot black asphalt. That's a must for towns like Singleton with their hot summers. And that's investment for generations to come, so it should start as soon as possible."