Welcome to the Wollondilly Shire Council Population Forecasts

Wollondilly Shire is a large and diverse local government area on the fringe of Sydney's South West. The area features a range of rural and conservation land uses, as well as a significant number of small urban centres, towns and hamlets. The rural industries vary from grazing to more intensive uses, such as poultry and egg production, horse training and horticulture. There is also a strong agricultural education focus, with the University of Sydney and the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural institute having large facilities in the Shire. The Shire features the Warragamba Dam, which is principle water supply for the Sydney Metropolitan Area. The urban centres of the Shire had their genesis in various transport and service functions but have expanded strongly as metropolitan housing demand has moved south-west. The largest towns in the Shire include Tahmoor, Picton, Silverdale, Bargo and Thirlmere.

Significant population growth and urban development in the Shire is a predominantly post-war phenomenon. This was spurred on by coal mining in the Tahmoor and Appin districts during the 1960s and 1970s and then in more recent times by demand for housing created by Sydney's further expansion to the South-West. Between 1981 and 2006, the population of Wollondilly more than doubled from just on 20,000 to 41,000, with marked growth in townships and rural residential areas. This was aided by greater access to employment in South-West Sydney with major improvements to road transport in the area (Hume Highway and Camden By-Pass).

The primary housing market role that the Shire played in the post war era was to provide relatively affordable housing for young and mature families in a rural or semi-rural environment. This role will continue, although the amount of infill development in the townships is expected to increase. Infill housing should improve options for access to services and facilities in established towns and villages and provide a greater diversity in housing stock.

Although the majority of areas in Wollondilly Shire attract a combination of young and mature families, there are some subtle differences between areas. Areas such as Appin-Cataract, Camden Park - Menangle - Mount Hunter and Surrounds, Douglas Park - Wilton - Pheasants Nest and Picton - Mowbray Park tend to follow the broader trend. Bargo-Yanderra, Tahmoor, The Oaks - Oakdale - Belimbla Park & Surrounds, Silverdale - Warragamba - Wallacia and Buxton - Thirlmere - Couridjah - Lakesland tend to attract young families, while losing large numbers of young adults and mature families, with the former area (Bargo-Yanderra) also attracting retirees and elderly persons. By contrast, Orangeville - Werombi - Theresa Park - Brownlow Hill attracts young, mature and older families.

There are also significant differences in the supply of future residential land within the Shire which will also have a major influence in structuring different population and household futures over the next five to twenty years. Significant new development opportunities have been identified in Douglas Park - Wilton - Pheasants Nest, Tahmoor, Picton-Mowbray Park and Appin-Cataract, while some of the more rural areas are expected to have more modest levels of new residential development. These include The Oaks - Oakdale - Belimbla Park & Surrounds, Bargo-Yanderra and Orangeville - Werombi - Theresa Park - Brownlow Hill.