PROPERTY developers have put together a plan to convert 15 hectares of rural land in Oakhampton, just outside Maitland, into a 145-lot residential subdivision.
It is expected to have "a relatively large impact" on the area that is home to just 165 people, most of them over 60 years of age, changing it from a rural, large-lot residential area to more of an urban setting, according to a social impact assessment lodged with Maitland City Council.
There are rural properties to the west, swamp land to the south, with Oakhampton Road effectively creating its northern border and the North Coast railway line its eastern boundary.
The NEX Property Group development application for 355 Oakhampton Road, where a single dwelling now stands, is on public exhibition with the council until August 27.
To date, the group has relied on feedback from a 2023 proposal to rezone much of the Oakhampton area to residential as part of the council's plans for Aberglasslyn.
Some of the issues raised in public submission included that the lot sizes were too small and would put increased pressure on local infrastructure, that the land was within a flood zone, and that it did not have suitable flood-free access.
The proposal follows new migration data that confirmed the Lower Hunter was one of the country's fastest-growing regions.
The latest Regional Movers Index, compiled by the Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute, hit a record high in the March 2026 quarter.
According to the data, capital city residents relocating to the regions outnumbered those moving the other way by almost 30 per cent.
Cessnock posted a 4.8 per cent share of net inflow from other regional areas over the quarter, trailing only the Fraser Coast and Maitland. Lake Macquarie also ranked among the nation's most popular destinations for people leaving capital cities.
Separate forecasts cited in the index suggest Cessnock and Maitland could each add roughly 50,000 residents by 2041, pushing the combined population of the two local government areas past 250,000.
Another subdivision plan is being proposed in Cessnock, a 473-lot residential subdivision development at 254 Wollombi Road, stretching between Bellbird, Bellbird Heights and Cessnock, covering four separate parcels of land totalling 82.36 hectares.
Henry Kendall Limestone Creek Pty Ltd is seeking approval for the subdivision, which would deliver hundreds of new residential lots, new local roads, and two creek crossings. That proposal is on exhibition until June 30.
