The Hunter Regional Plan – released in October last year – predicted Cessnock City Council will have a projected increase in dwelling approvals of 6350 between 2016 and 2036, which averages out to be 318 applications per year.

Council exceeded this figure by a 44 percent in the 2016/17 financial year by approving 459 residential buildings.

This boom is reflective of an increase in housing activity across the region, in particular the growth occurring in greenfield urban release areas, including Huntlee and Cliftleigh.

With this, the total number of development applications determined (excluding section 96) was up 7.7 percent (reaching 784), and the total value of council’s DAs was $207,097,876, an increase of 23 percent on the previous financial year.

Complying development value for the same period was another $61 million on top of this.

In 2016/17, the average processing time for building approvals was 52 days, yet the median time was just 28 days.

Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent said these figures are a combination of the council’s reputation as a “thriving, attractive and welcoming place to live”, along with the dedication and fantastic work of council staff.

“We are going through a period of rapid growth and our staff are committed to working closely with key stakeholders to continuously improve processes to ensure we are meeting increased demand effectively and efficiently,” he said.

“I recently went out to Huntlee and the progress of this site from when development started to now is just incredible.”