Children under 9 shaping Orange’s future

The largest population group in Orange is children aged under 9, making up about 15 per cent of the population, according to the latest census data.

Orange Mayor John Davis said the figures showed Orange was growing steadily and validated council’s plans for the city.

“We knew from the last census data that our biggest age group was 0-4 year olds, five years later and those kids have moved up an age bracket but they’ve been replaced by almost the exact same number of children under 4,” Cr Davis said.

“These figures really justify what we’ve been doing as a council to cater for this population bracket.

“For example, we’ve been expanding our Out of School Hours Care programs and we’re looking into teaming up with local schools to run after school care.

“We’ve installed new playgrounds in our biggest growth areas. The latest, off William Maker Drive is almost complete.

“As well, we’re looking at new initiatives such as interactive outdoor games like Magical Park at the Orange Botanic Gardens.

“We’re also pushing hard for funding for a dedicated sporting precinct off the bypass.

“The Census data is one of many tools we use to back up our applications when applying to the government for funding for these types of ventures.

“But what is also interesting to see is the next biggest population bracket is people aged between 30 and 34.

“When you see an unexpected spike in a population category it backs up the notion people are relocating here with young families.”

Cr Davis said the overall six per cent growth in population in Orange since the 2011 Census was a sign of a strong economy and showed there was a need to focus on jobs creation.

“There’s a range of projects we are taking on to maintain and then push this steady growth we’ve been seeing. The Airport Business Park as well as the Orange Supply Directory are two of these projects we have in the pipeline.”