Parkes Shire Council has purchased 330 hectares of farmland east of the town for future housing.
The council will commence designing a future residential suburb on 'Harrowvale', between Henry Parkes Way (Orange Road), Military Road and Cookamidgera Road, Mayor Neil Westcott announced on Friday afternoon.
"The availability of land for residential expansion is a common theme when we consult with the community," Cr Westcott said in a statement released by the council.
"This is a very affirmative step by Council to ensure adequate residential land will be available well into the future.
"The size of the land also allows for well-considered master-planning of the entire site."
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It's a long-term plan, the mayor's statement indicated, to meet potential future need driven by potential growth in industry.
"We anticipate the land purchase will be funded by future industrial land sales and will not be activated until existing residential land is significantly taken-up, which may be a number of years away," Cr Westcott said.
"As we all know the location of Parkes on the national transport network is an unassailable fact and has driven the NSW Government investment in the Parkes Special Activation Precinct (SAP).
"It is forecast that the SAP has the potential to create up to 3,000 jobs across a range of industries over the next 30 years, particularly, freight and logistics, warehousing, value-add agriculture, plant-based meat substitutes, innovative grains, cold-chain logistics, resource recovery and recycling, e-waste recycling, plastics recycling, renewable energy, critical minerals and data centres.
"The State Government is progressing industrial development in the SAP and has a potential of well over a billion dollars of investment over the next five years in leading edge energy and recycling technology, right on the edge of Parkes ...
""However, the common question of big business is … here will our future employees live?"
The council is also being approached for industrial land separate to the SAP, and also needs to ensure suitable land for residents now to look for their first home, seek to upsize or move to downsize.
