The study conducted by The Australian looked at the prosperity, diversity, skills and wellness of the 752 small towns, and Kiama, with its population of over 14,000, came out on top.

For those who live in the Illawarra, it is no surprise Kiama was listed among Australia's best.

It has it all - beaches, good food and tourist attractions.

It's also surrounded by lush rolling green hills, which are listed as the birthplace of the Australian dairy industry.

Geological challenges in the Illawarra's north mean developers continue to look south for mass-scale development opportunities to cash in on the housing crisis.

Where you have hills that were cleared for farmland hundreds of years before, it makes perfect sense that when developers look at the land west of Kiama, all they can see is the dollar sign. It probably didn't hurt that Kiama already had a high profile among the best places to live.

So the plan for more than 1000 new homes for 114 hectares of rural land bordered by Long Brush Road, Greyleigh Drive and Jamberoo Road shouldn't be all that surprising.

Look at a map, and it's logical, but the vast scale of the proposals soon to be lodged by Traders in Purple are as breathtaking as they are apparent.

It includes a range of housing styles, from townhouses to apartment blocks and medium-density homes.

On a map, it will expand Kiama by around a third. Growth of this scale will, without a doubt, bring with it a range of challenges for the Kiama. More people require more schools, more health, more jobs and better transport connections.

As a town with the region's oldest median age in the 2021 census at 48 years old, it's also worth noting that an influx of families into newly built homes will change the demographic of the population substantially.

Presumably, younger people bring with them new ideas and different needs and expectations.

There's no doubt that, regardless of whether these plans go ahead in full, the winds of change are coming to Kiama.

Brace yourself.