Council welcomes changes to developer contributions reform

Northern Beaches

New changes to the developer contribution system will deliver a better deal for the Northern Beaches, with Council able to fund much needed community infrastructure.

Following a campaign by Local Government NSW (LGNSW) and local councils across the state, Planning Minister Rob Stokes and LGNSW today announced important changes to proposed reforms on the infrastructure contributions system.

Changes to the reform package will allow councils to continue to fund community infrastructure from developer contributions, ensure state contributions are spent in the region where they are collected and allow councils to charge a developer contribution rate of 3% for residential construction and 1% on commercial, industrial and retail development.

Developer contribution rates will be indexed to ensure they keep pace with construction costs.

Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said it was a better deal for councils and the community.

“The Minister has listened to concerns from local councils and has worked with the sector to make important changes to the proposed reforms,” Mayor Regan said.

“These changes will increase our ability to pay for vital community infrastructure, ensuring we can build the parks, playgrounds, sporting facilities, open spaces and community infrastructure that our growing communities need.

“We welcome the Minister’s promise today that no council will be worse off as a result of these reforms.”

/Public Release. View in full here.