Draft City-Wide Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan
Consultation has concluded
The NSW planning system allows Councils to levy contributions from new development to go towards providing local infrastructure. This is based on the understanding that new development places additional demand on services and infrastructure.
The method by which this levy is calculated, applied, collected, and able to be spent is set out in a development contributions plan. The Blue Mountains City-Wide Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan (the City-Wide Contributions Plan) sets a fixed levy for all development above a certain threshold (as per the provisions of Section 7.12 of the EP&A Act). It also includes a schedule of works, listing the projects to which collected contributions can be allocated.
The City-Wide Contributions Plan was adopted in July 2017 and includes a schedule of works based on Council’s strategic plans, which allocates contributions until 2022 (a 5-year period).
The City-Wide Contributions Plan estimated a collection of $600,000 each year in development contributions. However, over the last 5 years this has been consistently higher, averaging closer to $900,000. However, spending has been in line with the estimated income, thereby resulting in additional, un-allocated funds in reserve.
The Western Parkland City Liveability Program was introduced as part of the Western Sydney City Deal (WSCD) in March 2018. Council successfully submitted nominations for funding for a number of projects under this program.
The majority of projects under the Liveability Program were already listed in the City-Wide contributions plan (as the schedule of works is based on Council’s strategic plans). However, certain projects were not, as the estimate of funds to be collected across the life of the plan would not cover these works.
With Liveabilty funding, there is now the opportunity for these projects to be included, and the Contributions Plan needs to be amended to reflect this. The projects proposed to be added to the schedule of works are:
- Buttenshaw Park, Springwood
- Lawson Parklands (former Lawson golf course).
The proposed amendments to the schedule of works would not affect or compromise the ability to fund or deliver the projects already listed.
Other minor changes included in this Draft City-Wide Contributions Plan include:
- Clarification of the formula for the adjustment of contributions in line with CPI;
- Revision of population forecast data based on the latest (2016) census data; and
- Minor typographical updates
Submissions close Tuesday 2 June, 2020.