By Jess Baker
Southern Downs Regional Council has voted to increase infrastructure charges on new developments from November this year.
The council adopted a new charges resolution at an ordinary meeting held Wednesday 11 August, which takes effect on 15 November.
A report tabled at the meeting stated the most significant proposed change within the charges resolution will be to increase the infrastructure charge rate.
“To assist with the provision of trunk infrastructure in the region and to reduce the burden on the existing community to meet the obligation to fund this infrastructure, it is proposed to increase the infrastructure charge rate by 35 per cent,” the report read.
“This will ensure that all charge rates are 29 per cent below the maximum charge. Whilst this is still substantially cheaper than the maximum charge, it will provide a necessary increase without causing a large imposition on new developments.”
The report stated the purpose of the charges resolution was to assist with the implementation of the Southern Downs Planning Scheme by adopting a charge for funding part of the establishment cost of infrastructure networks like water supply, sewerage, and public parks.
Under the new resolution, charges on new residential dwellings will increase from $10,000 per dwelling unit to $21,500 per dwelling unit.
Charges on long term accommodation facilities will also increase per dwelling unit, retirement facility or relocatable home park from $7500 to $21,500, and charges per suite in rooming accommodation or community residence will increase from $2500 to $21,500.
Short term accommodation facilities like hotels and tourist parks will also see substantial increases in infrastructure charges.
Southern Downs Mayor Vic Pennisi said the changes will ease the financial strain on ratepayers as they will no longer have to subsidise developers’ costs.
“The cost of providing infrastructure to a development is in the vicinity of $25,000,” Cr Pennisi said.
“And the charges were $10,000. And so consequently the ratepayers were funding approximately $15,000 of every development that happened in the region.
“Why is it fair that ratepayers fund that cost?”
The report tabled at the meeting indicated the changes would bring developer contributions towards infrastructure in the region closer to industry standards.
Council officers compared SDRC’s new infrastructure charge rates to that of other councils with populations of a similar size, ascertaining that rates for the Southern Downs will be higher than that of regional councils including South Burnett and Gympie, and lower than that of regional councils including Toowoomba and Western Downs.
Cr Pennisi said SDRC had also significantly reduced developer holding costs to encourage growth in local housing stock.
“If you buy a block of land, you’ll be paying rates on it … when you do a development, that starts the day that it’s stamped,” he said.
“What we’ve done is remove 77 per cent of those costs, so those holding costs aren’t as high as they were.”
Cr Pennisi said developer holding costs were more often an impediment to developments of land than upfront costs were, so the changes could encourage new blocks being brought to market.
The new charges resolution adopted by SDRC will replace the council’s current 2015 resolution in November.
It should soon be available for viewing on the council’s website and will be attached to the Southern Downs Planning Scheme.
