Successful Economic Kick-Start Policy to be Extended

Published on 26 May 2022

Council’s successful City Centre Development Incentive Policy is to be extended for 12 months.

In 2019, Council ring-fenced $2.5m of the charges developers are obliged to pay when building new accommodation developments in the City Centre. Since then, eligible developments have been able to offset a significant portion of those costs – with the aim of helping kick-start City Centre developments, revitalise the City Centre and grow the local economy.

“The Policy has allowed us to potentially assist five large current developments to date,” said Andrew Beswick, Council’s Director Business Services. “For example, the new Mission Australia housing complex in Duke Street was able to save costs through the Policy.

 “A guiding principle of the policy is that the development must be issued with a final occupation certificate within three years from the date the development application is lodged. The reason for this is that we wanted to provide a short-term boost for new residential developments which are key to helping stimulate the City Centre as a whole in the longer-term.”

While a total of $2,015,371 in exemptions is now linked to the remaining four applications, a significant portion of the original $2.5m remains available.

“Given that we still have funds left, Council has now extended the policy for an additional 12 months until 23 May 2023, or until the maximum cap of $2.5m is reached, whichever comes first,” added Mr Beswick.

NSW councils are able to levy contributions on developments that will increase demand on Council's services and facilities. The contributions ensure that the existing ratepayers are not required to meet the whole cost of providing new infrastructure in the Local Government Area.