Tangible Incentives Offered to Business (Latest GM Column 20 October 2018)

Council has a very keen focus on attracting and supporting new and expanding businesses across the whole local government area with the overall aim of helping grow the region’s economy.

Our enviable lifestyle and location does give Coffs Harbour a significant advantage in enticing new business, but we appreciate that starting a brand new enterprise is still a potentially daunting step to take so we put considerable effort into ways that we can assist.

The 6 Degrees programme is a good example of how we support local home grown startups and entrepreneurs in their earliest stages to help get their ventures off the ground. Similarly, our economic development, tourism, events and planning strategies all have a goal of assisting in the creation of new jobs and a more vibrant and diverse local economy by creating an environment that is beneficial to business.

But Council has also recently adopted a Business Incentive Policy that means we can now offer real, tangible discounts to businesses who are seeking to set up new premises or expand existing ones.

They include:

An Employment Generating incentive: if the proposed business development will create jobs across the local government area, it may be entitled to a 40% discount off the Developer Contribution for business premise development. Eligible Business enterprise: a DA related to the establishment or development of a small business in a rented premise may attract a developer contributions discount depending on the size of the development. For example, converting an existing retail space to office space, or vice versa. This incentive can be used cumulatively with the Employment Generating incentive. Developer Charges Incentive: provides an opportunity to reduce upfront establishment costs, such as developer charges for sewer and water, for all commercial and industrial development where there is to be a change of use. For example, a clothing retail space being converted into a dry-cleaning business which will have a higher water usage. Enhanced Deferred Payments Incentives: someone developing new or existing premises can defer the payment of the required Developer Contributions to help reduce the initial costs of establishing or growing the business.

View the Business Incentive Policy in detail.