Wollondilly Shire Council has welcomed t…

Wollondilly Shire Council has welcomed the release of the final assessment from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) on its Appin Contributions Plan.

IPART found that all the infrastructure included in the draft Appin Contributions Plan is essential and reasonable and that community liaison occurred in the preparation of the plan, which meets 27 out of 35 assessment criteria.

Mayor Matt Gould said, “This report validates Council’s position that a lot of new infrastructure is required to support the growth in new communities in Appin and that the developer, not existing rate payers, should pay for that.”

“We agree with IPART that the rezonings were released ahead of many planning strategies and funding commitments being in place.”

“The plan will provide $1.36 billion of vital local infrastructure, such as new parks, community facilities, local roads, cycleways and stormwater management to support new growth area communities around Appin.”

“Appin is one of the largest single growth areas to be released in Greater Sydney with no existing essential infrastructure to leverage development off.”

“Council’s position has consistently been that housing development in Appin is premature without a fully funded, binding infrastructure plan linked to the delivery of housing.”

“Providing local infrastructure for a new community comes with significant cost, so Council is pleased that this is now starting to be addressed.”

“I’d like to thank Council staff for their work on this important plan for ensuring the provision of adequate local infrastructure for our growing community.”

The draft Appin Contributions Plan was endorsed by Council on 25 June 2024, following a 38-day public exhibition period. For Council to levy residential development more than the cap of $20,000 per lot, the draft Plan had to go through IPART’s assessment process.

While Council had initially proposed to levy contributions of around $85,000 for a typical dwelling in the Appin Growth Area. IPART has recommended this rate be set at around $75,500 per residential lot and about $268,000 per ha of non-residential development.

The total cost of the plan will be $1.36 billion, to be raised through developer contributions over a period of over 30 years. These contributions will be for transport, open space, stormwater management and community facilities land for a revised estimated population of 55,950 and 18,650 homes.

Infrastructure for new growth areas is provided through a combination of State infrastructure such as water and sewer, major roads, public transport, schools and health services, and local infrastructure such as local roads, stormwater, parks, playing fields and community/recreational facilities, funded by developers through local infrastructure contributions to Council or by Council where it decides to do so.

Council reiterates its long-held position that large scale development in Appin is premature without a fully funded, binding infrastructure plan linked to the delivery of housing. Council is working with the NSW Government and land owners to seek to finalise a plan, but at this stage such a plan is not yet in place.