Dubbo Regional Council has welcomed changes to reforms to the infrastructure contributions system, announced today by the NSW Government.
NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes responded to concerns raised by the Local Government sector in relation to reforms to the developer contribution rules. Local Government NSW advocated for a number of amendments to ensure that councils and their communities would benefit.
Minister Stokes today announced modifications including:
- Allowing councils that currently fund community infrastructure from developer contributions to continue to do so;
- Ensuring that state contributions are spent in the region where they are collected;
- Re-setting the blanket rate councils can charge, known as 7.12 plans
Dubbo Region Mayor, Councillor Stephen Lawrence said the reform package has the vital role of setting the framework to ensure we have appropriate infrastructure in place that keeps pace with development.
“The changes announced by the Minister today are important for councils in NSW that are currently sustaining an unprecedented level of growth and economic activity, including Dubbo Regional Council,” said Councillor Lawrence. “In planning for our growth and development, council aims to ensure infrastructure is in place to match development trends and activity, and this new framework will allow council to move forward in infrastructure planning for the future.
“Council looks forward to working collaboratively with the Minister and Local Government NSW to realise these changes and to ensure our growth and development continues.”
