Govt raises developer fees

Remaining wary: Tweed mayor Warren Polglase fears the council may still be out of pocket for infrastructure despite being allowed to charge developers up to $30,000 for each new block of land.

Craig Sadler

Poll

Is the decision to lift the cap on developer levies a good thing for the Tweed?

This poll ended on 03 October 2010.

Yes

88%

No

11%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

A DECISION by the NSW government to lift a cap on fees that local councils can charge developers from $20,000 to $30,000 per block of land has been warily welcomed by Tweed Mayor Warren Polglase.

Cr Polglase, who was among mayors of fast-developing council areas to lobby for the change, yesterday said the relaxation of the cap was “Good news for the Tweed”, but warned “the devil is in the detail”.

Earlier this year Tweed Shire Council froze approvals for three huge projects, Cobaki Lakes west of the Gold Coast Airport, Kings Forest west of Casuarina Beach and The Rise at Terranora, arguing it would not be able to afford to upgrade roads for the extra traffic.

Cr Polglase said the relaxation of the strict fee cap would only apply to so-called “greenfield” development sites and the council had to provide the government of a detailed list of those areas by Monday. The government would then have to approve the exemption from the previous $20,000 cap.

“At this stage we have not lifted our ban on the three developments because Tweed Shire Council would be out of pocket under the $20,000 cap,” Cr Polglase said, adding that the alternative was to raise rates if the projects were to go ahead.

“People who have already bought in here have paid their fair share. Why should they have to pay more through additional rates?” he said.

Cr Polglase also warned the council's ability to charge fees to provide future funds for services such as surf lifesaving clubs and libraries was also still not allowed.

And a new assessment, according to Cr Polglase, had shown the estimated costs of future road plans to be double what was earlier thought.

Those included $15 million for an interchange at Kirkwood Road, Tweed Heads South.