City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Steven Issa is calling for Council’s own infrastructure contributions plans to remain in place when the NSW Government makes changes to the development contributions bill.
Cr Issa has written to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Rob Stokes, raising concerns about the proposed
reforms and advocating for the retention of Council’s new CBD and Outside CBD Infrastructure Contributions Plans.
“Parramatta is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia, but our success depends on our ability to fund local community infrastructure,” Cr Issa said.
“Over a number of years, Council has worked closely with the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE); the community; landowners and developers to create a new planning scheme for the City of Parramatta, including the CBD Planning Proposal and Outside CBD Local Environmental Plan.
“Drawing on our extensive local knowledge, we have also developed our own comprehensive contributions plans, so we are able to ensure we have the community infrastructure to keep pace with the development.”
Council’s new contributions plan for developments outside the Parramatta CBD, which will help bring in more than $1.24 billion to fund community infrastructure over the next 20 years, came into effect in September. A separate contributions plan for the Parramatta CBD has also been developed and will be considered by Council for approval in a fortnight.
“The City of Parramatta is forecast to increase by nearly 200,000 new residents and over 70,000 workers in the next 15 years, and these planning mechanisms will support this growth. With this incredible transformation comes increased pressure on our local facilities and services, so we need to ensure we have the necessary community infrastructure – such as libraries, community centres, open spaces, footpaths and cycleways – in place. Developer contributions play a key role in supporting this growth,” Cr Issa said.
“Council has demonstrated its willingness to work closely with the NSW Government to achieve significant growth in housing and jobs. I look forward to continuing this close collaboration and discussing our proposal so we can manage our City’s transformation over the next 20 years.”
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