Incentives Continue
Two incentive policies — Investment Incentive Policy and Infrastructure Charge Deferral Policy — were extended until 2029 after unanimous decisions at Tablelands Regional Council’s Ordinary Council Meeting today.
‘These two policies improve housing opportunities in our community, which is important in light of our ongoing economic and population growth, tight rental vacancy rate and underrepresentation of medium- and high-density dwellings,’ said Mayor Rod Marti.
‘Our Investment Incentive Policy allows for the waiving of infrastructure charges for the construction of affordable medium-density dwellings, the development of important industries, and the support of major projects.
‘This includes apartments, flats, units, townhouses, day care centres, medical centres, manufacturing facilities, industrial development, aged care facilities, hotels and more.
‘Last year we extended the policy to include duplexes anywhere in the region.
‘We’ve approved 14 applications so far worth $38.63M, with $677,747.40 in infrastructure charges deemed eligible for a waiver or part-waiver.
‘Nine applications, with $425,996.28-worth of fees, remain eligible subject to the applicants continuing to meet the conditions.
‘There’s more than $1M left in the budget to support this policy and the extension means there is enough time to plan and construct new developments.
‘We’ve also extended the dates for the Infrastructure Charge Deferral Policy, which allows for the deferral of infrastructure charges for subdivisions to the point of sale or six months from the sealing of a survey plan.
‘This helps with cashflow by allowing charges to be paid at settlement, which takes pressure off residential property developers and encourages them to release more lots to the market in each stage.
‘By extending the policy to 2029 we are providing longer-term certainty to the industry.
‘We are doing whatever we can to facilitate these types of construction in our region to help create more affordable housing, generate jobs and stimulate our local economy,’ Mayor Marti said.