Developers to pay more

Developers in Picton and Blenheim will pay more for infrastructure and services under proposed new levies.

The levies for water, stormwater, wastewater and reserves, proposed to meet the cost of growth in Marlborough, will be included in the draft 2009-19 long-term council community plan intended for consultation in early April.

They were discussed at a Marlborough District Council community and financial planning committee meeting last week.

Currently developers are paying for infrastructure and services under the financial contributions policy of the Resource Management Act.

Instead, they will be charged under the development contributions policy of the Local Government Act, 2002.

Marlborough District Council corporate finance manager Martin Fletcher said the new levies would be a fairer way of charging developers and ratepayers for the region's assets.

He said a model drawn up to show how much should be charged was more than the proposed levies would actually be "because council wants to continue to encourage growth".

Proposed contributions for the 2009-10 financial year would see developers pay the lesser of 6 per cent of the land value of additional allotments created or $12,000 for reserves.

They would also be charged $2700 for a community facilities levy and land transport fees of $750 for urban development or $1500 for rural development.

In Blenheim, developers would pay a combined levy of $11,474 for water, stormwater and wastewater.

The current levy is $3000 to $8000, with no charge for stormwater.

In Picton, the levy would be $12,252 for water and waste water, with stormwater separately assessed if applicable. Currently the levy is $1960 to $4460.

In Renwick, under the new levies, water, stormwater and wastewater costs would cost $9509, down from $9824.

In Grovetown, developers would pay $10,404 for wastewater, down from $13,000.

Havelock's new levy would be $5451 for water and wastewater currently it is only $1500 for water.

Seddon's levy would remain at the current levy of $5300 for water in the urban area and $8600 in the rural area and $2887 for wastewater.

As a condition of resource consent, developers will also need to pay for works to mitigate environmental effects on or off site.

- The Marlborough Express