Review for Development Contributions Policy

A policy enabling Christchurch City Council to recover the cost of providing infrastructure to support growth is being reviewed.

 The existing Development Contributions Policy was adopted in 2021 and now requires a review. 

The policy sets out the methodology used to recover the cost incurred by Council for providing growth infrastructure from those who benefit from the provision of that infrastructure, such as a new commercial development. 

The Council has had a development contributions policy since 2004. Development contributions are collected to fund infrastructure required to support growth including the provision of roading, water supply, wastewater, parks, swimming pools and libraries along with public transport and active travel infrastructure.   

Revenue that is received from development contributions helps to repay this over time, with approximately $35.2m recovered in the 2023/24 financial year. 

“A briefing provided to Councillors today sets out the draft development contributions charges and proposed policy changes. The charges have increased across all areas of the district compared to the 2021 policy. This has been driven by revised growth projections and increases in infrastructure costs,” says Council General Manager, Strategy, Planning and Regulatory, John Higgins.  

The changes are still in draft form and will be confirmed when a report goes to the Finance and Performance Committee on 27 November.

“One key change is to the catchments used to base development contributions charges. The Council currently uses a complex set of catchments which can be confusing for developers and difficult to administer. The policy proposes to introduce localised catchments when allocating costs for neighbourhood parks and road network, to reflect their primary use by nearby residents,” says Mr Higgins.  

The draft policy also proposes a move to two, larger catchment areas for water supply, stormwater and wastewater – Banks Peninsula and Urban - with the addition of a third catchment, Akaroa, for wastewater. This reflects the Council’s integrated approach to the delivery of water services. 

Changes are also proposed to the residential unit adjustments for small and large units. 

The current timespan of 10 years for existing demand credits, in place since 2007, is proposed to remain. These credits recognise that a development may replace previous demand on the site and provides the landowner with a credit if they develop within the 10 year timeframe.  

“The draft policy will be considered by the Finance and Performance Committee in November and staff will seek a decision to consult. We want to get the public’s feedback on the draft policy and subject to the committee’s approval, we will be inviting submissions from early December,” says Mr Higgins.