29 February 2008
Sydney Waters announcement that it has reduced developer charges for water and wastewater services has been welcomed by the Urban Taskforce.
This reduction follows a similar reduction in residential developer charges in nine areas for water and wastewater services that Sydney Water announced in October 2007.
As a result the combined water and wastewater charge does not increase by more than $50,000 per hectare over last years prices, Mr Gadiel said.
We congratulate the NSW government and Sydney Water on their decision to limit the increase until the outcome of current review by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal is implemented.
We are also pleased that the capped charges are backdated to 1 July 2007 and those who have paid a higher charge will receive a refund.
The Urban Taskforce has made a submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, arguing that the system of ˜postage stamp pricing is an illusion because homebuyers in new housing areas have to borrow a lot more money to cover the cost of connections to the water grid.
A homebuyer may have to borrow an extra $10,000 to cover the cost of Sydney Water charges that are passed onto them when they buy a new home, Mr Gadiel said.
This means theyll have to repay an extra $31,000 in loan repayments over the life of the loan, or an extra $85 a month.
This homebuyer will effectively be paying three times as much for their water usage, when compared to a home owner in established housing.
It means that someone who buys a federation home in North Sydney, or a 19th century Paddington Terrace is only paying a third of the costs faced by a new home buyer in North Richmond.
Were asking the Independent Pricing Tribunal to abolish these charges.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
The NSW development industrys annual turnover is $35 billion and employs 180,000 people, accounting for six percent of the States total employment. It is the fifth largest contributor to the State economy.
Media Enquires:
Aaron Gadiel,
Chief Executive Officer,
Phone: 0417 477 904 or (02) 9238 3955
