IPART has released a Final Report on the developer contributions that The Hills Shire Council can charge for the residential and non-residential development within the Box Hill Precinct.
IPART Chair Carmel Donnelly said developer contributions help to fund infrastructure for the developing area, such as open space, stormwater, transport, and land.
“Our analysis of revised Contributions Plan No. 15 – Box Hill Precinct (2025) has found that the required community consultation has been undertaken and that the infrastructure in the plan is essential and reasonable,” Ms Donnelly said.
IPART has made 2 recommendations for the council to address. They are to adjust costs for land acquisition and increase its cost allowance for future land acquisition.
For Box Hill Precinct, The Hills Shire Council proposed a residential contribution rate of $77,360 for an average dwelling in the Killarney Chain of Ponds sub-precinct and $64,684 in the Second Ponds Creek sub-precinct. The proposed contribution rates have increased around 14% since the plan was previously reviewed and are around the average of the contribution rates in plans that IPART has recently assessed. Our recommendations make a slight change to the rates and total cost of the plan.
Ms Donnelly said IPART had provided the report to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.
“The Minister (or Minister’s nominee) will consider our recommendations and then advise the council on whether any changes are needed before it can adopt this revision of CP15,” Ms Donnelly said.
“If the Minister accepts our recommendations, the total cost of CP15 would decrease by 0.01% and some contribution rates would increase slightly while others would decrease.”
The total area covers around 691 hectares and the plan will provide infrastructure to 16,030 dwellings for an additional population of almost 49,000 residents. The plan commenced in 2014 and is expected to be completed by 2037. The Hills Shire Council has revised the total cost of the plan to be about $1.14 billion over this time to provide infrastructure to service the Box Hill Precinct. The Final Report is available on IPART’s website.
Media Contact: Mark O’Brien, 0427 105 865, media@ipart.nsw.gov.au.