Shortfall expected for infrastructure

Peninsula Chamber of Commerce president Mr Matthew Wales has expressed concern about a projected shortfall in infrastructure funding for the Peninsula.

He has said that expected Section 94 funding was lost as a result of the adjusted population projections for the Peninsula under the Peninsula Urban Directions Strategy.

"While the Chamber supports the Peninsula Urban Direction Strategy, we are very concerned that the downward adjustment in the population projections over the next 20 years will mean that less developer contributions will be available for roads, drainage, open space and community facilities," Mr Wales said.

"The current Section 94 Contribution plans for the Peninsula were based on population increases of around 15,000 people over the next 20 years.

"Therefore, the planned road upgrading, drainage construction, public reserves and community facilities were based on developer funds that would be generated from the level of development required to house those people.

"There is an expectation that those facilities, including the repayment of the monies used to build the Peninsula Leisure Centre, would be progressively delivered to the community as development proceeded.

"However, under the adopted Peninsula Urban Directions Strategy, the population growth has been revised to around 7000 people.

"Therefore, over half the developer contributions that were anticipated will in actual fact never be collected.

"The business community does not necessarily have a problem will lower population targets.

"However, it is now apparent that council will have to seriously revise its infrastructure planning based on lower revenue and less development.

"This also raises the serious issue of the Peninsula Leisure Centre which was partly funded by Section 94 Contributions that were redirected away from other open space projects because the scale of the centre was never anticipated in the original Contribution Plan.

"We now have a situation where it is unlikely that we will ever recover the redirected funds because the lower population figures will negate that extra revenue.

"That means that other vital open space projects will miss out and that it something that the business community is most unhappy about."

Press release, 21 March 2007 Matthew Wales, Peninsula Chamber of Commerce