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What is a Development Contribution?

Development contributions are fees collected for community and network infrastructure and parks and reserves to service new developments. They also ensure that the costs of new development are shared by developers rather than funded entirely by ratepayers.

Do I need to pay a development contribution?

You will need to pay a development contribution if your project increases the demand on stormwater, wastewater, water or road assets, or increases the demand for community facilities, and is:

A residential development for a new house, apartment or residential allotment, or
A non residential development for a new commercial, retail, or industrial building or activity that requires subdivision, building or resource consent.

Schools and charitable trusts can apply for a remission of their development contribution.

Application for development contribution remission (122KB Two pages PDF)

When do I pay a development contribution?

Development contributions must be paid at the following development stages:

Subdivision consent - before a 224(c) certificate is issued.
Land use consent – before commencing the consent or within 180 days of consent being granted, whichever happens first.
Building consent – before the code compliance certificate is issued or within 180 days of granting consent, whichever happens first.

Development contributions are payable on the first consent application for a development. Any subsequent applications are reassessed to ensure that you have been charged appropriately at each stage.Return to top

How much do I have to pay?

The amount payable is based on the number of household unit equivalents (HUE) the development generates. An HUE is the equivalent of one average dwelling. The contribution per HUE is outlined below in table 1.

Residential development

The number of HUEs is based on the number of new dwellings or lots developed.

Non-residential development

The applicant is required to provide information on the demand they expect to generate for each activity. The number of HUEs is calculated by dividing the development’s demand by demand per HUE in the district, (see table 2.)

The conversion of demand to HUEs will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will be based on a combination of industry standards and information provided by the applicant.

Table 1

Activity	Area where payment is required	Type of development	Contribution per HUE
Roads	Entire district	All developments	$876.38
Water supply	Where service is available	All developments	$559.13
Wastewater	Where service is available	All developments	$311.63
Stormwater	Where service is available	All developments	$54.00
Parks and reserves	Entire district	Residential developments only	$1,287.00
Community infrastructure	Entire district	Residential developments only	No development contribution required

The above prices are inclusive of GST.

Table 2

Activity	Demand per HUE
Water Supply	524 Litres/household/day
Wastewater	707 Litres/household/day
Stormwater	400 Litres/household/day
Roads	10 Vehicle trips/day

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Does the development contribution replace the financial contribution?

Development contributions will, in the main, replace the financial contributions in the District Plan (except for the parking contribution and any contribution associated with immediate off-site effects). However, a financial contribution may still be required to mitigate an effect on the environment that is not covered in the development contributions policy and may be a condition of a resource consent.

We have adopted a Development Contributions Policy in the Community Plan. For further information please refer to a full copy of the policy in volume 2 of the plan.