New policy ensures people building contribute to cost of growth

With growth continuing across the Far North, the council has adopted a new development contributions policy to ensure the costs of growth-related infrastructure are shared by those creating the demand, rather than falling mainly on ratepayers.

The Utu Whakawhanake – Development Contributions Policy 2025 was formally adopted at the council’s Extraordinary Meeting on 7 October 2025 and will take effect from 29 May 2026. The decision reinstates development contributions, enabling the council to collect contributions from developers to help fund essential infrastructure such as water, wastewater, stormwater and roading upgrades needed to support new developments.

When the council removed development contributions in 2015, most of the costs of upgrading growth-related infrastructure shifted to ratepayers. Reinstating the policy helps rebalance this, ensuring that those driving growth contribute to the infrastructure that supports it.

The policy also introduces a requirement that contributions collected within a specific catchment must be spent on capital projects within that same area, improving transparency and local fairness.

Several refinements were made following public consultation. The exemption for residential and papakāinga development on Māori land has been clarified to ensure it only applies to land identified as Māori freehold land under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.

The outgoing council chose to finalise and adopt the policy before the start of the new council term to ensure continuity and alignment with the Proposed District Plan and Annual Plan cycles. Work on the policy began several years ago and has involved early engagement, formal consultation, and detailed analysis of public submissions.

You can view the adopted policy here. It’s important to note that development contributions will not be charged until 29 May 2026, and any updates to pricing may be reflected in the council’s Annual Fees and Charges schedule.