UDIA thanks the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for the opportunity to comment on the assessment of the Draft West Dapto Contributions Plan 2024. UDIA offered a substantive submission to Wollongong City Council in late 2023 on the Plan and take the opportunity to reiterate our disappointment that funding for the full cost of the regionally significant Western Ring Road remains in the draft Plan following IPART’s assessment.
This outcome is particularly disappointing, given the clear evidence from IPART that the WDCP’s cost of transport works per person far exceeds all other Contribution Plans recently assessed by IPART.
We ask IPART to consider exploring options to avoid an inequitable outcome where new home buyers today are disproportionately impacted by this Road being costed into the CP. This could include excluding the Ring Road from the Draft Plan, or including it and deferring the charge associated with its upgrade (i.e., $23,000 per lot) for 2-3 years to allow time for it to be considered for funding under the H&PC or through central agency budgets.
Our full submission can be found at the download link below: