Special rates to be imposed at the Kings Forest subdivision on the Tweed Coast will be reduced after a review of costs

An independent review has revealed a significant reduction in the resources the council will need to channel into environmental management at the future 4500-lot development.

The area which will be home to the Kings Forest development on the Tweed Coast. Picture by Luke Marsden.

A proposed special rate for properties in the future Kings Forest development on the Tweed Coast has been slashed by a total of about $400,000 across the entire subdivision.

Tweed Shire Council has announced a reduction to the special rate following a revision of its projected monitoring costs.

The special rate is required to ensure the environmental lands in the development are maintained and protected in an ongoing basis.

Councillors unanimously voted in support of a decrease at the June 3 meeting.

The council informed the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of its intent for a special rate variation for Kings Forest in November 2020 and this request was formally lodged with IPART in February.

The Kings Forest developer had expressed concerns about the special rate proposed; the council initially sought to raise $1,540,000 per year, with indexation applied each year by the rate pegging amount.

This would equate to $342 per lot, per year across the 4503 lot subdivision, set to be built to the west of Casuarina.

Tweed Shire Council has reviewed its proposed special rate for Kings Forest. Picture by Luke Marsden.

The council consulted two independent third-party providers to further look into the estimated costs related to environmental management and that review found reporting was only required every two years, rather than anually.

The review also found the proposed works would relate to council-owned land only, and excluded land managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The council has therefore revised its annual special rate down to $1,158,966, or about $257 per lot, pet year.

That amounts to a reduction of 25 per cent.

Tweed mayor Chris Cherry welcomed the outcome.

She said all funds from the levy could only be allocated to the management of environmental lands at Kings Forest and not used for other purposes.

“The special rate will ensure Kings Forest‘s precious environmental lands will be maintained and protected by Council in perpetuity,” Ms Cherry said.

“The special rate will be levied solely on properties associated with the Kings Forest development and be used only for the purposes for which it is raised.

“It‘s important the people who live at Kings Forest in the future are responsible for the cost of the upkeep and maintenance of the environmental lands around the estate, which will be a significant benefit to those who live there.

“A similar special rate applies to residents of Koala Beach at Pottsville, where the funds are used to ensure the ongoing protection of the wildlife corridor and particularly the threatened Tweed Coast koala population.”

The special rate has been included in the council’s draft budget for the 2021/22 financial year.