Mark H. Durkan and John O'Dowd discuss lack of sewer funding that is holding up Derry housing development
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00:00I know the Chair and a couple of other Members have touched on the Norrinnan and Water issue.
00:06You were on the media today about it, Minister, with suggested proposals
00:12around how we can tackle in part this issue,
00:18and allowing developer contributions is one part of that.
00:26I was just wondering how you would envisage that working?
00:30The case study that was given on the radio today was in my own constituency.
00:36There's a pumping station that needs £15 million investment.
00:40This is hindering development of a site that's been in planning for all of my political life, which is 20 years now.
00:48What level of contribution would a developer be expected to make?
00:54Because you don't want to get into a situation as we see with roads, again in my own constituency at Call Roundabout,
01:00where a developer does make a percentage of the total cost contribution,
01:04but DFI, or in this case A&E Water, not being in the position that they pay up their share.
01:10I'm happy to come back to you about Call Roundabout, but I don't want the Chair to suggest we're having two or three questions in the one.
01:16Just before you come in, I agree with you in a sense.
01:20It's not only the British Government that was elected on the hope that things would change.
01:26Our own administration has a responsibility to make change.
01:30Before you came in, I read out a list of initiatives and projects that are moving forward within DFI.
01:36When I came into DFI, the first time and this time, I said to my officials quite clearly,
01:40we can spend all day talking about what we can't do, or we can spend our time talking about what we can do.
01:46It is an important point and a valid point.
01:50In terms of developer contributions, we are now currently examining whether we need legislation to allow developers to make contributions to wastewater treatment works.
02:00As you know, they already can do it in terms of separation of foul water from rainwater.
02:06Can we develop that further?
02:08What exactly that legislation will look like, I'm not at that point yet, Mark.
02:12What the policy will look like, I'm not at that point yet.
02:14That policy will have to be developed in conjunction with this committee, in consultation with developers and others as to how it would work.
02:22But I see it as one of a suite of solutions to the challenges A&E Water face.
02:30Developer contributions, working with nature in terms of the SUDS bill and other initiatives we can carry forward,
02:36and working with my executive colleagues to secure additional funding for A&E Water.