Community…

Council Wins Award

Waimakariri District Council’s Regeneration of Kaiapoi won the Minister of Local Government’s Award for Council/Community Relations at the Taituarā (Local Government Professionals Aotearoa) Gala Dinner last week.

Chris Brown, General Manager Community and Recreation says, “This is really an award for the community who were so invested in the recovery of Kaiapoi, The Pines Beach and Kairaki.”

The judges said “This was a highly complex and challenging multi-year programme that is an exemplar for those communities needing to recover from a natural disaster. A planned purposive blending of engagement and some community empowerment has delivered a fantastic end result.”

The Regeneration Kaiapoi project has generated a vibrant landscape of interconnecting recreation and commercial spaces, rich with opportunities for cultural and social connection, out of earthquakedamaged land that was red-zoned by the Crown. Implementation of the multi-year project, delivered over five regeneration areas, covering some 80ha, has been community-led, in partnership with residents, visitors, businesses, mana whenua and central government.

From school children through to the elderly, everyone had an opportunity to shape these spaces. Ongoing partnerships continue to ensure community ownership of amenities.

Regeneration Kaiapoi aimed to restore these areas, which had been locked away since the 2010/11 earthquakes and return them back to the community. Today, the Kaiapoi Regeneration area attracts visitors and provides recreational opportunities, including new sports and recreation reserves, a Heritage and Mahinga Kai Reserve to foster cultural learning opportunities and traditional practices, a Marine Precinct, complete with floating pontoon and a heritage boat for sunset cruises, a sustainable forest and a dog park complete with its own “stick library” – just to name a few!

Changes to Draft Annual Plan Follow Deliberations

The Council has agreed on changes to its Draft Annual Plan after deliberating on submissions. The plan outlines a prudent and responsible budget which will allow council to continue to deliver a high level of service, while also keeping rates increases to a minimum.

Council has committed to a rates increase of 6.24% which is slightly higher than the proposed rate of 5.97%. However, it still sits significantly lower than the inflation rate of 6.7% (formerly 7.2% at the time the Annual Plan was drafted). It also means our District has had one of the lowest rates increases in the country.

Council deliberated over 61 submissions before agreeing on the changes to the 2023/24 Annual Plan. The reason for the rise is because Council has decided to fully fund the shortfall of $220k to the unsubsidised roading maintenance budget.

The majority of respondents to the Annual Plan requested Council fully fund the gap.

Central Government funding, through Waka Kotahi’s contribution is capped and does not take account of inflation. The addition of the $220k to the budget took the total average rate up to 6.24%.

Road maintenance is high on the priority list for residents and the Council wants to ensure it keeps up and meets those expectations. Council has also recently employed staff to undertake independent reviews to ensure that all roading work is meeting the quality and specification required in the terms of the contract.

Some of the key issues in the Draft Annual Plan include:

1. New regulations mean Council must test water supplies more regularly and potentially bring forward planned upgrades to remain chlorine-free

2. Immediate improvements need to be made to the stormwater network following flooding from extreme weather events

3. Inflation is affecting roading costs, and more is needed to make sure local roads remain at a high standard.