Christchurch has had its say on the Council’s budget

Hearings have begun on Christchurch City Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2023/24, with Councillors considering the more than 800 submissions made by the public.

The Draft Annual Plan 2023/24, which outlines the Council’s spending on projects and day-to-day services over the next financial year and how they'll be financed, was released for public feedback in March.

The public made 814 submissions before consultation closed on 10 April – a significant increase on the 515 received last year. Councillors are now considering every submission, and have begun hearing oral presentations from the 50 individuals and 51 groups who wanted to have their say in person or via an audio-visual link.

The hearings are taking place from Thursday 27 April to Thursday 4 May over five sessions. See the schedule here.

“The challenge for the Council on this Draft Annual Plan was to keep rates increases as low as possible for households in a difficult economic environment, while continuing to deliver the basics and invest in Christchurch's future,” says Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale.

“Our analysis of the submissions so far shows that in general, the community appreciates our efforts to keep rates down. They’re also generally accepting of our proposed change to the differential on business properties.

“Other topics that got a lot of submissions were the Excess Water Supply Targeted Rate, the Wheels to Wings cycleway, the South Library and Service Centre building, and the proposed sale of a piece of land in Diamond Harbour.

“All the submissions will be happening in public, and we’re encouraging people to check in when they can via livestream,” Mrs Baxendale says.

Watch a livestream of the Hearings.

Read the agendas for the Hearings, including all the public submissions.

The Annual Plan 2023/24 is scheduled to be adopted by the Council in June, and will come into effect from 1 July.