3 May 2022

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Councillors will consider more than 500 submissions from the community as hearings begin on Christchurch City Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2022/23.

The Draft Annual Plan, 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 comment in March.

Five hundred and fifteen submissions were received before the consultation closed on 18 April.

Councillors will now consider every submission, and hear oral presentations from the 66 individuals and 56 groups who indicated they wanted to have their say in person or via an audio-visual link.

The hearings will take place from Wednesday 4 May to Wednesday 11 May in five sessions.

“Our Draft Annual Plan was focused on sticking to the game plan we landed on during last year’s Long Term Plan process,” says Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale.

“That means doing what we’ve previously heard the public want from us and doing it well. This means keeping our water supply clean and safe, maintaining our roads, footpaths, facilities and assets, and adapting to climate change, while keeping rates increase as low as possible.

“Our analysis of the submissions so far shows that the community is generally in support of this continued approach and to keeping rates low, but it’s shone a light on some other areas for the Mayor and Councillors to consider in the coming year.

"For example, prioritising upgrades to roading and intersections and improving our cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. There were a number of submissions in relation to proposed waste minimisation charges, development of a new Edgeware Pool and the Performing Arts Precinct. All the discussion 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 2022/23 is scheduled to be adopted by the Council in June.