27 Jun 2024

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Councillors have just agreed Christchurch City Council’s Long Term Plan 2024–2034, outlining exactly what the city’s $16.8 billion budget will be spent on over the next 10 years.

“It’s a mix of investment in the things that are important, and a few changes to the way we do things to make the city run more efficiently and keep rates increases as low as possible,” Mayor Phil Mauger says.

“Our target from the beginning was a rates increase between 9% and 12%, without any of our services being compromised, and that all-important guidance from the community is what let us achieve that.”

Notable items in this LTP include:

  • $2.75 billion over the next 10 years for clean drinking water, developing and maintaining our stormwater and flood protection networks, and improving wastewater treatment facilities. 
  • $1.6 billion across the entire transport network, $1 billion of that on roads, footpaths and road infrastructure renewals and replacements, $199 million on major cycling projects and programmes, and $101 million on bus infrastructure improvements. Further work will be done on the Council’s transport programme when the Government releases its final Government Policy Statement in September.
  • $830 million on parks and foreshore, with big projects including $185 million on the parks element of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor, $87 million on sports field development, $23 million on Akaroa Wharf, $22 million on Te Nukutai o Tapoa – Naval Point and $21 million on Takapūneke Reserve.
  • There will be see $1.8 million in operational funding brought forward for climate adaptation work, to accelerate the Coastal Adaptation Planning Programme and boost community preparedness.
  • Councillors agreed to establish a Climate Resilience Fund to manage future changes to Council assets. This could include moving or raising lifeline roads, protecting water infrastructure, and ensuring community facilities exposed to hazards are more resilient.
  • $51 million on repairing and restoring heritage items around Christchurch and Banks Peninsula, including $20 million on the first stage of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers, $9 million on Cuningham House in the Botanic Gardens, and $15 million on strengthening and base isolation for the Robert McDougall Gallery.

  • Of the $140 million capital spend proposed for Christchurch City Libraries, there's $29 million budgeted for the rebuild of the earthquake-damaged South Library and Service Centre building, Ōmōkihi, which includes $9 million of funding from the Government over the first two years.
  • $64 million on recycling and transfer station improvements, including $22 million at Burwood and other landfills on aftercare management and mitigation, including $4 million at Okains Bay.
  • Introducing parking charges at the Botanic Gardens and Hagley Park to minimise the rates increase, generating almost $2.1 million a year, based on $4.60 for three hours.
  • For the first three years of the LTP, we’ll provide Orana Park with a $500,000 annual grant drawn from the Strengthening Communities and Capital Endowment funds.
  • In addition to the $110,000 Strengthening Communities Funding the Council is already providing to The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora for the next two years, we’ll provide $500,000 a year over the 10 years of the LTP, and a further $250,000 in 2024/25 and 2025/26 from the Capital Endowment Fund, and we’ll review the arrangements within three years to see if an ongoing grant from the fund is required – subject to the Council accepting an asset management plan from The Arts Centre. 
  • An additional $6.4 million over the first four years of the LTP for events.