Councillors adopt draft Annual Plan 2023/24

At today's Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) meeting, Councillors adopted the draft Annual Plan 2023/24, with community feedback open from 27 February.

The plan sets out what we are going to do during the 2023/24 financial year and how much it's going to cost. This includes how much we will need in rates from the ratepayers in the region.

The draft plan indicates a proposed 10 per cent increase in revenue from rates, compared to the current year. This is the increase in total income from all the rates we collect — the actual amount each property pays will vary depending on where you live and the value of your property.

Environment Canterbury Chair Peter Scott said in developing the draft Annual Plan, staff and elected members have been acutely aware of the financial impact the current high inflation was having on the region's people.

"We all want to protect our greatest taonga, our environment, but we must carefully manage the balance between completing the job expected of us, while also making sure the work is affordable and can be paid for. This means we need to balance affordability with action. It's a fine line and one we need to walk carefully.

"We also acknowledge that there are different views within the community. Some want us to do more, faster, while many want us to slow our work programmes due to affordability concerns," he said.

Chair Scott urges people to read the plan and provide any feedback once the period of public feedback opens later this month. The community will be able to find out more about the $270 million of work the regional council plans to deliver next year.

"This is a lot of work and represents a considerable collective investment by our community across a wide range of projects — from flood protection to public transport. We want to know if you think we're on the right track or where we could make changes."

More information will be available once the feedback period starts on 27 February. This is when the website will be updated and you will get the chance to let us know if you agree with our approach or not.

The engagement period will end on 3 April.