Annual Plan 2025/26 deliberations and decisions
Council will later this month consider adopting the Annual Plan, which would result in an average total rates increase of approximately 5.8 per cent, down from the proposed 9.9 per cent total average increase that went out for consultation earlier this year.
As part of the draft Annual Plan consultation, we asked the community what they thought about our proposed changes to the public transport work programme. We also took the opportunity to consult on proposed changes to fees and charges for our consenting service.
While reflecting on the feedback, a number of decisions were made during Council’s deliberations held at the end of May 2025.
Decisions included not to proceed with a proposed Darfield to Rolleston public transport trial, implementing improvements to Route 85 (Rolleston to City direct) and Route 86 (Darfield to City direct) subject to fleet availability, increasing support for community vehicle trusts, and setting up a strategic framework to assess requests for public transport outside the existing Greater Christchurch and Timaru networks.
Changes to resource consent fees and charges were also approved and the new Fees and Charges Schedule was adopted, effective from 1 July 2025.
The final Annual Plan will be considered for adoption by Council on 25 June 2025.
A total of 744 submissions were received during the consultation period (28 February–3 April 2025), with strong engagement from Selwyn and Christchurch residents.
Chair Craig Pauling thanked those who took the time to submit on the draft Annual Plan. “Your feedback was integral to the conversations the councillors had around the table during the deliberations.
“I was pleased with Council’s detailed and good-spirited debate, and our consistent focus on strategic outcomes for Waitaha/Canterbury. We don't always get the things we want, and some of the decisions we had to make were unfortunately the result of changing Government policies and investment priorities. But I feel we’ve landed in a good place for the region.”
Craig Pauling, Chair, Environment Canterbury
Your feedback and Council decisions
We received feedback on the proposed changes to public transport, consent fees and charges, and other general topics as part of our consultation. Below is a summary of your feedback and what has been decided by Council as part of the final Annual Plan 2025/26.
Public transport
Consultation on public transport included Greater Christchurch bus zones, a proposed trial of a Darfield to Rolleston bus service, and proposed improvements to the Route 85 Rolleston-to-City direct bus service.
Fare structure
What you said:
- 70 per cent of 271 submitters supported a 2-zone fare structure for Greater Christchurch.
- Some preferred retaining the flat fare or introducing distance-based fares.
What Council decided:
- The 2-Zone fare structure was approved for implementation in Greater Christchurch from February 2026, subject to ticketing system readiness.
Darfield to Rolleston trial service
What you said:
- 79 per cent of 234 submitters from impacted areas did not support the proposed trial.
- Concerns included limited appeal, high cost, and preference for improving Route 86 instead.
What Council decided:
- The trial service will not proceed.
- $327,000 will be removed from the draft plan.
Route 85 (Rolleston-Christchurch)
What you said:
- 70 per cent of 145 submitters from impacted areas supported a 2-year trial of service improvements.
- Feedback highlighted overcrowding and the need for more frequent and extended services.
What Council decided:
- Service improvements are approved.
- There will be a $405,000 reduction in rates revenue due to underutilised budget, subject to fleet availability.
General public transport
What you said:
- Affordability: 42 submitters raised concerns about rates and service costs.
- User-pays model: 93 submitters advocated for this approach over ratepayer funding.
- Requests for new services: in areas like Governors Bay, Lyttelton, and Aranui.
What Council decided:
- Route 86 (Darfield–Christchurch): will have additional capacity trialled, subject to fleet availability.
- Inflation adjustment: local share of inflation for bus/ferry contracts will be reduced from 5 per cent to 3 per cent, saving $2.2 million.
- EV programme: is postponed for 2025/26 and 2026/27, saving $543,000 and $1.5 million respectively.
- Network Safety Officer team: is approved as a permanent activity.
- Event response (Te Kaha – One NZ Stadium): approved use of up to $100,000 (2025/26) and $400,000 (2026/27) from reserves.
- Community Vehicle Trusts: adjusted targeted rates to cover 49 per cent of grant funding (an additional $20,000/year) and an annual inflation adjustment of 3 per cent (an additional $3,000/year).
- Public Transport Futures: $250,000 for community engagement for existing Greater Christchurch network review.
- Public Transport Futures: $80,000 to explore support for Community Vehicle Trusts.
- Public Transport Futures: $150,000 to develop a strategic framework for new service requests.
Consent fees and charges
We also took the opportunity to consult on proposed changes to our consent fees and charges, including deposits and hourly charges relating to consents, which could impact users of this service, and everyone who pays rates.
Deposit structure
What you said:
- 64 per cent supported simplifying the deposit structure.
What Council decided:
- A new flat rate deposit structure has been approved (reduced from 19 to four categories).
Fixed fees
What you said:
- 67 per cent supported adjustments to fixed fees.
What Council decided:
- Adjustments will be made to various fixed fees and deposits.
Increase in hourly charges
What you said:
- 57 per cent supported increasing hourly charges to meet the 66 per cent user-pays cost recovery target.
What Council decided:
- Approved an increase at an average of 14.1 per cent to meet the 66 per cent user-pays target. A proposed 25% increase was rejected.
It was noted that there was some confusion among respondents about how these changes would affect rates.
Other decisions and feedback
Below is a summary of general feedback received from you as part of the consultation, and other decisions and notes made by Council as part of its deliberations.
General feedback
You said you supported:
- Biodiversity and biosecurity funding, including weed control and habitat protection.
- Flood management and improved water monitoring.
- Climate change adaptation and long-term planning.
Other decisions made by Council
- Service measures: updates to targets for planning, public transport usage, and zero-emission travel.
- Outcome measures: revisions to align with improved methodologies for assessing outcomes and alignment with national goals, including:
- Aquatic ecosystem health
- Air quality exceedances
- Public transport accessibility and usage
- Inclusive access to transport services.
- Regional Rail: approved engagement with KiwiRail to explore a passenger rail business case (Rangiora–Rolleston).
- Mass Rapid Transit: a $200,000 proposal was rejected.
- Waitaha Action to Impact Fund: proposed increases for biodiversity and biosecurity projects were not approved.
Financial assumptions made by Council
- Interest rate: reduced from 5 per cent to 4 per cent, saving $500,000.
- Staff vacancy rate: Increased from 5 per cent to 7 per cent, saving $1.4 million.