Decisions aplenty in Council’s September meeting
An impassioned call from some young Cantabrians, a decision on drinking water and the future of several Christchurch bus routes were the main events at the Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) September meeting on Wednesday.
Petition to protect braided river birds
A handful of students from Fernside School presented their petition to Council, seeking to create a seasonal bylaw to protect wrybills during nesting season.
Luka, Paige, Jack, Mackenzie and Frankie dialled in from their classroom to share their learnings and concerns about vehicle and dog access to the Rakahuri Ashley River during the delicate nesting season of the native wrybills near their school.
They presented a more-than-1000 signature petition to Make the Rakahuri Riverbed a Nesting Sanctuary with a Seasonal Bylaw that bans vehicles and dogs from the riverbed during nesting season (September-January).
They also asked for more signage and education to support the community, and for Environment Canterbury to enforce rules to keep the birds safe.
“As Enviroschools students, we believe small actions can make a big difference,” were the words that echoed following their presentation.
Public forum
Cody Cooper and Luker Chandler presented to Council on a variety of public transport-related concerns, including the frequency of stops on the Rolleston Express bus.
Council agreed to provide the presenters with a formal reply as soon as practicable.
Drinking water update
Council voted (10 for, 6 against) in support of the current Drinking Water Action Plan as being an appropriate proactive mechanism to deliver on our statutory role with regard to drinking water and source protection, and to respond to the September 2025 Notice of Motion.
Councillors supported continuing to take a cross-agency approach via the Drinking Water Action Plan aligned with our statutory role, which includes safeguarding the quality of drinking water at source.
An addition was made to the motion regarding the Drinking Water Action Plan to investigate and incorporate educational and awareness opportunities that the resource management reform may present.
Council’s Drinking Water Action Plan, presented to the Regional Delivery Committee in September 2025, sets out a coordinated response to nitrate contamination in private wells across Waitaha Canterbury.
Council voted (9 for, 7 against) that staff do not to proceed with further investigation into possible funding mechanisms to support drinking water suppliers with the costs of treatment or finding alternative sources.
Rather than funding treatment directly, the Drinking Water Action Plan focuses on equipping private well owners with the knowledge to make well-informed decisions regarding their drinking water supply, working with landowners to reduce nitrate losses, strengthening the evidence base, and working alongside agencies and industry.
Kaikōura flood recovery
Councillors unanimously approved an additional $5.09 million from general rates to keep Kaikōura’s flood recovery programme moving through the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years.
The funding will allow critical repair and resilience work to continue, helping restore damaged flood protection assets and strengthen the district’s resilience to future floods.
Updates to bus routes 44 and 135
The Council voted in favour of resolving reliability, punctuality and coverage issues on Route 44 Shirley/Westmorland and reducing Route 135 New Brighton/The Palms, one of the network's lowest-performing services. It follows feedback from customers received as part of the recent network review.
Changes to Route 44 include extending the route so it covers the Prestons subdivision in Marshland, and rescheduling its timetable to make it more reliable with a focus on the Westmorland terminus. Dallington will be covered by an extension added to Route 100 Halswell/Wigram to The Palms, allowing for the new Route 44 Prestons coverage.
Route 135 will be reduced rather than removed as initially proposed, with all stops between New Brighton and Prestons Road/Te Korari Street still being serviced.
Changes to these services are expected to take place in early 2027. Affected customers will be notified about the upcoming changes in advance.
Regional Spatial Plan funding
Council considered requests relating to the funding and delivery of the Canterbury Regional Spatial Plan.
It agreed to continue supporting the plan's establishment through staff and resources, while deferring longer-term funding decisions until more information is available on costs, scope and delivery arrangements.
Notice of motion
Councillor Peter Scott had raised a Notice of Motion regarding financial oversight, however he chose to withdraw it before it was discussed.