February 2026 Council meeting highlights: Draft Annual Plan and key decisions

Environment Canterbury’s Council Chamber at 200 Tuam Street came to life on Wednesday for the second full Council meeting of 2026. At the meeting, councillors adopted the Draft Annual Plan 2026/27 for public feedback, approved key governance agreements, and agreed to sell several surplus council-owned buildings.

Draft Annual Plan 2026/27 adopted for feedback

The main agenda item for February’s meeting was the draft Annual Plan 2026/27.

The draft plan outlines how the regional council will continue to deliver our core services: Environmental Regulation and Protection, Community Preparedness and Response to Hazards, and Public Transport – all while ensuring we are well set up to respond to government reforms.

Environment Canterbury councillors adopted the draft Annual Plan 2026/27 for community engagement, which will start from 27 February through to 31 March.

Environment Canterbury Chair Dr Deon Swiggs said, “We’re providing a balanced Draft Annual Plan that does the work we said we were going to do.

It’s now time to go out to our communities to hear their feedback. We’ll continue to look for efficiencies within our organisation so we can deliver our plan better and stronger.”

Governance agreements and statements

Councillors also adopted and ratified a handful of governance agreements and statements, including the Canterbury Regional Council Local Governance Statement for the new triennium.

Every local authority must prepare and approve a Local Governance Statement within six months of an election. It gives shape to how a council engages with its community, how it makes decisions, and how the public can influence those things.

Surplus council property assets to be sold

A plan was agreed to deal with a handful of Council-owned building assets surplus to requirement, paving the way for them to be sold.

They are two buildings at the Kainga Depot, and an earthquake-damaged residential house in Lincoln. They are not being used and are incurring maintenance costs.

All the buildings are planned to be put on the open market for removal. The land will remain in Council ownership.

Next council meeting: View upcoming dates and agendas