Supporting communities  |  10 Apr 2019

An analysis of public submissions suggests the majority of Akaroa ratepayers are willing to pay a targeted rate to help fund the new Akaroa Community Health Centre.

The Akaroa Community Health Trust has asked Christchurch City Council to provide it with a grant of up to $1.3 million and has suggested that the Council should recover the money through a targeted rate on all properties within the Akaroa subdivision of the Banks Peninsula ward.

An artist's impression of the new Akaroa Health Centre.

An artist's impression of the new Akaroa Community Health Centre.

The targeted rate would be an annual fixed charge that ratepayers would have to pay on top of their normal rates.

The Council has spent the past few weeks consulting residents in the Akaroa and Bays area about the proposed targeted rate.

In that time it has received 811 submissions, of which nearly three-quarters (602 submitters or 74 per cent) say they support the idea of paying a targeted rate.

Twenty-five per cent of the submitters oppose paying a targeted rate and 1 per cent did not indicate a preference.

Submitters were also asked if they would prefer to pay the targeted rate for a four or 10-year period.

Fifty-three per cent of the submitters said they would prefer a four-year period while 35 per cent indicated they would prefer a 10-year period.  The remaining 12 per cent did not indicate a preference.

A Hearings Panel made up of elected members will consider all the submissions and hear from those who want to speak to their submissions when it meets on Tuesday 16 April.

It will then make recommendations to the Council on:

  • Whether the Council should provide a grant of up to $1.3 million to the Akaroa Community Health Trust.
  • Whether it should recover the cost of the grant funding from a fixed charge targeted rate on properties in the Akaroa subdivision of the Banks Peninsula ward.
  • Whether the targeted rate should be set for a four-year, 10-year or some other period.

If the Council decides to proceed with a targeted rate, it will come into effect from 1 July this year.

Read the report prepared by Council staff for the Hearings Panel.