21 Feb 2018

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Christchurch City Council is releasing a draft Long Term Plan (LTP) that outlines its proposed plans for managing the challenges and opportunities facing the city over the next decade.

“The draft LTP is the first step in reaching an agreed vision for Christchurch. It will go out for public consultation in early March and that will be the public’s chance to tell us whether we’re on the right track or whether there are things they want us to do differently,’’ says Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

“There was robust debate at the Council meeting today and it is clear there are many issues that we need to work through together as a community. Councillors are aware that the community too has very definite views on what the Council’s priorities should be and we need to hear their views.’’

The draft LTP sets out the Council’s proposed work programme and priorities for the next 10 years and how it proposes to fund them.

The Mayor says the Council has tried to balance the need to get the basics right with the desire to be aspirational for the city.

“We want Christchurch to be a vibrant, prosperous and sustainable 21st century city and a place that is open to new ideas, new people and new ways of doing things.

“We still have a long way to go though in terms of our recovery from the earthquakes and the work that needs to be done. The reality is that work requires significant funding.

“We have to balance the significant costs of that infrastructure work against the speed at which we can do it and rates affordability.

“Rates revenue is a finite resource and we do need to consider new and different sources of funding. This is something we will be exploring with central Government and with our communities as part of the consultation on the draft Long Term Plan,’’ the Mayor says.

The Council will also be seeking the public’s feedback on what it should take into account when prioritising intersection improvements and street and footpath renewals.

“There has been a lot of feedback expressing community concerns about the dangers presented at a range of intersections and the state of many streets and footpaths. We want to hear from the community about how they would like to prioritize that work so we can establish a prioritisation framework,’’ the Mayor says.

“I urge people to have a look at what we’re proposing in the draft LTP and to provide feedback so together we can make the best decisions for our city. By the end of this process we want to have a clear vision for the future of our city.’

More details about how people can give their feedback and get involved in conversations about the LTP will be made available on Newsline and the Council’s Have Your Say webpages over the next couple of weeks.