Councillor Alister James, chairman of the Annual Plan Subcommittee, says the Council has approved a “forwardlooking programme of improvements that has regard to the well being of the community for the present and the future”.

When it sat on 15 July the City Council had before it a plan which would have resulted in an over-all rates increase of 3.12%. The City Council budget year runs from 1 July to 30 June.

By sector, the final 2.81% over-all increase is allocated as follows: a 0.78% reduction for commercial and industrial ratepayers, an increase in residential rates of 3.88%, and a rise in the city’s rural rate of 4.19%. The key sector rates are in line with those projected in the Draft Plan issued in April this year.

Cr James says this year’s Plan meets all the requirements of the new Local Government Act. “The new Act says the role of local government is to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well being of communities, in the present and for the future and this plan is doing that and doing it well.

“We’re keeping up with our streets programme and other essential services, there’s money there for transport planning and those in the community who support arts, culture and heritage will be pleased with our initiatives in this area,” he says.

Cr James says this year’s Plan balances the needs of a growing city with the desire to contain cost increases. “I’m pleased we’ve been able to keep our rate increase to under 3% and that the indicative changes for future years are also modest. We’re doing that at the same time as maintaining existing levels of service for a growing city and providing for some new services and facilities.

“The South Christchurch Library is about to open and we’ve brought forward some money into this year so that we should have a start on a new library for Parklands later next year. The same is true for the Jellie Park pools upgrade.

“One fairly large change between the draft and this final plan is an extra $540,000 in capital this year for the North New Brighton War Memorial Hall project,” Cr James says. “That community’s presentation was very strong, persuasive and positive. The committee members were impressed and I think it made a big difference in what was decided. This extra money means that work can now start and the total upgrade’s likely to be finished this financial year.”

The Draft Plan was open for public comment from 23 April until 28 May. More than 300 people and groups made submissions, with more than 200 asking for more to be spent on current and new schemes. Many of these were from community organisations. Of about 100 pleas to do with streets issues, many asked that work be started earlier than has been planned. More than 300 people and groups made submissions.

City of Christchurch Clearwater Classic:
The Council meeting included strong debate on a proposal to support the international golf tournament at Clearwater.

Councillors decided to trim the initial idea, which had been to put in $400,000 a year for three years. They instead committed to a single $300,000 grant this financial year, with another $100,000 available to underwrite the tournament, if needed.

Its assistance depends on the tournament organisers giving local people free access to the event and that the tournament’s name contain the words “City of Christchurch Clearwater Classic”. It will also instruct the organisers to work with the Council’s Leisure Unit on ways to make the tournament viable over the long term.

Cr James says there are strong economic arguments in favour of supporting the Classic. “It has a worldwide TV audience of 350 million and would be the number one international and anchor event of which Christchurch City would be the major sponsor and a major beneficiary with real jobs and a real impact on visitor numbers, not just during the tournament but over the long term.

“The case put up by the organisers was pretty compelling. There’s nothing else in the South Island that gives such a huge international TV audience and it seems that, without this support in its early years, the tournament would be lost to New Zealand. The committee I think saw this as an economic development issue.”

Passive water sports development:
A proposal to help develop a facility for passive water sports was also modified. A major capital budget to assist a development proposal northwest of the airport was withdrawn and no position has been taken on where it should be built, if at all.

What remains is $150,000 to pay for investigations into whether such a facility is needed and could support itself and looking at where it might best be built. “The investigations will look at all available land options, the construction costs and the demand and other relevant issues,” Cr James says.

Any proposed Council support resulting from those investigations would be available for full public debate and feedback in next year’s Annual Plan round, he says.

Theatre Royal: The Council agreed to provide $2.3m in capital funds to assist the theatre’s $6.8m restoration project. It is expected that the Council support will be matched by similar levels of assistance from the public and central government. Another proposal, for money to help buy and renovate an old theatre on Tuam Street, was turned down. “For the city, the Theatre Royal has to be the priority,” Cr James says.

“It’s loved and well used and it’s an important heritage building.”Growing city: The plan predicts $2m more in rates revenue from growth — new subdivisions,building additions and new developments inside the city.

Youth initiatives:
Several projects which aim to assist the city’s young people have been earmarked for additional support. These include the 198 Youth Health Centre, the Canterbury Youth Workers’ Collective and Youth and Cultural Development.

Aranui Renewal:
“We had a number of submissions in support of the work being done under this umbrella idea,” Cr James says. “It seems to be generating positive outcomes and the committee wants Council support to continue.”

Botanic Gardens: Cr James told the Council he believed the Botanic Gardens would emerge over the next year as a major focus for development. The annual survey done for the Council of citizens’ opinions continues to show that Christchurch people regard the Gardens as the city’s top attraction and the Council would want to make sure its attractiveness was assured into the future.

Notes on Plan and Budget