Council updates  |  16 May 2025

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Residents have had their say on Christchurch City Council’s Annual Plan for the coming year and now workshops will start next week.

With consultation finished on the Draft Annual Plan 2025/26, Council staff have analysed the public submissions, and will present the findings to the Mayor and Councillors on Monday 19 May. 

Watch the briefing here. 

The Draft Annual Plan outlines the activities, services and capital projects the Council will deliver and how it will pay for them. 

Analysis of the more than 1,000 submissions shows a wide range of views on the issues consulted on including: 

  • Pausing the collection of the targeted rate for the Christ Church Cathedral reinstatement.  
  • Granting $5 million to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand for its planned extension.
  • Allocating money for a scoping study for a central city shuttle service.
  • Increasing the rates for infrastructure renewals in 2025/26, and reducing the amount the Council needs to borrow to fund its capital programme which makes it easier to have a balanced budget in future years. 

“This year’s draft plan proposed an average rates increase across all ratepayers of 7.58% for the coming year,” Mayor Phil Mauger says. 

“As part of continuing to deliver services as affordably as possible, staff continue to look at where operating costs may be able to be reduced and that draft rates figure is currently at 7.43%. 

“It’s important to remember that this figure is a work in progress, and the final rates increase in the Annual Plan will be influenced by how the debate shapes up over the next few weeks.” 

The Mayor and councillors will meet on Tuesday 24 June to finalise and adopt the Annual Plan.