Nearly 7000 submit on Christchurch spending plan - now for the final debate

Tuesday, 23 April 2024

Efforts to save the Arts Centre may be responsible for thousands of submissions to the council’s 10-year spending plan, Philip Aldridge says.

An extraordinary number of Ōtautahi residents have told the Christchurch City Council where ratepayer money should be spent over the next 10 years.

Nearly 7000 people submitted feedback on the council’s draft long-term plan (LTP) - about three times as many than in 2021, when the last plan was created.

The high volume is likely due to the number of city institutions warning they’ll collapse without public funding and launching campaigns for support in the last few weeks.

The Arts Centre had the most visible campaign, with Philip Aldridge, director of the Arts Centre Trust, warning it risked becoming insolvent without council funding and would need to fold.

The trust wants the council to continue funding it by $1.83 million a year, which it received for the last three years under a one-off $5.5m heritage restoration grant.

The trust would cover insurance costs ($1.2m), rates ($205,000) and other maintenance and operational costs.

The council said it had allocated the Arts Centre $110,000 annually for the 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26 financial years from a strengthening communities fund for its operations.

Aldridge expected thousands of the submissions would be due to the slick Save The Arts Centre campaign, which was funded by sponsors and a private donation.

“Fortunately the public have spoken … it touched a chord with the public.”

Mayor Phil Mauger says a first look at feedback suggests broad support for gifting the Yaldhurst Memorial Hall to the local residents’ association to fix.

He felt optimistic about the result because the council listened to public feedback, he said.

Another popular item people submitted on - according to a Monday press release from the council - was Orana Wildlife Park, which made a plea for support last week.

Chief executive Lynn Anderson said it cost $5.1m a year to run the park, only 65% of which was covered by their 200,000 annual visitors.

The council’s action and spending on projects to tackle climate change will likely feature in many submissions. Several dozen School Strike For Climate protesters filled out feedback while occupying the main civic building on April 5.

It was impossible to raise ticket prices (currently $39.50 for adults, $12.50 for children), she said, so they were requesting $3m over three years, with the long-term goal of securing $1.5m in funding per year.

The park currently received $250,000 a year in council funding (and got a $400,000 one-off grant this financial year) but Anderson said only increased public funding would “halt our inevitable demise”.

It is possible the Christ Church Cathedral rebuilt team (CCRL) also captured the attention of submitters.

The Christ Church Cathedral restoration needs another $114m - but where it might come from is the critical question.

Although CCRL had not asked the council for a specific amount of money, it announced on April 6 that the cathedral project would be mothballed if it did not generate $30m by an August board meeting.

In a Monday press release, mayor Phil Mauger said it would be up to councillors to decide how much money was spent and where, during final deliberations.

The next step in the process is for public submissions to be heard in person in May, with the council debate and final approval of the plan in June.

Mauger said a first look at the feedback suggested broad support for gifting Yaldhurst Memorial Hall to the local community (the Yaldhurst residents association is willing to save the building from demolition on its own dime, if the council gives it to them for $1), and charging absentee owners of commercial land in certain suburbs more rates.

How much money is spent by the council, and where, won’t be finalised until after a public hearing in May and subsequent debate in June.

Feedback on the council’s proposal to get rid of free car parking around parks (including Hagley Park) was mixed, as was the amount the council intended to spend on cycleways.

The council’s action (or lack of) on climate change would likely be a point of contention. On April 5 - when several dozen School Strike 4 Climate protesters refused to leave the main civic building until the mayor spoke to them - they spent their time filling out LTP feedback forms.

As it stands, the draft plan proposes an average residential household rates increase of 12.4%, or $416 a year, for the financial year beginning July 2024.

Over a 10-year period, the council expected rates will rise by 57.8%, which will ensure the city’s utilities and other services are done well, and with as few loans as possible.

The plan covers $16.8 billion in spending, $9.1b of which is for day-to-day services like waste collection, public facilities and recreation.

Some $480m of capital spend will go towards renewing and upgrading water networks, while $226m will be spent on road, footpath and cycleway renewals.

The council has also earmarked $286m to finish Te Kaha stadium, which has a total budget of $683m.