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Wellington City Sets Course: Annual Plan And Amended Long-Term Plan Adopted
Wellington City Sets Course: Annual Plan And Amended Long-Term Plan Adopted

Scoop

timea day ago

  • Business
  • Scoop

Wellington City Sets Course: Annual Plan And Amended Long-Term Plan Adopted

Investment for the year ahead has been set with the adoption of Wellington City Council's 2025-26 Annual Plan and an amendment to the 2024-34 Long-term Plan. 'This is a significant moment for Wellington City Council. After needing to amend our Long-Term Plan last year, we've collectively proven our ability to find significant savings and still deliver essential services and infrastructure over the next decade,' says Mayor Tory Whanau. 'We can now move forward with the projects Wellington wanted, while also investing in much-needed infrastructure and setting up our city for future generations.' Councillor Rebecca Matthews, Chair of the Council's Kōrau Tōtōpū Long-Term Plan, Finance, and Performance Committee, says funding has been allocated to enhance public spaces, upgrade social housing, support vulnerable communities, foster arts, promote green initiatives including biodiversity, and address city safety. 'We've identified significant savings without compromising the quality of services the community relies on or delaying critical infrastructure projects.' The Council yesterday officially approved and accepted the plan and amendment, which was put out for public consultation between March and April. The 2025/26 Annual Plan and associated budget includes an average rates increase of 12 percent, including 1.4 percent for the sludge levy. This is slightly below the forecast for the year in the 2024-34 Long-term Plan. In total, the Council proposes to collect $628 million in rates during the 2025/26 year to fund services across the city. The Council is also creating a disaster resilience fund by selling some ground leases. This fund is designed to enhance Wellington's ability to recover from future disasters by providing a dedicated financial resource. Thursday's adoption was the final stage in the process of amending the 2024-34 Long-term Plan and 2025/26 Annual Plan and their respective budgets. The adoption is a requirement to implement rates for the 2025/26 year. The Council plans to invest close to $3.4 billion of capital expenditure in improving Pōneke over the next 10 years and nearly $9 billion towards running city services. The 2024-34 Long-term Plan was amended to reflect an October 2024 Council decision not to sell its shares in Wellington International Airport Limited. The amendment sought an alternative approach to addressing the key financial risks of underinsurance and lack of investment diversification. To manage the risks, the Council is increasing its borrowing capacity by reducing capital spending and creating a disaster resilience fund for use in emergency situations. Following the adoption of the Annual Plan, changes to fees and user charges have also been implemented. The Council approved the introduction of a $1-an-hour fee for the use of central city motorcycle bays, with a daily cap of $6, with the charge implemented on weekdays between 8am and exact date for implementation is yet to be confirmed. Most fees and user charges will increase, effective 1 July. There are several variables that impact on how fees and charges are set. These vary from activity to activity, and can relate to inflation, rising costs, market rates, policy alignment or the provision of new services.

Council vote to pass Wellington's amended long-term plan
Council vote to pass Wellington's amended long-term plan

RNZ News

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • RNZ News

Council vote to pass Wellington's amended long-term plan

Councillors during the public participation section of Wellington Council's long-term budget meeting. Photo: RNZ / Nick James Eight months after Wellington City Council back tracked over its Wellington Airport share sale, it has rubber stamped its amended long term plan. As part of the council's long term plan from last year, it agreed to sell its 34 percent stake in the Wellington International Airport to establish a new perpetual investment fund. In October that plan was shot down which required the council to go through an amended long term plan process. The changes saw then local government Minister Simeon Brown install Lindsay McKenzie on the council as a crown observer . In the months that followed council went through a process of trimming its investment in a range of services and facilities - soon of which caused community outrage such as plans to shut Khandallah Pool and Begonia House. Those two facilities have been saved, but councillors have decided to make cutbacks in several areas. Those include to slash the Paneke Pōneke cycleway budget from $115.2m to $66.9m, rescale and rephase low cost, low risk transport projects, which saved $67.8m, and push back some Wellington Zoo upgrades to name a few. Under the plan it would also create a perpetual investment fund out of the sale of council owned ground leases. The council have also agreed for an average rates increase of 12 percent for the next financial year. At the vote on the plan, councillor Rebecca Matthews said getting it across the line was an important first step in restoration of faith in the council as governors. Matthews thanked Lindsay McKenzie for his work. "I am not sure that the government ministers that appointed you would have anticipated that we would part as such good friends." She said the council had learned to do its processes better. Councillor Diane Calvert. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas Councillor Diane Calvert said she did not see the plan as a triumph. "It's a forced correction, created by the financial reality and the financial crisis that I have been warning about for the last several years that we are in." Councillors Ray Chung, Nicola Young and Tony Randle that voted against the plan. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Windbag: The little decisions that make a big impact
Windbag: The little decisions that make a big impact

The Spinoff

time17-06-2025

  • Politics
  • The Spinoff

Windbag: The little decisions that make a big impact

Two overlooked votes on obscure council policies could make a significant difference to new housing in Wellington. It's no secret that council rules and processes are arcane. Local government is a bureaucratic minefield of jargon and seemingly pointless minutiae. It's not uncommon for councillors to sit through hours of explanations from council staff, simply to understand the significance of an upcoming vote. Even then, there's often some confusion about what certain amendments mean and how they should vote to get their preferred outcome. Nowhere is that more evident than in Wellington's District Plan. Wellington City Council finalised the major decisions around housing density back in March 2024, but the process didn't end there. For more than a year, the council has continued to vote on increasingly minor and mostly uninteresting points. Last Thursday, the council completed the final touches, bringing the District Plan process to a close and officially adopting it. It was no mere signing ceremony, though; the meeting's agenda ran to 2,568 pages. The decisions made on the day weren't huge headline-grabbers, but two small but important points are worth delving into. The airport conundrum The first was about the airport's Obstacle Limitation Surface, or OLS, an obscure but powerful mechanism that gives Wellington Airport veto power over building heights anywhere near the airport. The airport is proposing a vastly expanded OLS zone, covering most of the city, at heights as low as eight metres. (Read more about the OLS controversy here.) Rebecca Matthews introduced an amendment to change the minimum height to 11 metres, which would ensure all townhouse developments are unaffected, and to exclude areas that are shaded by hills. Tim Brown, a former chair of the airport company, launched a spirited defence of the OLS, emphasising that the airport had never used the veto power. 'There is very clear evidence that the OLS has had no impact on densification. We effectively have a situation of international safety standards versus a very hypothetical concern about people's ability to undertake development,' he said. Matthews said she felt she was being asked to reconcile two contradictory ideas: 'that a massive increase in powers is essential to their operation and that it will never be used. I can't hold both of those ideas in my head at once.' A majority of councillors supported Matthews' amendment. However, the council doesn't have the power to change the OLS unilaterally. Essentially, all the council can do is write to the airport and ask them very nicely to change the OLS. If the airport doesn't agree, the matter could end up in the Environment Court. The e-bike apartment question Wellington City Council has made a significant investment – both financially and politically – in bike lanes and other infrastructure to encourage more low-carbon transport and lifestyles. If more people are going to take up cycling, especially if that means going car-free, they need the ability to store their bikes in their homes. To address this, council staff proposed a bike parking minimum for new apartments. It was a well-intentioned policy, but it went too far. It would have required developers to set aside 2.5 square metres of space, with access to electricity, for every unit. It provided enough space for every apartment dweller to store a large electric cargo bike. Large apartment developers would have had to set aside an entire floor for bike parking. That would increase the build cost for developers, which would increase the price they would need to sell units for to make their margins work. That either means apartments will be more expensive, or they won't be built at all. Exactly how much more expensive is hard to calculate – estimates from developer Stratum claimed as much as $58,000 extra per unit. Those numbers seem a bit too high to be credible, but it's inarguable that the policy would add some additional cost. The independent hearings panel, which oversaw the District Plan process, recommended reducing the requirement to one e-bike parking space per four units. But that number was plucked out of thin air and didn't make anyone happy. Ben McNulty introduced an amendment to remove the bike parking requirement. 'As we allow developers to make their own decisions on car parks, gyms, pool and laundry, so we should on e-bikes and micro-mobility,' he said. Iona Pannett saw it differently: 'Developers are like small children, they need to be told what to do. If we just let them do what they like, they will not provide enough.' The debate has echoes of a 2021 decision by then-transport minister Phil Twyford to ban councils from requiring a minimum number of car parks in new developments – a policy that won international praise in urbanist circles for enabling lower housing costs for people who don't need or want a car. The same financial argument could be made for mandatory bike parking, but bikes also have wider social benefits for dense urban areas. A majority of councillors voted in favour of McNulty's amendment, but some Green councillors were uncomfortable with how it might discourage cycling uptake, so they tasked council staff with finding an alternative solution. The final twist in this tale is that the new work may all be for nothing. Housing minister Chris Bishop was watching the process play out – and tweeting about it. He doesn't like bike parking minimums any more than Twyford liked car parking minimums, and there is growing speculation that he will ban them under his upcoming RMA reforms.

Housing Boost For Wellington As WCC Extends Te KaingaW
Housing Boost For Wellington As WCC Extends Te KaingaW

Scoop

time08-05-2025

  • Business
  • Scoop

Housing Boost For Wellington As WCC Extends Te KaingaW

Press Release – Wellington City Council The Committee approved Councillor Geordie Rogers amendment to the Housing Action Plan, seconded by Councillor Rebecca Matthews, which will extend Te Kainga by five years and increase the supply of affordable rental properties in Wellington. In a move to tackle housing affordability, Wellington City Council's Environment and Infrastructure Committee today voted 14-4 to extend the successful Te Kainga programme to 2033, paving the way for an extra 500 affordable rental homes. The Committee approved Councillor Geordie Rogers' amendment to the Housing Action Plan, seconded by Councillor Rebecca Matthews, which will extend Te Kainga by five years and increase the supply of affordable rental properties in Wellington. The decision adds five years to the two-year extension, starting in 2026, that officers had recommended. 'This decision extends our commitment to addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in Wellington,' says Cr Rogers. 'Housing people in our city centre creates vibrancy, reduces the city's emissions, and comes at no cost to ratepayers.' 'Te Kainga has already had a positive impact, and this extension builds on that success,' says Cr Matthews. Mayor Tory Whanau said the commitment to 1,500 new affordable rental homes represented a significant step in tackling housing affordability in Wellington. 'Working with our partners, we are making real progress in addressing one of our city's most pressing challenges and creating a more equitable Wellington for all,' says Mayor Whanau. Under Te Kainga, the Council partners with building owners to convert former office buildings into quality, family-friendly, affordable rental housing. The initiative aims to provide long-term affordable rentals in the city. Te Kainga currently has 290 apartments, including 78 that are in partnership with Victoria University. The upcoming addition of 183 new apartments, agreed upon by the Council for later this year, will bring the programme to nearly half of its initial goal of 1000 units by 2026. Besides providing affordable rentals, Te Kainga repurposes vacant commercial and office buildings, improving their earthquake safety. Sense Partners' research showed that the programme is also expected to bring several economic benefits, including savings on transport costs and more efficient use of city infrastructure.

Housing Boost For Wellington As WCC Extends Te KaingaW
Housing Boost For Wellington As WCC Extends Te KaingaW

Scoop

time08-05-2025

  • Business
  • Scoop

Housing Boost For Wellington As WCC Extends Te KaingaW

In a move to tackle housing affordability, Wellington City Council's Environment and Infrastructure Committee today voted 14-4 to extend the successful Te Kainga programme to 2033, paving the way for an extra 500 affordable rental homes. The Committee approved Councillor Geordie Rogers' amendment to the Housing Action Plan, seconded by Councillor Rebecca Matthews, which will extend Te Kainga by five years and increase the supply of affordable rental properties in Wellington. The decision adds five years to the two-year extension, starting in 2026, that officers had recommended. 'This decision extends our commitment to addressing the urgent need for affordable housing in Wellington,' says Cr Rogers. 'Housing people in our city centre creates vibrancy, reduces the city's emissions, and comes at no cost to ratepayers.' 'Te Kainga has already had a positive impact, and this extension builds on that success,' says Cr Matthews. Mayor Tory Whanau said the commitment to 1,500 new affordable rental homes represented a significant step in tackling housing affordability in Wellington. 'Working with our partners, we are making real progress in addressing one of our city's most pressing challenges and creating a more equitable Wellington for all,' says Mayor Whanau. Under Te Kainga, the Council partners with building owners to convert former office buildings into quality, family-friendly, affordable rental housing. The initiative aims to provide long-term affordable rentals in the city. Te Kainga currently has 290 apartments, including 78 that are in partnership with Victoria University. The upcoming addition of 183 new apartments, agreed upon by the Council for later this year, will bring the programme to nearly half of its initial goal of 1000 units by 2026. Besides providing affordable rentals, Te Kainga repurposes vacant commercial and office buildings, improving their earthquake safety. Sense Partners' research showed that the programme is also expected to bring several economic benefits, including savings on transport costs and more efficient use of city infrastructure.

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