Councillors map out their approach to the next Long Term Plan
Christchurch City Council Newsline: 9th March 2026
Councillors are beginning the work to shape how Christchurch City Council’s services, infrastructure and major projects will be delivered and funded over the next decade.
Mayor Phil Mauger says the Council is now turning its attention to developing the 2027–2037 Long Term Plan (LTP), which will outline what services and capital projects the Council will provide and how these will be paid for.
“With the Government proposing a phased in rates cap, we need to be strategic about how we plan for the next 10 years,” Mayor Mauger says.
“All our figures are indicative at this stage, but in principle we want our rates increases to be 1% less each year.
“That means our goal is for any rates increases to be no more than 6% in 2027/28, 5% in 2028/29 and 4% in 2029/30. If we can achieve this, it’ll mean we hit the rates cap of 2% to 4% that the Government wants to bring in from 1 July 2029,” Mayor Mauger says.
“We’re in the middle of preparing our Annual Plan for 2026/27, which sets out the services and capital projects we will deliver next year and how they will be funded. That plan will be finalised in June.
“In the meantime, we will continue our work with staff to prepare the LTP 2027–2037, making sure it reflects the needs and priorities of our communities.”
He says the national landscape is changing quickly.
“With central government progressing major reforms, including local government reform and Resource Management Act reform, we’re operating in an environment that could look quite different in the coming years,” Mayor Mauger says.
“We want to lay the groundwork now, so our LTP guides Christchurch confidently into this new period without compromising the level of service our residents expect.”
Read the Christchurch City Council’s letter of expectation [PDF].