Christchurch confirms its year ahead
Christchurch City Council Newsline: 23rd June 2026
Christchurch City Council’s budget for the coming year will see investment into some of the city’s most iconic heritage buildings as well as a smaller-than-planned rates increase.
The Annual Plan 2026/27 was adopted today and sets out the key activities, services, and capital projects the Council will deliver over the next 12 months and how it will pay for them.
Mayor Phil Mauger says the budget is an impressive achievement given the constraints and demands being placed on the Council.
“On top of the tricky financial environment the whole world has been experiencing for the last few years, we wanted to draw a line in the sand with some of the heritage buildings we have in our central city that are in need of restoration.”
The Annual Plan allocates $15 million towards the restoration of Canterbury Museum, $4 million towards the Christchurch School of Music, and $15 million towards the Christ Church Cathedral (plus $1.8 million to complete the Council’s original $10 million commitment).
“We all agree on the significance of these buildings, but the scale of the problem has led to a decade of paralysis as we try to determine where responsibility lies for some of these buildings, and who should do what first.
“This Council has decided to show the leadership our community expects and lock in our own contribution, conditional on other players doing their bit.
“By providing a level of certainty that should help other funding sources come to the party with more confidence - we think we have a $30 million solution to a $300 million problem.”
If you include the Canterbury Provincial Chambers and Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre, it’s estimated that the total funding gap between the projected restoration costs of the iconic heritage buildings and all confirmed contributions is approximately $290 million.
“Best of all, the money we’re using for this comes from the current year’s forecast operating surplus, so we haven’t had to increase rates to cover our commitment.”
Mayor Mauger says any remaining balance from the surplus would go towards repaying Council debt, and if the conditions for granting money to the iconic buildings can’t be met, that allocated money would go towards repaying debt too.
“Also in our thinking is the proposed cap on the rates as we work on next year’s Long Term Plan 2027–2037,” Mayor Mauger says.
“We want to see rates increases at no more than 6 percent, 5 percent, and 4 percent over the next three years respectively.
“Christchurch’s Annual Plan lays the groundwork for achieving that. Wise investment now means savings in the future. Our investment into our infrastructure and services reflects this – it’s focused, necessary, and every decision has been made with people’s ongoing financial concerns in mind.
“This process has been a great partnership between our residents, our elected members, and Council staff. We’re confident that, working together, we can chart a steady financial pathway for Christchurch through the next few years.”
Mayor Mauger says changes from what was proposed in February reflect community feedback and shifts in the wider economic environment the Council is operating within.
Other notable items in this Annual Plan
- An average rates increase for all ratepayers of 7.83 percent - lower than the 7.96 percent proposed in the Draft. This translates to a 7.35 percent increase for the average household (or an extra $5.98 a week), 8.56 percent for business properties, and 7.72 percent for rural properties.
- Operational expenditure of $1.37billion on the day-to-day services the Council delivers. This is $42.6 million higher than what was proposed in the Draft Annual Plan, due mainly to the Council’s commitment to funding the restoration of the city’s iconic buildings.
- Capital spend on infrastructure and facilities of $597.4million. This is $1.5million lower than what was proposed in the Draft.
- Proceeding with the planned rates increase of 0.25% for the Climate Resilience Fund.
- Proceeding with the planned $300,000 additional contribution to the Environmental Partnerships Fund.
- Proceeding with the planned $7.12million contribution to the Council’s contestable community grant funding schemes.