ft Long Term Plan 2012-2022
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan - 2012-2022
www.hurunui.govt.nz
66 Carters Road
PO Box 13
Amberley 7441
Phone: 03 314 8816
Fax: 03 314 9181
email: info@hurunui.govt.nz
web: hurunui.govt.nz
Front Cover - Overlooking the Waiau Township from the Leader Road.
2
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Contents
Introduction
5 Welcome from the Mayor and CEO
9 About the Plan
11 How Your Rates are Spent
12 Key Issues
20 Financial Strategy
32 Statement Concerning Balancing
of the Budget
34 Community Outcomes
36 Aligning Our Long Term Plan with the
Government’s Drivers for Economic
Growth
40 Water Management
43 Sustainability
Township Profiles
46 Hurunui District Profile
52 Amberley Ward Profile
55 Amuri-Hurunui Ward Profile
60 Cheviot Ward Profile
62 Glenmark Ward Profile
65 Hanmer Springs Ward Profile
Council Activities
69 Introduction
71 Water Supply
79 Sewerage
84 Stormwater and Drainage
88 Roads and Footpaths
94 Community Services and Facilities
96 Community Services
102 Property
108 Reserves
112 Environment and Safety
115 Emergency Services
119 Resource Management
122 Compliance and Regulatory
Functions
126 Waste Minimisation
130 District Promotion
135 Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
141 Governance
Financial Information
146 Financial Introduction
148 Forecasting Assumptions
153 Statement of Accounting Policies
171 Funding Impact Statement (and Rates
System)
182 Rates System
193 Reserve Funds
198 Council Controlled Organisations
Council Policies
200 Policy Introduction
201 Development Contributions Policy
217 External Liability Management Policy
219 Investment Policy
221 Rates Remission for Biodiversity
Policy
222 Rates Remissions on Land Affected by
Natural Calamity Policy
223 Reserves Funding Policy
224 Revenue and Funding Policy
251 Significance Policy
258 Treasury Risk Management Policy
262 Internal Financing Policy
Appendices
265 Representatives of our District
266 Waste Management and
Minimisation Plan Summary
268 Hurunui Waiau Zone Implimentation
Programme
270 Water and Sanitary Services
Assessment Summary
272 Levels of Service Water and Sewer
275 Rates: Sample Properties
281 Independent Auditor’s Report
3
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Introduction
5 Welcome from the Mayor and CEO
9 About the Plan
11 How Your Rates are Spent
12 Key Issues
20 Financial Strategy
32 Statement Concerning Balancing
of the Budget
34 Community Outcomes
36 Aligning Our Long Term Plan with the
Government’s Drivers for Economic
Growth
40 Water Management
43 Sustainability
4
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Winton Dalley
Mayor
Welcome from the Mayor and CEO
Andrew Dalziel
Chief Executive Officer
Hello everyone and welcome to Council’s Long Term Plan 2012
- 2022. In our introduction, we summarise some important
themes and points to help you gain an overall understanding of
what is in this ten year plan and what it may mean for you and
for our district.
We review our 10 year plan every three years and in the two
in-between years, we prepare Annual Plans based on the 10
year plan. We do our best to plan appropriately for the coming
years, but things will and do happen that are beyond our control,
hence the need for regular reviews. For example, no amount
of planning would have prepared us totally for the devastating
earthquakes that hit the Canterbury Region. Although the
Hurunui District suffered comparably less direct damage than
Christchurch City, Waimakariri and Selwyn Districts, the impact
on us has still been huge and had a major influence on this
plan. When we last reviewed our plan three years ago, we were
optimistic about the economy picking up more quickly than it
has done. We were optimistic that our district would grow
at a much faster pace than has actually been the case. Our
recent updated population estimate of 11,330 residents shows
low growth. With the census being postponed because of the
earthquakes, we will not be able to confirm our population
and district statistics until the results of the 2013 census are
released in 2014.
One of the most challenging aspects of planning is finding the
right balance between delivering expected levels of service at an
affordable cost. We invited you, our residents and ratepayers, to
submit on our proposals in March and April 2012. About 130
of you did just this and as a result of your input, we were able
to confirm many of our proposals and include other matters
we had not considered previously. We constantly challenge
ourselves over what is reasonable, what is sustainable into the
5
www.hurunui.govt.nz
future, who should pay, and how to meet the expectations of
our communities. The Government has expressed concern
over high rating increases and expects councils to be restrained.
Whereas we agree, unfortunately dramatic increases in our
insurance costs, the new legislative requirement to meet New
Zealand drinking water standards, and funding sewer and
stormwater improvements, mean that we too have higher rating
increases than we would have preferred.
As a result of the Council’s decisions after considering public
submissions, the increase in the 2012/2013 year has reduced
from 6.94% (what we said in the draft Long Term Plan), down to
5.83%. The downside is the flow on effect to the 2013/2014 and
2014/2015 years’ rates which will increase from 4.80% to 5.77%
for 2013/2014 and from 4.62% to 5.37% in the 2014/2015 year.
The primary causes for the increases in our rate projections
can be attributed to the following items, all of which are further
explained in the ‘key issues’ section of this plan.
• Insurance has significantly risen as a direct result of the
Canterbury earthquakes and other natural disasters,
such as the Queensland floods. We have traditionally had
comprehensive insurance cover, and we have budgeted to
continue to do so.
• We face huge capital outlay to become compliant with the
legislated New Zealand Drinking Water Standards. The
good news is that we will no longer have any of our water
schemes on permanent boil water notices; but it comes at a
price. We will be treating the water of our at-risk drinking
water intakes in the 2012/13 year. This will enable us to be
compliant in the short term but this is only an interim step.
In the long term we will need to upgrade our schemes by
2027. To make this affordable, we will commence rating
for the estimated $14 million (in today’s dollars), in the
2015/2016 year.
• In recent years, we have incurred significant costs in
upgrading some of our water supplies, sewer schemes and
stormwater systems. The work undertaken has resulted
in increased debt for those activities and we are at a stage
where the interest and debt repayments need to be made
and these have to be funded through rates.
There are a number of other aspects that influenced the
development of this Plan. We were guided by our proposed new
vision of Community partnership in growth and wellbeing,
as well as our core principles:
• Focus on core services
• Financial responsibility and affordability
• Continuous improvement in service to everyone in our
district
• Facilitate appropriate growth in the district
We have confirmed this new vision through the long term
plan consultation process. It builds upon our previous vision
which was based on a ‘wellness’ concept (Hurunui Wellness:
“In Hurunui, we live the lives the rest of the world would
love to live”). We wanted to further define it and convey that
everything we do, we do in partnership with our communities.
With your support for our plan and the services, infrastructure
and facilities we provide and you pay for, we have confidence
that we will be meeting the aspirations or expectations of our
communities, which contribute to wellness and wellbeing.
Important contributors to this Plan have been the many people
in our district who are members of our boards and committees.
In particular, we have taken into account the views of the Ward
Committees and the Hanmer Springs Community Board on the
submissions received affecting each of their respective wards.
These groups, having been chosen by their local communities,
provide valuable insight into what is considered important
locally.
All submissions were considered in the context of affordability,
priorities for the district and Government’s new bill, ‘Better
Local Government’. This bill, expected to be passed around
September 2012, aims to provide better clarity about council’s
roles, stronger governance, improved efficiency and more
responsible fiscal management. The Government is concerned
about increased public spending and debt levels and is requiring
both central and local government to improve the efficiency
of delivering public services and take a prudent approach to
public debt. The new bill proposes that councils will have a new
purpose -“providing good quality local infrastructure, public
services and regulatory functions at the least possible cost to
households and business”. This will replace the current purpose
which references a responsibility to the social, economic,
environmental and cultural well-being of communities. In
addition, the Government is proposing to introduce legislation
around fiscal responsibility to limit council expenditure growth
to no faster than inflation and population growth. A strong
Hurunui 10-Year Timeline
2012/13
Representation Review
Nine New Miox Water Treatment Installations
Targeted Tourism Rate and
District Promotion Review
Earthquake Prone Building Assessments
Cheviot Library Relocation
Local Government Elections
Earthquake Prone Building Assessments
Review of the District Plan completed
2013/14
2014/15
Central Government Elections
Earthquake Prone Building Assessments
Hanmer Springs Community Hall Extension
Long Term Plan Review
Drinking Water upgrade
Hanmer Springs Sewerage Treatment
Plant Upgrade
Hanmer Springs Sports Stadium
2015/16
2016/17
Local Government Elections
Cheviot Medical Centre Upgrade or
Rebuild
6
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
message coming through is for council’s to stick to core business.
All this has an impact on what we decided to provide for now
and into the future.
Thanks to your support, we have confirmed a number of the
proposals that we put to you. For example, we will proceed
with our intent to review our method of rating for tourism
and general district promotion in 2012/13. This is one example
of where your views and suggestions have confirmed that it is
timely to review our rating model. You also told us that you
agree with our plan to assess earthquake prone commercial
and public buildings in the district sooner rather than later in
the interests of public safety, despite not being required to do
this. Likewise, through your submissions, we have been able to
confirm our direction to provide funds for legal advice relating
to resource consents, district plan changes and policy matters;
and to do our best to maintain our roading levels of service
despite there being less funding available.
Many of you submitted on local issues affecting your areas.
Through hearing from you, we have been able to confirm our
intent to: provide for a new or upgraded medical centre in
Cheviot in 2016/17; move the Cheviot community library from
the school into the Cheviot service centre in 2012/13; continue
to work with you to finalise any proposal for a swimming pool
in Amberley; enhance a number of facilities in Hanmer Springs
(eg: the sports ground and community hall); and continue our
work to secure access to the Hanmer Heritage Forest. We
also confirmed our proposal to fund the Hanmer Springs
Community Board through Hanmer Springs ratepayers (rather
than district wide rates). Few people mentioned the proposal
to build a public toilet in Rotherham in 2017/18 funded through
the district rate, but we agreed to retain the budget for this in
the meantime but will retest the need for this again in 2015
before going ahead. More information about all of these items is
in the ‘Key Issues’ section of this plan.
We received a large number of submissions about access to
the Hurunui lakes (Lake Sumner, Lake Taylor and Loch Katrine).
Although this was not something we highlighted in our draft
Plan, it was clearly of importance to many of you. Through the
submission process, we were able to confirm our intention to
continue working with other groups as well as the Department
of Conservation to help resolve the common issues affecting
access. Potentially this is a complex situation requiring not only
significant funding, but resolving issues over public and private
land ownership.
We have included into this plan, a number of other items that
came to our attention through submissions, such as: a $5,000
contribution toward the roof repair of the Balcairn Public Hall
(via Amberley amenity rates); to continue contributing $5,000
per annum via a district wide rate toward the Sport NZ Rural
Travel Fund; approved expenditure of $45,000 toward the septic
tank replacement at the Gore Bay Camp; to spend $80,000
over two years to upgrade or replace the Cheviot Hills Reserve
public toilets; to extend our Smokefree Policy to include more
outdoor areas gradually and within existing budgets; to spend
$5,000 to promote responsible dog owner behaviour later this
year; to adjust our wording in our Waste Minimisation Plan to
show our desire to work toward zero waste to landfill.
In light of the restrictions we face, we also had to say ‘no’ to a
lot of people who requested money or initiatives that required
money. Whereas these submissions had merit, they were
either out of our scope or unaffordable, particularly given the
Government’s bill, or we did not consider them to be essential
at this time. Some of the requests we declined included: $25,000
toward the Wellbeing North Canterbury’s manager’s salary;
assistance toward the aquisition of a doctor’s house in Hanmer
Springs; $7,500 per year to develop a sister city relationship
with Honghu City, China; employing a full time forest ranger
in Hanmer Springs; introducing a $5 bounty fee for possums;
contributing $25,000 toward a men’s support programme to
reduce suicide; introducing an eagle breeding programme.
As a result of the continuing downturn in the tourism industry in
Canterbury, the Council has reforecast the revenue projections
for the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa. As a result, the
revenue derived from the Thermal Pools operation was reduced
from $6.671 million to 6.4 million. There was also a reduction
of $65,000 in surplus forecast from the cafe operation and a
$31,000 reduction in other revenue sources.
With the benefit of some quantity survey estimates, there was
a reassessment of the capital expenditure for the changing
rooms and administration building for the pools operation from
$1 million to $2 million.
For the first three years, the reduction in the revenue has
resulted in the Council spending more on reserve - based
expenditure than it is earning from the surpluses derived from
the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa. but the Council is
comfortable in funding this from utilising some of the existing
reserve balance that has been generated by the surpluses in the
past.
CentralGovernment Elections
Rotherham public Toilets
Local Government Elections
2018/19
2017/18 2019/20
Representation Review
Long Term Plan Review
2020/21
Central Government Elections
Long Term Plan Review
2021/22
7
www.hurunui.govt.nz
How Council services are rated can be contentious and difficult
to understand. We use a variety of different rating methods,
for example, we rate some services across the district and
others across wards only. We also fund some activities through
targeting particular users (as how tourism is currently funded).
The Financial Strategy and Revenue and Funding Policy in this
Plan both provide information to give a better understanding of
how activities and service are funded and the rationale behind
that. The Financial Strategy is a new requirement under the
Local Government Act.
Full details of the rate movements year by year are shown in
the Funding Impact Statement in this Plan. We must emphasise
that amenity and targeted rate increases vary considerably
across the district according to the projects planned for each
ward. For example, there are differing levels of expenditure for
upgrades and debt repayment for each water scheme; there is a
new medical centre proposed for Cheviot; a number of projects
planned for Hanmer Springs; and so on. The sample property
analysis in the appendices at the back of this document, gives a
picture of the impact of rates for the 2012/2013 year for the
various rating areas. You can find out what the rates are for your
property for any year up to year 10 of this plan by contacting us
directly or going onto our website.
Despite the increase to our rates, we have taken a conservative
approach to this plan. We assure you, as ratepayers and
residents, that we have applied our best efforts to develop this
long term plan diligently, to create what we believe is a robust
and comprehensive strategic framework for Hurunui for the
next ten years, notwithstanding the challenges and uncertainties
we all presently face. Finally, a sincere thank you to those of
you who took the time to write a submission to the draft plan
and to those of you who presented their submission personally
to the Council. As a result of your efforts, you have helped us
determine this final long term plan.
8
About the Plan
Introduction
The Local Government Act 2002 requires all councils to have a
Long Term Plan (LTP). The Hurunui Community Long Term Plan
is our LTP.
This plan is the combined effort of Council and the district’s
community. Many of our sub committees have been actively
involved in preparing plans for their townships and wards
and their efforts are reflected in this plan. So are the views
of the many individuals who told us what they consider to be
important for the future of our district. Many people have put
considerable numbers of hours into the development of this
plan. The plan covers a 10 year period from 1 July 2012 to 30
June 2022.
Updating the Plan
This plan will be updated and revised every 3 years. The plan is
one of the main ways you can influence what the Council does
every 3 years.
In the years between each Hurunui Community Long Term Plan
review, we will prepare an Annual Plan which will focus on the
budgets of the particular year of publication. This information
will be taken from the Hurunui Community Long Term Plan.
Guide to the Plan
The following is a brief guide about the information contained in
each section of the plan.
Introduction - This section sets out key issues that we want
to bring to your attention and want to hear from you on.
This section also contains a new and important piece of this
plan – the Financial Strategy. This will tell you about our main
financial challenges and what our financial position is – how we
can afford the services that we provide and how we intend to
continue to fund these. You will find out how your rates are
spent, and the community outcomes we consider important to
our communities.
Township Profiles – Here you will find key information about
the district each ward and community rating area, including,
demographic data, key priorities and amenity rates.
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
well as financial statements required by law.
Policies – Provides the key Council policies (including financial
policies and principles) to assist with decision making and
planning.
Appendices – This section contains various summaries of
strategies and plans that are important to include to provide
more context and information relating to our services.
Monitoring the Plan
At the end of each financial year, we complete an Annual Report.
In this report, we will state how we have performed against
what we said we were going to do in this plan and at what cost.
Changing the Plan
If any significant changes need to be made to the Hurunui
Community Long Term Plan before it is formally revised at
each three year interval, the proposed changes will be publicly
notified to give anyone affected an opportunity to have their say
before Council decides whether or not to make the proposed
changes.
Our ‘Significance Policy’ guides us in determining the importance
of an issue and the possible impact on the community. When an
issue is deemed significant, we will consider how best to consult
you. The significance policy is included in the Policy section.
The Plan Does Not Include GST
When reading this document, please be aware that all of
the figures quoted in the LTP are GST exclusive except the
‘Statement of Rating Policy’ and the ‘Development Contributions
Policy’.
Inflation
The plan has been developed on an inflation adjusted basis
to comply with accounting standards. Details of the inflation
assumptions used are outlined on page 158.
Council Activities – Gives useful information for each Council
activity such as water, roading, community services etc, and
financial information for each activity, as well as any major
priorities or projects planned.
Financial Overview – This section is where financial
information is summarised. It gives the 10 year capital
expenditure programme and forecast financial statements as
9
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Relationship Between the Hurunui Community Long Term Plan and Other Documents
Annual
Repor t
Knowing what the Council
has achieved
Community
Outcomes
Knowing what is important for the
future wellbeing of our community
Knowing how it s going
to be paid for
Annual
Plan
Knowing what the Council is doing to
meet community outcomes
Hur unui Community
Long Ter m Plan
The LTP integrates strategies, policies and activities in the
context of identified community outcomes, and in a way that
promotes public accountability and integrated decision making.
All planning that we do lines up with the LTP, as well as other plans,
such as our asset management plans and waste management
plans, and linking to other non-mandatory strategies such as
the Hurunui Community Road Safety Strategy.
The activities set out in this LTP contribute to the achievement
of the community outcomes, and promote the District’s social,
cultural, economic or environmental wellbeing.
10
How Your Rates are Spent
The Council’s Projected Income and Expenditure for 2012 / 2013
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Operating Income of $30.1 million for the 2012/2013 year
Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and
Spa
32%
Other Income
10%
General Rates
19%
Targeted Rates for
Water Supplies
2%
NZTA Subsidies and
Other Grants
11%
Development
Contributions
1%
Targeted Rates for
Other Services
25%
Operating Expenditure of $30.3 million for the 2012/2013 year
Governance
2%
Corporate Services
16%
Water Supplies
11%
Sewerage
2%
Stormwater and
Drainage
0%
Roads and Footpaths
19%
Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and
Spa
25%
District Promotion
2%
Waste Minimisation
6%
Compliance and
Regulations
2%
Community
Services
Property
3%
4%
Reserves
4%
Emergency Services
1%
Resource
Management
3%
Capital Expenditure of $10.8 million for the 2012/2013 year
Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and
Spa
25%
Corporate Services
5%
Water Supplies
19%
Sewerage
8%
Emergency Services
2%
Reserves
2%
Property
1%
Community Services
1%
Stormwater and
Drainage
3%
Roads and Footpaths
34%
11
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Key Issues
Introduction
In the draft long term plan, we highlighted a number of issues
that we wanted your view on before we came to a final decision.
We received many submissions on these topics and this section
sets out the decisions we made about each issue. Table 2 at the
end of this section shows how each item will be funded.
Drinking Water Standards
In recent years, the Government has placed strong emphasis
on the quality and availability of drinking water for all New
Zealanders, irrespective of where they live. The standard of
drinking water throughout the country has been variable and
in many places, particularly rural New Zealand, below standard.
New Zealand drinking water standards have been developed and
recently revised, and they require all councils to make significant
advancements to meet these standards.
Most of the drinking water in the Hurunui District fails to meet
the new drinking water standards and currently, eight of our
communities are advised to boil water before they drink it.
The drinking water standards are concerned mainly with three
specific areas: water quality; how we will know our drinking
water is meeting the standards; and what we will do about it if it
doesn’t. There are substantial fines for not complying with the
new legislation – up to $200,000 for an offence and $10,000 for
each day of continued non-compliance for each of our 22 water
supply sources.
In addition, the Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2007
requires all drinking water suppliers to have Public Health Risk
Management Plans (PHRMP) in place outlining how to safely
manage drinking water. This is significant because we have a duty
to ensure the drinking water we supply is safe to drink. (The
same applies for all other councils and private suppliers.) In our
district, we have 22 water supply sources and each needs its own
PHRMP to be completed at various times between July 2014 and
July 2016, depending on how each water supply is defined (based
on the number of customers each supply serves).
These requirements are financially challenging. We have no
option but to plan toward compliance, but the cost to do so is
immense. To upgrade our water systems to be fully compliant,
we have estimated that it will cost $14 million in today’s dollars,
and a further $484,000 per year solely to operate the upgraded
schemes. This caused us a great deal of concern and we have
raised the affordability issue for a small, rural council such as
ours to meet these considerable costs with the Ministry of
Health. We have come to a compromise to achieve drinking
water compliance no later than ten years after the final approval
date for each respective PHRMP, which will be between 2024
and 2027. The compromise involves two main phases to manage
the affordability issue.
First Phase
As a minimum, we will provide drinking water to our consumers
that is bacteriologically free and is safe to consume. To do this
we will need to lift all permanent boil water notices on our
current schemes. This will be achieved using improved interim
technologies to our at risk water intakes that will subsequently
meet these desired outcomes.
Therefore the first phase proposes nine new Miox installations
costing $758,000 for the 2012/2013 financial year. The at risk
drinking water intakes are: (1) Ashley Rural; (2) Waiau Rural;
(3) Cheviot – Parnassus; (4) Cheviot – Blythe; (5) Cheviot –
Kaiwara; (6) Hurunui Rural – No.1; (7) Hurunui Rural – Peaks;
(8) Hurunui Rural – Lower Waitohi; and (9) Waipara Township.
The existing MIOX plant serving the targeted Cheviot and Gore
Bay Township community will be moved to the intake to serve
and improve the full water reticulation pipeline.
This capital costs and on-going operational costs involved
is to be met by a special targeted rate for each dwelling that
benefits from the water treatment. It is estimated to cost
affected ratepayers approximately $100 per year to fund both
the operational and capital costs. This will affect an estimated
1,463 dwellings in total. We plan to stage the implementation
of this funding over three years, therefore those ratepayers will
be charged $33 in 2012/13, $66 in 2013/14, and the full $100
in 2014/15. The exception to this special targeted rate is for
the consumers on the Ashley Rural water scheme. The cost of
their Miox installation will be met solely by those properties
connected to that scheme as part of their standard, unit rate.
This is because the majority of the consumers of the Ashley
Rural Water Supply reside outside the Hurunui District and
already have a special rating arrangement in place.
All other district-wide intakes are either safe deep source
water or have not had any e-coli non-compliance over the last
three years, thus perceived as safe at present. These will be
continuously monitored for further improvement if the ‘safestatus’
changes. This approach will unfortunately not eliminate
the issue of temporary boil water notices from time to time,
when tested and triggered e-coli contamination is related to
post-intake drinking-water pipeline breaches, e.g. pipe breaks,
etc.
Second Phase
The second phase involves the upgrading of the water schemes
to full compliance, and will mean the end to the Miox treatments.
The capital cost in today’s money is $14 million, and we plan to
implement this between 2024 and 2027. To manage the cost,
this will be funded through a district wide general rate. This
is different to how we currently fund water supplies, which
is through targeted rates for individual schemes. We do not
believe the targeted method of funding is possible or a fair way of
12
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
funding for any of our ratepayers to upgrade our drinking water
to legislated standards. There are simply too few people on the
smaller community schemes in particular, to be able to pay for
these upgrades. By funding via a district wide rate, the cost is
spread across all ratepayers, hence making it more affordable
and achievable over all. This does mean that everyone pays,
whether or not on a private water scheme.
Although the capital works required won’t start being built until
2024, we are going to start rating from 2015/16 to build up
funds which will offset the full capital cost when it is necessary.
The cost of this will be $41 per property and this rate fund,
along with accumulating interest, should provide a fund of
approximately $3 million to assist with meeting the capital cost.
The method by which the balance of the capital work and the
on-going operational costs will be met, will be refined over time.
This will again be a topic for discussion when we review our
long term plan again in 2015.
Sewer Improvements
Disposal of treated wastewater direct to waterways has been
a common practice nationally in the past, but this approach is
no longer considered sustainable or environmentally acceptable.
In our district, we have seven wastewater treatment plants
using oxidation ponds as an effluent treatment process. These
treatment plants are located at Amberley, Hanmer Springs,
Cheviot, Greta Valley, Motunau Beach, Hawarden and Waikari.
We are going to do more work to our Hanmer Springs
wastewater treatment plant so that the treated wastewater
is disposed onto land instead of into the waterway (which
is a resource consent condition). We are investigating the
best options available to us in Hanmer Springs for both land
acquisition and improved effluent treatment. The cost for this
sewer land disposal work is $1,200,000 factored into year
2015/16 and will be paid for by the Hanmer Springs Ward
ratepayers. Other planned work includes improving dissolved
oxygen levels in the treatment ponds to eliminate issues such
as odour and reduced treatment efficiencies. For this work we
plan to spend $220,000 in 2012/13.
Cheviot’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) disposal
system is spray irrigation to land or onto the overland flow area
when the land disposal area is saturated. We are investigating
possible long-term treatment options (long term capacities; soil
permeability and content analysis; seasonal effects, flow/water
quality/ecology of Crystal Brook and neighbouring groundwater
quality assessments) associated with treatment and disposal of
wastewater from the Cheviot WWTP. We will work with the
Canterbury Regional Council to agree on the best solution
going forward in 2012/13. This plant’s resource consent expires
11 September 2014, when the Canterbury Regional Council will
decide if improvements are required to renew this resource
consent. No disposal to waterways is allowed. We are planning
to pay for this through usual operating costs at no increase to
ratepayers.
Amberley and Waikari have existing treated effluent disposal
to land, with Greta Valley and Motunau Beach using a primary
option of disposal to land and secondary option to waterway
when the land is saturated, for example, seasonal wet weather
conditions. Hawarden’s system is disposal to waterway until
changes are effected through the resource consent renewal,
which will be in 2027 or subject to any new requirements under
the Natural Resources Regional Plan (NRRP) review currently
underway at Canterbury Regional Council. We will consider
more natural methods of disposal, such as wetland filtration
if proven feasible and cost effective. All systems are closely
monitored and audited by the Canterbury Regional Council for
compliance with stringent consent conditions to protect and
enhance the environment surrounding these treatment plants.
Stormwater Improvements
We have been working on a programme of stormwater
improvements to the Amberley township and Amberley
and Leithfield Beach communities since 2008 when we had
significant property flooding following high rainfall events.
The improvements have taken a disappointingly long time
to implement due to the resource consent process and
Environment Court hearings process. So far, only two major
physical works have been completed – the flood diversion
from Dock Creek along Lawcocks Road, and a piped outfall of
the Leithfield Outfall Drain to the sea. By the time this plan
is finalised, the flood diversion works in the Amberley swamp
area (to include an outlet culvert under Stanton Rd) and the
area from Dry Gully to the Mimimoto Lagoon will have been
completed, as well as the new pipelines in Amberley.
A flood flow diversion from the Eastern Drain across to the
Amberley North lagoon is planned in 2012/13 to complete the
flood mitigation works. Detailed design and land ownership
issues still have to be finalised. $294,000 has been budgeted for
this work (to do detention ponds and upgrades), with a further
$84,000 in the 2016/17 budget for Chamberlain Park filters.
This will be funded through a special rate across Amberley Ward.
Applications for global consents to discharge stormwater from
the Amberley urban area and new residential developments in
Hanmer Springs will be made in the 2012/13 year. Both of these
will be funded via a separate rate for the Amberley Wards and
Hanmer Springs as well as development contributions.
We will be recruiting a stormwater engineer in 2013/2014 to
manage this area of our work. This engineer will be responsible
for developing district-wide stormwater catchment and
management plans, and undertake the range of tasks required to
ensure we have effective stormwater systems in place, inclusive
of appropriate maintenance regimes.
13
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Targeted Tourism Rate and District Promotion
Our tourism promotion and limited district promotion is
currently carried out through one of our council committees
called the ‘Hurunui Tourism Board’. The way we fund this is
through a ‘targeted tourism rate’ which has had its share of
controversy. Those who pay are ratepayers and businesses
who are deemed to be involved directly in the visitor / tourism
sector. From this sector, we collect $286,000 annually with an
additional contribution of $45,000 from the Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa. We are concerned that we don’t yet
have the funding model right and intend to review the targeted
tourism rate and explore ways of funding a broader concept of
‘district promotion’ or tourism in a different way.
We think we can better promote the district in all aspects by
adopting a broader approach, rather than just focusing only on
tourism. The issue of who benefits from district promotion and
who should fund it is a challenging issue and we want to develop
a better way to do this. We will continue with the targeted
tourism rate up to the end of the 2012/13 (and have included it
throughout the 10 year budget for the meantime), to allow time
for a viable alternative to be developed.
Having taking into account the submissions we received on
this topic, we will look at how we might phase out the current
targeted tourism rate in 2013/14 when a new model would take
effect. We will begin working on this before the end of 2012
around what a possible alternative model would look like. This
will include looking at how to improve our promotion of the
district. At this stage, we are unsure whether this new model
will retain the Hurunui Tourism Board, or see the development
of a new committee or board. We will continue with what we
have in the meantime until an alternative is found.
Cost of Insurance
It will be no surprise to anyone that the cost of insurance has
significantly risen as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes. The
damage to Christchurch in particular and the resulting insurance
liability has been unprecedented anywhere in the world before.
It is now well known that globally, the insurance industry had
to have a major rethink of how it could continue to provide
insurance cover and still be affordable. Given that the Hurunui
District is tectonically active and we are periodically subjected
to floods, rural fires, snow and winds, we have traditionally been
well insured and cover our infrastructure and liabilities.
Up until July 2011, the cost of our insurance was $212,858 per
annum. This is the total bill for all Council infrastructure and
liabilities, including the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa.
Our new insurance arrangement now costs $564,414 per year
to cover the same infrastructure as we did in the past. This
significantly contributes to our 5.84% increase in rates as the
approximate increase in insurance across the organisation of
$350,000 alone represents 2.73% of the total rates that were
struck in the 2011/2012 year.
The process for renewing the insurance policies is likely to be
more stringent in the future and there could be the possibility
that some of our assets may not be covered by insurance, as has
been the case for Christchurch City and Waimakariri District
Councils for the 2011/2012 year. It is our intention to remain
fully insured at all times.
Earthquake Strengthening
We have completed the first stage of a desktop review of
potential earthquake prone buildings in the Hurunui district for
all council owned buildings and are now currently carrying out
the second stage which will include all privately owned buildings.
The desk top review should be completed by December 2012.
The completed desk top study will show how many commercial
and public buildings in the district are suspected to be earthquake
prone. At this early stage we have provisional numbers of 368
commercial buildings, both privately and council owned. 150
are estimated to be built before 1976, and up to 90 of them are
suspected to be earthquake prone, and therefore could pose a
potential danger to the public. We own 68 of the commercial
and public buildings built before 1976 and of these, we have
confirmed 48 that are included on the first stage of the desktop
study. Engineers are currently carrying out an initial evaluation
procedure (IEP) of some of these buildings which will confirm
whether or not they are earthquake prone.
The desk top review will only provide information about
buildings without looking at them in a detailed structural
manner. There are certain types of building that are considered
to be more earthquake prone than others and it is these that
we will be focusing on. They are usually unreinforced concrete
and masonry buildings, but there may be others that are also at
risk. The assessment process will be carried out in accordance
with the Earthquake Engineering Society of New Zealand
guidelines. We will need qualified engineers to actually assess
each of these buildings to confirm to us whether or not the
building is potentially earthquake prone and that owners should
be advised. To do this IEP assessment (without any actual repairs
or remedial work), it will cost approximately $69,000 to do
90 earthquake prone buildings spread evenly over the first 3
years of the Long Term Plan. We are taking an active approach
to identify and upgrade buildings at risk following the lessons
learned from the Christchurch earthquakes. Obviously, we do
not want a repeat of that disaster in our district.
Once we have the IEP assessments from the independent
engineers, we will then be able to inform property owners that
we suspect that their building is earthquake prone. They will
then be required to carry out a detailed engineering assessment
to show how to remedy any risks to the building. Because most
of the buildings are council owned, the same will apply to us. At
this stage, we have not made a budget provision for any actual
strengthening, repair or demolition work. We plan to decide
on this once we have the information on a case by case basis.
14
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Other owners of buildings will need to do the same once they
have information provided to them. There is of course, nothing
stopping anyone getting their own independent assessment at
their own cost in the meantime, or seeking a second opinion.
We do not have the in-house expertise to perform this work.
We do know that structural engineers are highly sought after
in the Canterbury region and we are making this plan on the
proviso that we will be able to contract the skills we need to
undertake this work.
We consider this work to be vital because of the threat to life
if buildings collapse. The cost for this work will be paid for this
through the general rate for three years from 2012/13 because
of the potential impact on the general public. The general rate is
funded through a portion being assessed as a fixed charge per
property and the balance assessed on the capital value of the
property.
Cost to Defend RMA/Court Action
Each year we need to get legal advice or representa tion, or
specialist advice about a variety of matters relating to resource
consents, district plan changes and policy de velopment.
Traditionally, we have tended to under-budget for these costs
as many of them are unknown when we prepare our annual
budgets. However, last year we were aware of a number of
situations that were going to incur legal or consultancy costs
and we did make a budget provision based on that knowledge.
Although we will continue to face unexpected legal costs into
the future, we have decided to continue to budget what we did
last year for each year of the long term plan, that is, $105,000
(adjusted for inflation) annually. This will be funded through a
District Rate. There will be situations where legal costs are far
in excess of our budget. The most recent example of this was
the cost to defend MainPower’s Mt Cass Wind Farm resource
consent. The cost to ratepayers was approximately $300,000
(allowing for the successful costs award against Mainpower
from the Environment Court of $136,394). Legal and specialist
advice comes at a price and we do not always have in-house
expertise for every scenario that comes to us.
Road Funding
Our roads are maintained and built using subsidy funds from
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and money collected
through rates. This excludes state highways which are funded
and maintained solely through NZTA. Three years ago,
central government deliberately cut maintenance funding to
all district councils, as it decided to focus on capital works to
national state highways (Roads of National Significance) and
the Auckland roading network needs as priorities. Central
government believes that “increased funding for State Highway
construction will bring benefits for national economic growth
and productivity, particularly given that State Highways carry
most inter-regional freight and link major ports, airports and
urban areas (Government Policy Statement 2012)
In 2009, all Road Controlling Agencies (RCA), of which we are
one, were told by the Minister of Transport to “do more with
less” in terms of road maintenance financial subsidy allocations.
We were tasked to find better and smarter ways of looking
after our roads without relying on the previous levels of NZTA
subsidy funding. To qualify for financial subsidy assistance, all
RCA’s are to use Activity Management Plans (AMP). When up
to date, our AMP provides us with a better understanding of our
current assets in terms of location, age and condition. This sets
our works programme for the following three years in terms
of maintenance, operations, renewals and capital works. This
programme is submitted to NZTA as part of the Regional Land
Transport Programme (RLTP). Our funding was cut by $600,000
per annum on average on our RLTP for the full funding cycle
covering the years from 2009 to 2012. Although the approved
subsidy funding was 4.5% more than the previous year’s budget,
it was substantially less than that required to maintain the
levels of service we wanted for our roading infrastructure. No
escalation (or inflation) was added for year 2 and 3 of this
programme which placed further pressure for us to “do more
with less”. In the meantime, we have restructured our road
maintenance contracts to get the most we can for our money
and to maintain levels of service for our local roads. Indicative
budgets have been released by NZTA for the three year period
from 2012 to 2015, which is 5% less than our RLTP submission.
This will result in approximately $226,000 less funding per
annum across all three years. We will continue to retain our
funding as previously indicated as unsubsidised work and the
rate impact for roading will continue as previously stated in the
plan. We have made the assumption that the reduced level of
NZTA funding will continue through the life of the LTP. This has
left us with a major challenge. Our Asset Management Plans
(AMPs) tell us when, how and why we need to do work on
each of our roads to ensure maximum whole-of-life for this
asset (maximum return on investment approach); but we do not
have the required subsidised income to maintain our roading
network to the level our AMPs stipulate.
We have done our best to drive greater efficiencies within
our current road maintenance contracts, without affecting the
current levels of service. The improved collaboration between
our contractors, suppliers and us using a ‘best-for-asset/bestfor
contract’ approach, has provided lower contract rates
that may allow us to maintain our current service levels until
2014/15 (assuming no untoward event happens that damages
our infrastructure). At the end of this period, our maintenance
contracts will be renewed with cost escalations included. This
is where we have a problem. NZTA have declared that they
will not pick up contract price escalations through their road
maintenance subsidy scheme. In the meantime, we have allowed
for inflation adjustments to the roading costs (using the inflation
assumptions) and also assumed that NZTA will continue to
meet their share of those costs that are currently subsidised,
15
www.hurunui.govt.nz
again based on the assumption that the financial assistance
rate will not change over the ten year period.
If NZTA do not include inflation in future subsidies, and maintain
the levels of cuts to date we will have to pass the difference in
costs to our ratepayers annually to maintain our current levels
of service and keep the road asset life in check. If we don’t,
this will leave us with a future financial shortfall that is further
susceptible to maintenance cost increases through peak oil and
bitumen cost increases in particular. We can either continue
to put up our annual rates to provide more local unsubsidised
funds to keep our roads in their current condition, or we can
accept that there will be a marked deterioration in our road
conditions (structurally, appearance and driving quality). The
impact of this is that our roading assets life will reduce and will
eventually devalue over time, thus not meet their initial designed
criteria outcomes.
The key problem that we face is that the level of cost that has
been allowed for in the Long Term Plan falls significantly short
of what was provided for in the AMP. The AMP was developed
prior to the change in central government policy and before we
were able to achieve greater efficiencies through our current
road maintenance contracts. The difference over the ten years
between what was scheduled in the AMP and what has been
provided in the plan amounts to a total of $18 million. Based on
the assumption that NZTA will provide the amount of subsides
allowed for in the plan, should we incur the level of cost in
the AMP, then that additional $18 million would need to be
covered by rates or other funding sources . We are confident
with achieving greater efficiencies in the current contracts so
that the roading network can be maintained at the current level
of service until 2014/15. Through submissions to the draft LTP,
some of you told us that you consider it essential that we do all
we can to prevent the roads deteriorating, even if that meant
paying more rates. To continue to meet the current level of
service, now and into the future, may require greater ratepayer
funding or a change to the current accepted levels of service.
This topic will be an ongoing discussion for us into future years
including the next long term plan review in 2015 and AMP
roading review 2014.
Amberley Swimming Pool
The life of the Amberley swimming pool and our awareness of
the community desire for an improved pool, whether that is
a major upgrade or a new facility, have been of interest to us
for some years now. Through the submisssions to the draft LTP,
we received 23 submissions on this subject with the majority
supporting this community desire. In 2008, we did a review
of the life-expectancy and replacement costs of the Amberley
swimming pool and concluded that the present pool was good
for at least 10 more years. In the 2009 long term plan draft,
we allowed $3 million in the 2018/19 financial year to build a
new heated, covered pool. The rating model to pay for the this,
allocated the greater costs to the Amberley Ward, and a lesser
amount to outlying areas on the basis of an assumption of usage
beyond Amberley. Consultation on this matter then, gained good
public support for the proposal, and it was decided to advance
the project to the 2013/14 year. The budget provision was made
on the basis that $1 million of the $3 million would be derived
from fund raising and that the Amberley community would take
the responsibility for this.
Three years have since passed and no fund raising activities have
taken place. Nor have we collected any rates to build up a fund
for a future pool. The Amberley Ward Committee established
a working group in 2011 to investigate the possibilities
for the Amberley swimming pool and to come up with a
recommendation to best suit the needs of the community. The
working group concluded that the site of the existing pool is
the best available and so commissioned a specialist engineer’s
report on options to upgrade the present complex. This was
undertaken in early 2012. The resulting suggestions include a
major upgrade of the existing pool costing just under $2 million
which is well within the original $3 million budget. However, the
estimated operational cost of running an all year heated pool,
amounts to between $260,000 and $340,000 per year. This is
after taking into account the entry fees, swimming lessons and
other revenue making pool activities.
Although the community desire is to have a heated indoor
pool that can operate either all year round, or at least most
of the year, the operational cost is significant and exceeds any
previous thinking about how much it would cost to actually
run the pool. Very few public swimming pools in New Zealand
make a profit or break even, and they are reliant on significant
subsidies from rates to operate. The Amberley ward ratepayers
have traditionally met the operational cost from amenity rates.
However, the estimates for running an improved, heated, all year
round pool is likely to exceed Amberley ratepayers ability or
desire to pay, and is substantially more than they pay now. There
is more work ahead for the working group, the Amberley Ward
Committee and the Council before a proper proposal with all
the facts is able to be put to the community.
For these reasons, we have decided to not make a budget
provision in this long term plan at this stage. We have requested
a report to come to a council meeting in the 2012/13 year to
explore options and costings for an upgraded pool. If supported,
our intention is to include a proposal for an upgraded pool
and funding model into the 2015/25 Long Term Plan. In the
meantime, we have an expectation that those wanting an
improved pool become involved and commence fund raising.
The Amberley Ward Committee and the rest of the district will
need to have the opportunity to say what they are prepared
to fund before we can decide who should pay. We intend to
properly consult with you over this matter. For us to have the
confidence to make a significant budget provision, we need to
be able to give you the full story on the cost, who will pay and
what you will get for your money. In the meantime, we have
budgeted for the continued operation of the current swimming
pool on the assumption that it may still be operational up to
2020, depending on what is decided before then.
16
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Cheviot Library/Service Centre
We received a large number of submissions regarding moving the
Cheviot community library out of the Cheviot Area School and
into the Cheviot Service Centre on the main street of Cheviot.
Several of you were not in favour of this option, but many of
you did endorse this concept. We endorsed the Cheviot Ward
Committee’s recommendation that the library is moved. This
will enable the library and council services to be delivered from
the one site by one person. The school library will remain in its
current location.
The service centre has not had an upgrade for years and
therefore needs some alterations and refurbishment to create
a more vibrant community space. A working group comprising
of a mix of local Cheviot people has been selected to work on
the detail of the move and to create a new look for the service
centre / library to capture the unique essence of Cheviot and
provide a service to meet the needs of the locals. Detail such
as the opening hours, days of the week to be open, design of
the interior and exterior of the building, etc are to be worked
through. The timetable for the project will also need to be
worked through, but it is planned take place in the 2012/13 year.
$100,000 has been set aside for the building alterations which
will not incur an increase in rates.
Cheviot Medical Centre
We own four medical buildings in the District – in Hanmer
Springs, Rotherham, Waikari and Cheviot. We originally got
involved in this area years ago to help attract qualified medics
into the district to take up private practices without the
deterrent of capital cost, and provide health services that are
of a good quality, affordable and meet the needs of our rural
communities. This is an on-going challenge as attracting doctors
and nurses who are prepared to work and live in rural New
Zealand is an issue that Hurunui does not face alone. Times
have changed and the ideal of finding General Practitioners
wanting to set up practice in a rural community and stay for
life (and work alone) has become unsustainable. However
important considerations for future planning still include having
high quality medical facilities and a strong network of medical
practitioners and providers to support each other.
Whereas we do not recruit medical staff for the district, we
believe we do have a role to provide medical facilities and
assist in facilitating good outcomes. We regularly meet with
key providers of medical services for the District, including the
Canterbury Rural Primary Health Organisation, Canterbury
District Health Board and local practitioners, etc. These
discussions help us keep up with the issues our GPs and medical
centres are facing and helps us work together to find solutions.
One of the areas we are able to assist is building medical centres
that cater for current and future demand.
Three of our current medical centres are modern, while Cheviot
requires an upgrade or replacement in the near future. This
upgrade has been signalled by its inadequacy to deliver modern
health care into the future. We have allocated $1 million (to
be inflation adjusted) in year 2016/17 to build a new one. The
project will be funded by an internal loan and servicing of the
loan over 20 years is proposed that this be funded through the
Cheviot Medical Centre Rate which is charged to each property
in the Cheviot Ward. This will result in the Cheviot Medical
Centre Rate moving from approximately $30 per ratepayer
to $120 per ratepayer from 2016/17. Some submissions were
received on this topic and all supported improving the Cheviot
Medical Centre. There is still work to be done before a rebuild
or upgrade is undertaken to make sure this is good use of your
money. We will want to be confident that a new building is
needed as opposed to upgrading the current facility, and we also
need to be sure that this is what the community needs. Further
consultation will be done closer to the time before any work
is done.
Rotherham Public Toilet
We have purchased a section on the main road through
Rotherham adjacent to the new Amuri Medical Centre, for a
village green. The section is ideally suited to a public toilet for
motorists passing through Rotherham en-route to the Inland
Road. For motorists travelling to Kaikoura from the West
Coast, this would be the first public toilet since Springs Junction
(i.e. without detouring into remote sites such as Boyle River
or to Hanmer Springs). A toilet on this section will also be
useful for local residents using the village green for picnics or
recreation (playground) or on their way to or from the Health
Centre. This is a long term proposal as we intend building the
toilet in the 2017/18 year. Because it is a long way off and we are
not certain of the demand in this location, we will seek public
views on this proposal again when we review this long term
plan in 2015. In the meantime, $90,000 has been included in the
budget to be funded through the District Rate.
Hanmer Springs Facilities
1. Sports Ground
The Hanmer Springs Community Board intends to upgrade the
Hanmer Springs sports ground as it is out of date and will not
meet the needs for future growth and demand. Before doing
any work however, the Board will commission an engineer’s
report on the project to determine the extent of works that
can be carried out. They plan to commission this in 2012/13
to prepare for the physical works to be done in 2015/16. The
report will more accurately scope the project including whether
the project is staged over more than one year. The estimated
cost involved is $30,000 for the engineers report, and $1 million
for the actual development work.
The engineers report will cover the feasibility of including the
following facilities in the upgrade:
• A full basketball size court that can cater for
other indoor sports such as badminton, volleyball,
bowls, netball etc
• A ground floor kitchen facility able to cater for
17
www.hurunui.govt.nz
conferences, weddings, sports club functions, etc
for up to 500 people
• A bar that also provides for the above
• A storage area that will hold equipment, chairs,
tables, and other items used for group functions
• Toilet facilities to serve people using the sports
stadium inside and out
• Area/s suitable for meetings, lounge and
relaxation area, and an administration office
• Changing facilities for sports teams including
shower blocks
• Two Squash courts
• A gymnasium area
There was a support through the submissions for an upgraded
sports ground. Because the Board is not prepared to spend
more than $1 million, this may mean they need to prioritise
what is included in the upgrade. Affordability will be a key
consideration.
2. Community Hall Extension
The Hanmer Springs Community Board will proceed with the
previously planned extension to the Hanmer Springs community
hall and has allocated $194,400 to do this in 2014/15. They will
spend $10,000 in 2012/13 to finish the work on the existing
stage floor and frontage that users of the hall have been asking
for.
The extension to the community hall is planned to include:
• Upgrading the existing toilets on either side of
the stage
• Replacing the existing changing rooms with
a large, open, multipurpose space that can be
partitioned off to create several changing rooms
as required. The open area can also be used for
art displays, meetings, etc, as well as changing
rooms for performances.
• A storage area for lighting, sound, stage props, etc
• Entry access for wheelchairs and large items (for
stage productions, etc)
As with the Hanmer Springs sports ground upgrade, the Board
will do its best to maximise the budget so that the extension to
the hall caters for future demand as well as the current demand,
but do not expect to go beyond the allocated budget. Once
again, support for this project was received, particularly from
Hanmer Springs residents.
Funding the Hanmer Springs Community Board
The Hanmer Springs Community Board members are elected
every three years in line with the local authority triennial
election process. There are 6 Board members, with five being
elected on the Board, and the 6 th member being the appointed
local Councillor.
The selected members are paid an amount determined by Council
in consultation with the Community Board. The Councillor is
not remunerated for being on the Community Board as he is
paid as a Councillor through the Council remuneration pool.
The selected members are paid 50% from amenity rates (from
Hanmer Springs Ward ratepayers) and 50% funded as part of
the cost of Governance through the Governance Rate, which
is a District Wide Rate. The members, current remuneration is
shown in table 1.
The Community Board works for the Hanmer Springs Ward
residents and ratepayers. Consequently, we think it appropriate
that all of their remuneration is paid through local amenity
rates from Hanmer Springs ratepayers, rather than a portion
coming from the District Wide Rate. We have four Ward or
Community Committees set up in other Wards that operate in
a similar way to a Community Board, with similar delegations,
but members are not paid. Therefore, we have decided that the
Hanmer Springs community will fund the total remuneration
for the Community Board. Based on the current level of
remuneration paid to the Community Board Members, the total
cost to the Hanmer Springs Amenities Rates will be $23,178 per
annum commencing from 2012/13.
Security of Access to Hanmer Forest Tracks
The Hanmer Forest is a significant tourism asset to the district.
It is estimated that 70% of visitors to the Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa (approximately 511,000 people) visit the
forest each year. Public access to the forest has been provided
for since the early 1900s resulting in the development of an
extensive recreational track network. Legal public access to the
forest was lost when ownership of the land was transferred to
Ngai Tahu. The continuance of the current informal public access
depends on the goodwill of the Iwi and the forest leaseholder.
The Hanmer Forest covers 9212 hectares in area and is
comprised of native forest, exotic production and research
forests, and public parks and reserves. The forest adjoins the
Hanmer Springs urban boundary and extends north to the
Hanmer Range ridgeline, Mt Isobel, Jollies Pass and Jacks Pass;
east to Boundary Stream; south to the Hanmer River; and west
to the Rogerson River catchment and Mt Tabletop.
Ngai Tahu Forest Estates Ltd are the largest landowner at nearly
55%, the Department of Conservation (DOC) manages 45%,
and HDC less than 1%. Although the minor landowner, the HDC
land provides critical linkages from the Hanmer Springs village
via Conical Hill and the 22ha Dog Stream/Brooke Dawson/
Tarndale reserves adjacent to the forest.
There has been some community concern that access to the
Ngai Tahu land can be closed at any time by the landowner.
However, Ngai Tahu have expressed their commitment to
Hanmer Springs and agree how important the tracks are. They
have indicated that they want to be part of future development
18
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
of the township and future planning for the Hurunui district, and
are prepared to work with us over the forest’s long term use. A
number of submissions were received on this matter supporting
our intention to work toward securing long term use to the
forest. A representative group of Councillors has been identified
to progress further discussion with the owners of the forest to
find a way forward. No funding has been allocated.
Table 1: Community Board Members Remuneration
Position
Remuneration
Chair of the Community Board
$7,902 pa
Other Members (each)
$3,819 pa
Table 2: Funding the Key Issues
Issue Cost Method of Funding Commencement
Drinking Water Standards
$14,000,000 Capex
$484,000 Opex
District Wide 2015/16
Miox & new water treatment $758,000 Targeted to Dwellings affected 2012/13
Hanmer Springs Sewer Improvements $220,000
$1,288,560
Hanmer Springs Sewer Rate 2012/13
2015/16
Targeted Tourism Rate $286,000 Targeted Tourism Rate on-going
Insurance $550,000 Spread across organisation 2012/13
Earthquake Strengthening $71,162 District Wide Rates 2012 - 2015
RMA/Court Action $105,000 District Wide Rates 2012/13
Cheviot Library/Service Centre $100,000 District Wide funding 2012/13
Cheviot Medical Centre $1,150,700 Cheviot Medical Centre Rates 2016/17
Hanmer Springs Sport Stadium $1,077,379 Amenity Rates and
Development Contributions
2015/16
Hanmer Springs Community Hall Extension $194,400 Hanmer Springs Amenity Rate 2014/15
Rotherham Public Toilet $90,000 District Wide funding for
Public Toilets
2017/18
Hanmer Springs Community Board
$23,178 Hanmer Springs Amenity Rate 2012/13
Amberley Swimming Pool
$0 No budget allocated yet
19
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Financial Strategy
Executive Summary
Core Principles
In reviewing the Long Term Plan (LTP), we revised our core
principles and these have been used as the basis in developing
our Financial Strategy. These principles are:
• Focus on core services
• Financial responsibility and affordability
• Continuous improvement in service to everyone in our
district
• Facilitate appropriate growth in the district
• Maximise Thermal Pools and Spa profit
Key Factors in our Financial Strategy
Within the context of our core principals, the following have
been identified as the key factors that shape the Financial
Strategy over the life of the Long Term Plan:
• We want to ensure that our services remain affordable
• We want to maintain or improve our current levels of
service
• Our key funding mechanisms are:
a Rates, both District Wide and Targeted rates
b Surpluses derived from the Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa
c The use of the Internal Financing structure which
provides internal loans for communities requiring
funding and also an avenue for communities to build
up funds to meet funding requirements in the future
In taking care to ensure that our services remain affordable,
we have had modest rate increases over the past three years.
However, due to various factors facing us, particularly the
increased cost of insurance and compliance with drinking water
standards, rates will increase at levels well above what was
anticipated when the 2009-2019 LTP was prepared. (Refer to
the Key Issues section).
We are carefully monitoring our levels of service for roads
due to reduced government subsidies (refer to Key Issues
section). With the exception of roading, we intend to maintain
our levels of service in most areas. With regards to improving
drinking water levels, treatment of sewage and developing some
community facilities, we will be in a position to improve the
levels of service that we are currently providing. We also aim
for continuous improvement to our customer service.
We continually review funding options available. The use of
the internal financing structure allows communities to carry
out required capital expenditure and manage the cost of those
works over a longer period. As a result, this smoothes out the
rating impact and allows communities to start setting aside
funds to meet the capital projects for the future.
The Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa is a successful
Council owned business and we proactively use the profits to
offset costs relating to the reserves in the District which results
in lessening the rating burden. For the first three years of the
Long Term Plan the Council is funding more reserve based costs
than it is earning from the surpluses from the Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools & Spa and by doing so, is utilising some of the
reserve balance that has been generated by the surpluses in
the past.
Our Financial Position at the Start of the LTP
Period
Our financial position at the start of the Long Term Plan period
is set out in the 2011/2012 Annual Plan which shows:
• The total rates were set at $12.8 million; of which $5.3
million are in District Wide rates and $7.5 million are
in targeted rates.
• Total income from non-rate sources was $16.9 million,
which includes $9.6 million in gross revenue derived
from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa.
• Total Operating Expenditure is forecast at $23.5 million
and Capital expenditure for the 2011/2012 year is
expected to be $9.2 million (which includes a level of
Capital that has been carried over from the 2010/2011
year).
• External Debt was expected to be $13.5 million at
the end of June 2012; however, the forecast has been
reduced to $12.5 million due to deferring some projects
as part of the LTP budget preparation.
• Internal Financed Debt is expected to total $16.6
million as at 30 June 2012.
• Total Assets as at 30 June 2011 was $335 million, of
which $253 million related to our infrastructure.
Our Financial Position at the End of the LTP Period
As at the end of June 2022, the key components of our financial
position are forecast as follows:
• Total rates revenue will increase by 55% over the ten
years to reach $19.9 million in the 2021/2022 year.
• Total income from non-rate sources will be $22.3
million (including $13.8 million in gross revenue derived
from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa).
• Total Operating Expenditure will be set at $39.6 million.
• Capital expenditure over the ten years will amount to
$77.3 million with the amount expected to be required
in the 2021/2022 year at $7.7 million.
• External Debt will peak at $22.5 million in the 2015/2016
and 2016/2017 years, but will reduce to $12 million by
June 2022.
20
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
• Total Assets as at 30 June 2022 is expected to reach
$494 million.
Rates, Increases and Limits
The overall rates increases for the next three years are as
follows:
• In 2012/2013, the increase is 5.83% (this is one of the
largest increases required for some years and is primarily
due to factors outlined earlier such as insurance and
drinking water, and funding some significant capital
expenditure projects over the last few years).
• In 2013/2014, the increase is 5.77%
• In 2014/2015, the increase is 5.37%
The Local Government Act now requires Councils to set limits
on rate increases. Because a simple inflation target as the basis
for setting a rate increase limit does not reflect the forecast
costs that will be imposed on us, we have opted to set the
rates increase limits at 2% above the forecast increases. As a
result, the limit for the 2013/2014 year will be 7.77% and for the
2014/2015 year, the limit will be 7.37%
Because of our rating structure, the overall increase in rates
will not be consistent for each property throughout the district.
It will depend on the targeted rates that are charged to that
particular property and also the capital value of the property.
External Debt and Limits
1. The Local Government Act also requires us to set a limit on
our external debt levels. These debt levels are set out in our
External Liability Management policy on page 222 and the
limits are based on ratios centred on the level of income.
These ratios are considered standard for the sector and the
maximum debt is set at 100% of our Total Income and 10%
of our Total Equity. This means that for the 2012/2013 year,
where total income is forecast at $30.3 million and Total
Equity forecast at $341.7 million, that the maximum level of
debt is $30.3 million. For 2012/2013, the anticipated level
of debt is $18.5 million. We plan to be well within prudent
limits for the period of the plan.
Implications of the Council’s Financial Strategy
The Local Government Act requires us to assess whether we
have the ability to provide and maintain existing levels of services
and meet additional demands for services within the rates and
debt limits as set out within the financial strategy.
We face potential issues in the future regarding the level of
funding for roading expected from the New Zealand Transport
Agency (NZTA). We estimate that there is a $15 million
difference over the ten year period of the LTP between what
our Asset Management Plans tell us is needed to maintain our
roading network and what we have built into this draft LTP
taking into account the NZTA funding. (See the Roads and
Footpaths Activity section on page 89).
We are not contemplating taking on debt greater than $22.5
million and the maximum amount of interest expected to be
charged on the external debt is budgeted at less than $1.3
million. Therefore, with the exception of the Roading Network
due to circumstances outlined earlier, we believe we have the
ability to maintain existing target levels of service and to meet
additional demands for service within those debt limits.
Core Principles
Our revised core principles have provided the base in developing
our Financial Strategy for this LTP. These are further explained
in this section.
1. Focus on Core Services
The focus on core services is consistent with the intent of the
Local Government Act. As a rural district, our focus has always
been on key infrastructure – roading, water and sewerage. Since
2008 after sever flood events, we have undertaken significant
work to improve our stormwater and drainage assets. While
community services and facilities (eg: halls, libraries, public
toilets, reserves etc), may not be seen as essential services, they
do form an important part of the community infrastructure.
We have undertaken significant community projects in the last
three years including the town centre upgrades in both Hanmer
Springs and Amberley, as well as constructing a new Medical
Centre in Rotherham.
2. Financial Responsibility and Affordability
Affordability of rates was a key aspect in the preparation of the
2009-2019 LTP and in that respect; we managed to maintain
modest increases in the rates over the subsequent three year
period. In preparing the 2012/22 LTP, affordability is still an
important factor as well as spending responsibly to minimise
rate increases. Costs do increase and we are ever mindful of the
need to ensure that these costs are appropriately funded, while
ensuring our debt levels remain manageable.
3. Continuous Improvement in Service to Everyone
in Our District
In the context of affordability, we aim to improve our customer
service to everyone who needs our services. This includes
our residents and ratepayers, as well as visitors to our district.
Our annual resident satisfaction survey provides us with good
information to gauge how we are doing and where to improve.
Whereas actual levels of service in most cases are intended on
being maintained, our aim for continuous improvement relates
21
www.hurunui.govt.nz
to getting the best out of our contracts for service, having
helpful friendly staff, being responsive to complaints and service
requests by getting back to customers quickly, etc. Regarding
actual levels of service, these are discussed under the ‘Key
Factors for Our Financial Strategy’ part of this section.
4. Facilitate Appropriate Growth in the District
We want our district to continue to grow and that not only will
more people want to live in the Hurunui, but that those who are
here already, will want to stay. Growth in our population helps
spread rates across a wider number of ratepayers and helps to
retain key services, such as medical services, schools and shops,
etc.
We are mindful that growth needs to be sympathetic toward
the environment and the district’s rural values which is why
we talk about “appropriate growth”. Accordingly, we need to
ensure that our planning rules (as we review our District Plan)
do meet the objectives of the District as a whole.
5. Maximise Thermal Pools Profit
We are in the envious position of owning one of New Zealand’s
key tourist facilities - the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and
Spa (HSTP&S). The success of the HSTP&S has had a flow on
effect to other businesses that service the tourist industry. The
HSTP&S is sited on a reserve vested to the Hurunui District
Council in accordance with the Reserves Act. Because of this,
we are able to use the profits from the HSTP&S to fund other
reserves that we administer. This includes the Hurunui Memorial
Library (also known as the “District Library”), the public toilets
and cemeteries throughout the district, as well as a wide range
of recreational reserves. This is a particular point of difference
from other Local Authorities in New Zealand who will generally
have to fund these types of functions through rates.
Key Factors for our Financial Strategy
Within the context of our core principals, we have identified the
following key factors that shape our Financial Strategy over the
life of this LTP:
• We want to ensure that our services remain affordable
• We want to maintain or improve our current levels of
service
Our key funding mechanisms are:
a. Rates, both District Wide and Targeted rates
b. Surpluses derived from the Hanmer Springs Thermal
Pools and Spa
c. The use of the Internal Financing structure which
provides internal loans for communities requiring funding
and also an avenue for communities to build up funds to
meet funding requirements in the future
We Want to Ensure that Our Services Remain
Affordable
The concept of affordability is one of our core principles. Our
modest overall rate increases in the past three years have been:
• 2009/2010 - 4.20%
• 2010/2011 - 3.04%
• 2011/2012 - 3.60%
We considered all of these increases to be affordable and
deemed that, the community agreed going by their submissions
when we consulted the public on these. However, there are
various factors facing us that will require us to increase rates
at levels well above what we anticipated when we prepared the
last LTP (the 2009-2019).
As outlined in the Mayor and CEO’s introduction we are
experiencing the on-going financial impact of the Canterbury
Earthquakes. In particular, there has been a significant increase
in the cost of insurance for everyone. While the increase is large
and affects the overall rates increases, we consider it necessary
and responsible to insure our keys assets.
Meeting drinking water compliance is a costly issue (see the Key
Issues section). We consider the cost of complying with the
standards to be unaffordable to communities on the individual
water supplies affected. Because of that, we have developed
a two stage approach where we will aim for Ecoli compliance
immediately and start to build a fund to meet some of the cost of
the full compliance in later years. The rationale of this approach
is to ensure we are in a position to meet our obligations in an
affordable manner.
Whereas we are intending on maintaining our current levels of
service for roading over the next three year period, our ability
to do so in future years may be challenging. The ongoing impact
of receiving less NZTA funding than we had earlier anticipated in
our Asset Management Plans will eventually have a detrimental
effect on our levels of service unless more rates are collected.
The issue we will likely be facing in our next Long Term Plan, will
be affordability versus levels of service.
We Want to Maintain or Improve Our Current
Levels of Service
With the exception of roading as outlined above, we are
committed to maintaining our levels of service. In some areas,
we intend to increase the levels of service, through:
• Complying with the increased Drinking Water Standards
• Improving the treatment of sewage in Hanmer Springs
• Employing an engineer dedicated to stormwater
management throughout the District
• Building new or upgraded facilities, such as:
• upgrading the Hanmer Springs Domain
22
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
• upgrading or building a new Medical Centre in
Cheviot
• Improving our customer service (within existing
budgets)
Each of these will be funded through rates or other mechanisms
such as the use of the internal loans or development
contributions, to ensure that the rates increases imposed are
kept to an affordable level.
The Use of Our Key Funding Arms
We have three key arms to our funding structure to meet the
operating and capital expenditure planned for the period of the
LTP.
1. Rates
Under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, we have
the ability to set rates to fund the activities we undertake.
The way we set our rates is set out in the Funding Impact
Statement and Rates System section.
This Financial Strategy also sets out requirements for us to
place limits on rate increases and this is discussed further
below.
2. Surpluses Derived From the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools
& Spa
As outlined in the Core Principles above, we operate the
HSTP&S complex on a reserve that has been vested to the
Council under the Reserve Act.
Over the past decade, the operation of the HSTP&S complex
has been extremely successful and we constantly consider
how to maximise the profits generated. December 2010 saw
the completion of a $7.5 million expansion of the complex,
which provided a wider range of facilities and has proved to
be an outstanding success. We are aware that as a tourist
destination, the HSTP&S need to be in top condition and
refreshed if we are to maintain our place in the tourism
market. Because of this, and the ability for the profits from
the complex to fund it, further capital projects are planned for
the ten year period of this LTP.
The use of the HSTP&S surpluses is a key funding option
available to meet the costs of our reserves throughout the
district. The plan estimates that a total of $24 million will be
used from the surpluses derived from the HSTP&S to offset
these costs. For the first three years of the Long Term Plan, the
council is forecasting to spend more on reserve based costs
than it is earning from the surplus of the Hannmer Springs
Thermal Pools & Spa, however, the Council is comfortable
with utilising some of the existing reserve balance to fund this.
3. Internal Financing Structure
We developed an internal financing structure to provide a
consistent approach to funding capital expenditure across
the organisation. Because we do not build up depreciation
reserves, this system is important to enable communities
to access funding to undertake capital expenditure projects
rather than being required to fund such project through other
sources, such as rates. Our Internal Financing Policy is fully
discussed on page 268.
The structure is based on individual activities essentially
holding its own bank account. Income (rates, development
contributions, etc.) are deposited into the account and
expenditure, both operating and capital, is withdrawn from
the account. Like other bank accounts, the account can be in
funds or overdrawn. When the balance is in funds, we pay an
amount of interest and if the balance is overdrawn, then that
activity pay interest to us.
The result is that communities are able to undertake capital
expenditure projects by allowing the capital balance to go into
overdraft. This allows those communities to spread the cost
of required capital work over a period of time, rather than
having to fund it entirely in the year that it is incurred, by
setting rates to cover an amount of debt repayment every
year.
The internal financing structure also allows communities to
start building up funds by budgeting to continue to set rates at
a higher level than required to meet all operating costs, even
if there is no debt. This will mean that the excess operating
income will be held for that community to meet capital
expenditure requirements in the future. The benefit to those
communities in this position is that we pay interest to those
communities, which further increases their account balances.
The key benefit from the use of the internal financing structure
and building up fund is that it avoids large increases in rates
as it allowed the Council and the individual communities to
smooth the rating effect of large capital projects.
The anticipated level of internally financed debt at as 1 July
2012 is $16.6 million. The balances over the ten year period
are further disclosed in the Reserve Funds section of the LTP .
23
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Financial Position
Financial Position as at 2012
Our financial position at the start of the LTP period is set out in
the 2011/2012 Annual Plan shown below:
• The total rates were set at $12.8 million; of which $5.3
million are in District Wide rates and $7.5 million are in
targeted rates.
• Total income from non-rate sources was $16.9 million,
which includes $9.6 million in gross revenue derived from
the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa.
• Total Operating Expenditure is forecast at $23.5 million
and Capital expenditure for the 2011/2012 year is
expected to be $9.2 million (which includes a level of
Capital that has been carried over from the 2010/2011
year).
• External Debt was expected to be $13.5 million at the
end of June 2012; however, the forecast has been reduced
to $12.5 million due to deferring some projects as part of
the LTP budget preparation.
• Internal Debt is expected to total $16.6 million as at 30
June 2012.
• Total Assets as at 30 June 2011 was $335 million, of which
$253 million related to our infrastructure.
The Relevance of the Current Financial Situation
to the Financial Strategy
• The current financial situation is relevant to the
financial strategy as it provides the starting point for the
development of the budgets for the LTP.
• There have been relatively low levels of rate increases for
the past three years.
• We took on debt for the first time in September 2010,
principally to provide funding for the $7.5 million
expansion of the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa,
but there was already a need to obtain external debt to
fund the following keys projects over the preceding years:
• Town Centre Development in Hanmer Springs ($1.9
million) and Amberley ($560,000)
• Water Upgrades in Amberley ($714,000), Cheviot
($658,000) and Hanmer Springs ($788,000).
• Sewer Upgrades for Amberley ($2 million) and
Hanmer Springs ($1.8 million)
• Capital Expenditure to address the Drainage issues in
the Amberley Ward ($890,000).
• New Medical Centre in Hanmer Springs ($450,000)
and Rotherham ($1 million)
• As a result, there have been a number of large projects that
have been funded through the internal financing policy and
the requirement for those communities to start to repay
the debt through rates to replenish our cash reserves.
Until then, we will continue to hold debt for the period
of the LTP.
• The financial performance of the Hanmer Springs Thermal
Pools and Spa remains critical to our ability to keep rates
at an affordable level. The surpluses derived from the
HSTP&S is actively used to fund various costs relating to
reserves throughout the district. If we did not have the
surpluses to offset these costs, then they would need to be
rated for. In addition, and under the terms of the Internal
Financing Policy, we receive interest from the HSTP&S
for funds lent to it for the recent expansion works. This
interest received is used to offset the costs of our external
debt and to offset the District Wide Rates. The Council is
forecasting to spend more on reserve based costs than it
is forecast to earn from the surpluses derived from the
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa for the first three
years of the Long Term Plan. To fund this the Council will
utilise existing reserves.
Forecast Financial Position as at 2022
At the end of the LTP period, our position is forecast as follows:
• Total rates revenue of $19.9 million; of which $8.0 million
are in District Wide rates and $11.9 million are in targeted
rates.
• Total income from non-rate sources is expected to
be $22.3 million, which includes $13.8 million in gross
revenue derived from the HSTP&S.
• Total Operating Expenditure is forecast at $39.6 million
and Capital Expenditure for the 2021/2022 year is
expected to be $7.7 million.
• External Debt was expected to reduce to $12 million at
the end of June 2022.
• Internal Debt will reduce to $15 million by the end of
June 2022.
• Total Assets as at 30 June 2022 is forecast to be $493
million, of which an estimated $393 million relates to
infrastructure.
Key Movements Over the Ten Year Period
Rates – Over the ten year period, we are forecasting to
receive a total of $167 million in Rates. This is broken down to
$69million in District Wide Rates and $98 million in Targeted
Rates. To achieve the total increase of 55% since the 2011/2012,
we intend to take incremental steps over the ten year period,
however with a relatively large increase of 5.83% required for
the 2012/2013 year.
Non-Rate Income – Excluding gains in asset valuation and vested
assets, we are forecasting that a total of $191 million will be
received from other forms of income. Roading Subsidies make
up $38 million over the period, Development Contributions are
forecast at $4.3 million and the gross revenues from the HSTP&S
are forecast at $115 million. In addition, we are expected to
receive $3.4 million from Forestry Sales, which is used directly
to reduce debt.
Operating Deficits - Due to Council spending more on reserve
based costs than it is forecast to earn from the surpluses from
the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa, for the first three
24
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
years of the Long Term Plan, the Council will record small
operating deficits. These will be funded by existing reserves
built up by surpluses generated by the Hanmer Springs Thermal
Pools & Spa in the past.
Operating Expenditure – Total Operating Expenditure is
expected to be $351 million over the ten years. The total
increase from the 2011/2012 year is expected to be 38% over
the ten years and average of less than 4% per annum.
Capital Expenditure – Over the ten year period, we are
forecasting to spend a total of $77 million on Capital
Expenditure. $6.3 million is scheduled to fund projects required
due to growth, further $14.7 million relates to projects that will
assist in improving the levels of services we provide and the
remaining $56.2 million will be used to replace existing assets
when they reach the end of their useful lives.
This information is particularly relevant in determining
growth projections for the period and was also used for the
Development Contributions methodology. We have opted for
the medium growth projections for the ten year period. On this
basis, we have assumed that there will be approximately 17%
growth over the ten year period. The increase predicted for
Hanmer Springs is approximately 21%. With Hanmer Springs
being a tourist town, the growth in new sections and buildings is
not always consistent with an increase in population due to the
higher percentage of non-resident ratepayers who may own a
holiday home rather than a permanent residence.
The following graph shows the movements in the population
of each township in the District over the period from 1991 to
2006:
External Debt – This is scheduled to increase from the $13.5
as schedule in the 2011/2012 Annual Plan to reach a maximum
of $22.5 million in the between July 2015 and June 2017. With
communities required to repay certain levels of debt each year
and some communities starting to build up funds to carry out
capital expenditure in the future, we are forecasting that the
external debt will reduce to $12 million by the end of June 2022.
Internal Debt – With communities repaying debt and building
up funds, the movements in the internal debt levels move from
$16.6 million in 2012 down to $15 million in 2022.
Assets – It is expected that the value of our assets will be $493
million as at 30 June 2022. This increase of $165 million has been
brought about by the level of Capital expenditure to be incurred
over the ten years, but also due to the fact that the assets are
required to be revalued on a regular basis. It is forecast that the
increase in the asset values will account for $147 million of the
increase over the ten years.
Population Changes
The LTP has been prepared on the basis that the population
will continue to grow. Due to the effect of the Canterbury
Earthquakes, the 2011 Census was cancelled. Therefore, we
have used the population projections from the 2006 Census
to forecast population changes for the period of the LTP.
The following graph shows the population projection for the
Hurunui District over the next 20 year period.
It is acknowledged that the population of the Hurunui is older
than the national average. This presents issues around ensuring
there are appropriate facilities and services for older people.
We committed to providing buildings for medical centres to
ensure that health services are adequately provided to the
community. The following graph (using the 2006 Census data)
shows the age distribution for the Hurunui in comparison with
Canterbury and New Zealand:
25
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Capital and Operating Costs of Providing for
Changes in Population
In response to the demands of increasing population, we have
identified key projects proposed to respond to the anticipated
growth. These are further discussed in the Development
Contributions Policy but include the following:
1. Water supplies upgrades undertaken on Amberley,
Ashley Rural, Cheviot, Hanmer Springs and Hurunui
Rural water supplies which built in capacity to ensure
both existing ratepayers and future ratepayers are
serviced.
2. Sewerage systems have had capacity built into upgrade
work on ponds in both Amberley and Hanmer Springs
to allow for future growth. In addition, provision has
been made to allow for new areas to be reticulated in
Amberley.
3. Upgrades to both the Amberley Domain Pavilion and
the Hanmer Springs Hall have been undertaken to
provide additional facilities for both existing and future
ratepayers.
4. Provision has been made to develop new and upgrade
existing reserves to cater for increased population.
5. Stormwater provision to be factored in the development
of new areas in Amberley and Hanmer Springs.
Changes in Land Use
The Hurunui District has historically been an agriculture based
district, primarily beef and sheep. Over the past ten years, there
have been marked changes to the use of land throughout the
District.
The growth in tourism, especially Hanmer Springs and centred
around the development of the HSTP&S, has resulted in
increased number of accommodation providers and other
businesses associated with tourism, as well as more holiday
homes.
For a period, there was significant growth in viticulture, in
particular in the Waipara area, which provides ideal conditions
from growing premium quality grapes. The Amuri Basin has
seen a significant increase in the number of dairy farms and that
trend is likely to increase if access to further irrigation water
can be secured.
The Glenmark area has had two major wind farm applications –
one from Mainpower and the other from Meridian Energy.
The following pie chart shows the current land use of properties
in the Hurunui District as at September 2010 (the date of the
last District revaluation):
Capital and Operating Costs of Providing for
Changes in Land Use
Because of the uncertainty of the changes in land use, no specific
allowance has been made for changes to capital or operational
costs to allow for this.
Key Levels of Service
Capital Expenditure Programme
Capital expenditure requirements for our infrastructural assets
and roads are dictated by the levels outlined in the Asset
Management Plans (AMPs) for each activity. The AMPs are
updated on a regular basis to ensure that various changes to the
plan in the interim period are accounted for.
As discussed in the Key Issues section, we face potential issues
in the future regarding the level of funding that is expected to
be provided for roading from the NZTA. Our AMP for Roading
sets out what level of expenditure we have forecast to meet the
current levels of service. Since the AMP was adopted, there was
a change to the level of expenditure that the NZTA is prepared
to fund and this means that the expenditure allowed for in the
LTP budgets are significantly short of what was provided for in
the AMP. The AMP was developed prior to the change in central
government policy and before we were able to achieve greater
efficiencies through our current road maintenance contracts.
The difference over the ten years between what was scheduled
in the AMP and what has been provided in the LTP amounts to
a total of $18 million. Through achieving greater efficiencies in
the current roading contracts, we are planning on delivering the
same levels of service for the next three year period. In future
years, our ability to meet the same levels of service may not be
achieved without increasing rates.
26
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
In general, Capital Expenditure is broken down to three key
categories:
1. Capital expenditure relating to meeting the existing
levels of service. This will be principally replacement of
the existing assets
2. Capital expenditure aimed at improving the current
levels of service
3. Capital expenditure on assets required due to growth.
Some items of Capital Expenditure may actually fall into more
than one category. For example, the replacement of a length of
water pipe is required to provide water to existing consumers,
but the diameter of that length of pipe may be increased from
its existing diameter to allow for greater capacity in the future.
An assessment is carried out as to apportion the cost of each
project to the category to which it relates and if that cannot
be readily assessed, the category will be determine by the key
reason for the work to be undertaken.
Over the period of the LTP, we have budgeted $77 million to
spend on Capital expenditure. Of this balance, $56.2 million
related to maintaining the existing levels of service by providing
for replacement of current assets. A further $14.7 million
is aimed at making improvements to the level of service and
the balance of $6.3 million relates to projects scheduled due
to growth. The following graph shows the percentages of the
Capital Programme that relate to each category.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Growth Related
Improved Levels of Service
Renewals
The key area of capital expenditure is relating to the infrastructural
assets. Of the total Capital Expenditure programme for the
ten years of $77 million; $43.5 million relates to Roads and
Footpaths; $10.1 million relates to Water Supplies and $3.8
million relates to Sewerage Schemes. The following graph shows
the split of the Capital Expenditure programme to each of the
ten Groups of Activities for the ten year period.
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
-
Corporate Services
Governance
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
Growth and Development
Environment and Safety
Community Services and Facilities
Roads and Footpaths
Stormwater and Drainage
Sewerage
Water Supplies
Rates
We base rates on the Capital Value of each property. We set our
rates by way of District Wide Rates and Targeted Rates.
• District Wide rates are charged on all properties in
the district, regardless of location. They are are broken
down further to: Governance; Roading; Planning; Waste
Management; Canterbury Museum; and other General
Rates.
• Targeted rates are charged for specific activities based
on services provided or land use. They are broken down
further to: Water; Sewer; Stromwater/Drainage/Land
Protection; Ward Amenities; Refuse Collection Ward
Medical Centre; Rural fire; Tourism and Other Sundry
Targeted rates.
• The rates and how they are set are further defined in the
Funding Impact Statement but the key changes proposed
for the LTP relate to the funding of Drinking Water
Standards, District Wide Stormwater work and the
Capital Levy anticipated to be charged by the Canterbury
Museum.
Drinking Water Standards
The funding of the drinking water improvements will be done
in two stages. Firstly, those supplies that are to be treated, the
direct operating costs of the treatment and the servicing of the
debt arising out of the capital expenditure needed to treat the
relevant water supplies, will be collectively charged by rating
each dwelling that benefits from the work. Secondly, from
2015/2016, a provision is to be made from the general rate to
build a fund to offset some of the significant capital cost to be
incurred in achieving full compliance with the drinking water
standards.
District Wide Stormwater
After the flooding events in 2008, much more emphasis has been
placed on development of stormwater plans for the District as
a whole. A stormwater engineer is to be appointed in 2013 to
look after this area. As the issue is district wide, the funding is
to come from the District Wide General Rate, with a portion
to be funded by way of a fixed charge and a portion by way of
capital value.
Canterbury Museum
As one of four contributing authorities to the Canterbury
Museum, the Hurunui District has been contributing a levy to
fund the operations of the Museum on an annual basis. Hurunui
has set a fixed charge on every property in the District to
cover this rate. The Museum is proposing to carry out a $63
million building project, which will need to be funded by way
of a Capital Levy. The budget set aside for the Capital levy is
$50,000 in 2013/2014, $100,000 in 2014/2015 and $50,000 in
2015/2016. It is intended that the Capital levy will be charged
on the same basis as the operating levy by sharing it as a fixed
charge per property.
27
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Rate Increases
In general terms, we try to keep the overall rate increase each
year to the level of inflation. However, the actual increases
in rates from an organisational point of view do change from
year to year depending on the funding options chosen and also
the fact that there are operational costs that are not carried
out every year, but need to be funded in the year they are
incurred. As a result, as the rates increase is an amalgam of many
individual rate increases, we intend to set the rates at the level
that is required, rather than to ensure the overall rate increase
is matches inflation.
The Hurunui District has a small population (one of the smallest
in New Zealand), and because of this, various factors can have
a marked effect on the rates increases in any one year as there
are fewer people to spread the cost across. As a result, there is
an allowance for any rate increases being higher than the level
of inflation due to extraordinary items. These items include, but
not limited to, the following:
• Capital expenditure requirements, which increases the
level of debt for individual communities.
• Increase expenditure due to compliance with new
legislation.
• Increased expenditure resulting from extraordinary
events, such as the Canterbury Earthquakes.
When determining the overall rate increases, an allowance is
made for a 1% increase in the capital value of the district each
year. This may be reviewed if there are significant areas of growth
experienced in excess to this. The increase is only applied to
the district wide rates as it is difficult to accurately assess the
growth in individual areas that targeted rates are charged to.
Because of the structure of our rating system, the overall increase
in rates will not be consistent for each property throughout the
district. It will depend on the targeted rates that are charged
to that particular property and also the capital value of the
property. We provide the relative rate increase comparisons for
22 various sample properties from throughout the district. We
have used the same 22 properties for years as this gives us a
good indication of the impact of increases across the different
communities and house values. The sample properties analysis
is provided the Appendices section.
Overall Rate Increases
Based on the budgets provided for the LTP, the overall rates
increases for each year of the LTP are as follows:
Year
The rates increases are broken down to the following:
Limits on Rate Increases
Overall Rates Increase
2012/2013 (Year 1) 5.83%
2013/2014 (Year 2) 5.77%
2014/2015 (Year 3) 5.37%
2015/2016 (Year 4) 3.17%
2016/2017 (Year 5) 3.82%
2017/2018 (Year 6) 3.15%
2018/2019 (Year 7) 2.61%
2019/2020 (Year 8) 4.01%
2020/2021 (Year 9) 3.74%
2021/2022 (Year 10) 3.33%
Year
District Wide
Rates
Targeted Rate
2012/2013 (Year 1) 5.63% 5.96%
2013/2014 (Year 2) 7.15% 4.80%
2014/2015 (Year 3) 6.34% 4.67%
2015/2016 (Year 4) 2.14% 3.95%
2016/2017 (Year 5) 3.20% 4.28%
2017/2018 (Year 6) 2.14% 3.89%
2018/2019 (Year 7) 0.30% 4.31%
2019/2020 (Year 8) 3.37% 4.47%
2020/2021 (Year 9) 2.60% 4.55%
2021/2022 (Year 10) 1.17% 4.85%
All Councils are required to set a limit on rates increases over
the ten year period of the LTP. There are no set rules around
how we are to determine what limit it imposes.
Options
There were a number of options available to us, for instance:
• Setting rate increases to an inflation rate.
28
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
• Setting a percentage increase.
• Setting an increase based on known factors and
assumptions.
We felt that setting rate increase limits based on an arbitrary
rate of inflation was not consistent to the assessment of the
proposed costs outlined in the LTP. This is because it did not
take into account items such as new capital expenditure, which
could result in a necessary increase in rates to fund the work,
which could exceed the overall increase in rates.
Setting a percentage increase per annum again did not reflect
the assessment of the proposed costs in the long term.
Furthermore, as the rates for individual communities can
increases at varying amounts due to various factors, it was
difficult to set a percentage increase that reflected these factors
adequately.
As a result, we decided that the limit to be placed on rate
increases is to be set as a percentage of the overall rates
increases predicted in the LTP.
Limits
The percentage on top of the predicted rates increases will be
2%. In determining this percentage, we that felt 2% provides
sufficient flexibility, particularly if there is significant cost
increases (on top of what has been allowed for using the BERL
cost price increase projections) imposed on us as a result of the
on-going effects of the Canterbury Earthquakes.
As a result, the limits will be as follows
Year
Overall
Increase
Overall
Increase Limit
2012/2013 (Year 1) 5.83% 7.83%
2013/2014 (Year 2) 5.77% 7.77%
2014/2015 (Year 3) 5.37% 7.37%
2015/2016 (Year 4) 3.17% 5.17%
2016/2017 (Year 5) 3.82% 5.82%
2017/2018 (Year 6) 3.13% 5.15%
2018/2019 (Year 7) 2.61% 4.61%
2019/2020 (Year 8) 4.01% 6.01%
2020/2021 (Year 9) 3.74% 5.74%
2021/2022 (Year 10) 3.33% 5.33%
Again, because of the nature of the targeted rate structure,
the increase (or decrease) in rates for any year for individual
properties can vary markedly.
Non-Rates Income
We rely heavily on other forms of income to finance our
operations. For the period of the LTP, the budget has scheduled
that 54% of our total income is generated from sources other
than rates.
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
-
For 2012/2013, the income from non-rate sources is expected
to total $16.6 million and this is scheduled to increase to $23
million by 2021/2022.
New Zealand Transport Authority Subsidies
The first key component of non-rate income is NZTA subsidies,
which are used to fund both operating and capital expenditure
relating to the roading network. We have assumed that the
current funding assistance rate of funding provided by NZTA
will be maintained for the period of the LTP. Further discussion
of this is provided in the Forecasting Assumptions on page 150
and in the Key Issues section.
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa Revenue
The other key component is the Revenue derived from the
HSTP&S, which accounts for approximately one third of the total
income received. The HSTP&S is run as a separate business unit
of the Council and after allowing for Operating Expenses and
Interest, the surpluses are actively used to fund reserve costs
throughout the District. The reserve costs include: the cost
of the library, cemeteries, public toilets and a range of district
reserve costs. Over the last five years, the surpluses from the
pools have contributed a total of $7.65 million to these reserve
costs, which would otherwise need to be rated for. Over the life
the long term plan it is forecast that a total of $24 million will
be used from the surpluses derived from the HSTP&S to offset
these reserve costs.
Development Contributions
Other Income
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
NZTA Subsidies
External Interest Received
Development Contributions
Development Contributions also form a key component for
funding capital expenditure which has been required due to
increased growth. It is anticipated that over the life of the LTP, we
will receive a total of $4.3 million in Development Contributions,
however the amount actually received will be dependent on the
level of growth experienced. The Development Contribution
Policy is on page 206.
29
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Fees and Charges
Fees and Charges account for the remaining non-rate income.
We review our fees and charges each year and try to ensure
that they help offset actual costs and that the activities are not
overly reliant on rate funding instead. We also aim to make the
fees and charges affordable and fair on those who use them.
Targets for Investments
Cash Investments
As a result of a large Capital programme over the 2009/2010 and
2010/2011 years, principally due to the expansion works at the
HSTP&S, we had to take on term debt for the first time. Over
the period of the LTP, we expect to remain as a net borrower. As
a result, we no longer hold any long term cash assets in the form
of bonds or stock. Any spare cash funds are generally held on
call or in a short term investment of less than three months to
earn a small amount of interest as the interest rates are better
than holding the funds in a current account.
Equity Investments
Currently, we hold two equity investments – one in Civic
Assurance and the other in Transwaste Canterbury. Neither
assets are readily tradable on the open market, but we have
objectives for retaining ownerships of these investments.
Our holding in Civic Assurance was to maintain Civic as an
option in the insurance market. Civic was set up to provide
Local Authorities with an option for insurance that generally
met the unique insurance requirements faced by Councils.
Civic Assurance was heavily affected by the claims made as a
result of the Canterbury Earthquakes and there was a need
to recapitalise to ensure that it remains part of the insurance
market for local authorities in the future. It is not expected to
return a dividend for over the period of the LTP.
We own 1.2% of Transwaste Canterbury, which owns and
operates the Kate Valley Landfill. The value of our investment
as at 30 June 2011 was $269,000.The Company is 50% owned
by five of the Councils in Canterbury and our objective for
holding our investment is to continue to receive dividends
from the Company. The net return to us is approximately 27%
on Hurunui’s share of the net asset backing of the Company
and we have budgeted to receive $72,000 per annum from this
investment.
Forestry Investments
We hold approximately 240 hectares of trees. Some of the key
plantations are due for milling during the life of the LTP. Forestry
assets are held as long term investments on the basis of net
positive discounted cash flows, factoring in projected market
prices and annual maintenance and cutting costs. All income
from forestry is included in the statement of comprehensive
income, and this is used to fund replanting of the land. Where
there is an excess of funds, we may distribute this in a manner
we see fit.
External Debt
We have two key areas of borrowing - Internal and External.
The Internal debt is pursuant to our Internal Financing Policy, as
discussed above.
As our cash resources have been drawn down to fund key
capital projects in the past few years, we needed to take on
external debt to manage cash flow. We are now expecting to be
a net borrower for the period of the LTP.
Anticipated Levels of External Debt
As at 31 December 2011, the total amount of external debt we
held was $12 million. At the end of the ten year period, the debt
is expected to be $12.0 million, with the debt level is expected
to peak at $22.5 million over the period between July 2014 and
June 2017. The anticipated debt levels over the period.
Year
Total
Anticipated
Debt
Limits on Debt Levels
Total Anticipated
Interest Expense
2012/2013 (Year 1) $18.5 million $969,000
2013/2014 (Year 2) $20.0 million $1,203,000
2014/2015 (Year 3) $21.5 million $1,297,000
2015/2016 (Year 4) $22.0 million $1,359,000
2016/2017 (Year 5) $22.5 million $1,359,000
2017/2018 (Year 6) $21.5 million $1,281,000
2018/2019 (Year 7) $19.5 million $1,156,000
2019/2020 (Year 8) $17.5 million $1,000,000
2020/2021 (Year 9) $14.5 million $828,000
2021/2022 (Year 10) $12.0 million $750,000
Our External Liability Risk Management Policy sets out the
limits on the level of debt that we can take on. The ratios have
been developed in accordance to the industry standard and
have been set against the levels that are appropriate for us to
take debt from the Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA).
The net debt limits provided for in the policy are that total debt
shall be no more than 100% of total income and no more than
10% of total equity. Based on the levels of income allowed for
30
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
in the LTP, the limit of the debt that could be taken on is $42.5
million.
Year
100% of Total
Income
10% of Total
Equity
2012/2013 (Year 1) $30.3 million $34.2 million
2013/2014 (Year 2) $31.6 million $34.6 million
2014/2015 (Year 3) $32.9 million $35.2 million
2015/2016 (Year 4) $34.3 million $37.7 million
2016/2017 (Year 5) $35.4 million $38.2 million
2017/2018 (Year 6) $36.5 million $38.9 million
2018/2019 (Year 7) $37.9 million $42.0 million
2019/2020 (Year 8) $39.2 million $42.7 million
2020/2021 (Year 9) $40.7 million $43.8 million
2021/2022 (Year 10) $42.5 million $47.5 million
The policy also provides for the total amount of interest
expenses shall be no more than 5% of total revenue and no
more than 10% of annual rates income. Based on the maximum
of $42.5 million in income, the total interest cost can be no
more than $2.13 million.
Year
5% of total
income
10% of total
annual rates
income
2012/2013 (Year 1) $1.52 million $1.36 million
2013/2014 (Year 2) $1.58 million $1.45 million
2014/2015 (Year 3) $1.65 million $1.53 million
2015/2016 (Year 4) $1.72 million $1.59 million
2016/2017 (Year 5) $1.78 million $1.65 million
2017/2018 (Year 6) $1.83 million $1.70 million
2018/2019 (Year 7) $1.90 million $1.75 million
Holding a Debenture Trust Deed provides us with security for a
range of different funding options:
• Registered Bank Debt
• Use of the Local Government Funding Agency
• Issuing Council Debt directly to the market
Further information is available in the External Liability
Management Policy.
Implications of Hurunui’s Financial Strategy
Assessment of our ability to provide and maintain existing levels
of service and to meet additional demands for service within
those rate increase limits:
We face potential issues in the future in regards to the level
of funding that is expected to be provided for roading from
NZTA as discussed previously in this Financial Strategy. It
has been estimated that the difference over the ten years
between what was scheduled in the AMP and what has
been provided in the LTP amounts to a total of $18 million.
Assessment of our ability to provide and maintain existing levels
of service and to meet additional demands for service within
those debt limits:
As listed in the table above, we are not contemplating
taking on debt greater than $22.5 million and the
maximum amount of interest expected to be charged on
the external debt is budgeted at less than $1.4 million.
Therefore, with the exception of the Roading Network
due to circumstances outlined earlier, our assessment is
that we do have the ability to maintain the existing levels
of service and to meet additional demands for service
within those debt limits.
2019/2020 (Year 8) $1.97 million $1.82 million
2020/2021 (Year 9) $2.04 million $1.90 million
2021/2022 (Year 10) $2.13 million $1.98 million
Security for Borrowing
Prior to taking on debt for the first time in September 2010, we
prepared a Debenture Trust Deed and selected Perpetual Trust
as our Trustee. The Debenture Trust Deed is a standard security
document for Councils. The key security available is that a charge
can be made against the rates of the Council to repay debt so
the market perspective on this is that a Debenture Trust Deed
provides a low level of risk for an investor or funding provider,
which in turn should allow for lower interest rates.
31
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Statement Concerning Balancing of the Budget
Introduction
In terms of the Local Government Act 2002, the Council is
balancing the budget over the period of the Long Term Plan as in
most years; the budgeted operating income exceeds budgeted
operating expenditure. There are some areas of expenditure
that the Council has resolved not to fund, which are discussed
further. The Council also has developed an internal financing
policy to cope with funding for future capital expenditure
requirements.
Local Government Act 2002
Under Section 100 of the Local Government Act 2002, the
Council is required to balance the budget. The provisions of the
sections specifically state that “A local authority must ensure
that each year’s projected operating revenues are set at a level
sufficient to meet that year’s projected operating expenses”.
The Act goes further to state that a local authority may set
projected operating revenues at a different level from that
required if the Council resolves that it is financially prudent to
do so, having regard to:
to that activity. In some cases, the Council has resolved to use
reserves to fund some specific expenditure. This is particularly
the case where the Council actively uses the Reserve built up
by surpluses recorded from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools
and Spa to fund the operating expenditure of other reserves
throughout the entire district.
Receipt of Capital Income
For some of the Council activities, the Council has budgeted to
receive various amounts of income that are of a capital nature.
This capital income is in the form of development and reserve
contributions and vested assets which are not used to reduce
the amount of rates to be charged of a particular activity. These
amounts are instead applied to the capital requirements of the
activity that it relates to.
Funding of Depreciation
The introduction of the Local Government Amendment (No 3)
Act 1996 imposed the requirement for local authorities to fund
depreciation.
a) The estimated expenses of achieving and maintaining
the predicted levels of service provision set out in the
long-term council community plan, including the estimated
expenses associated with maintaining the service capacity
and integrity of assets throughout their useful life; and
b) The projected revenue available to fund the estimated
expenses associated with maintaining the service capacity
and integrity of assets throughout their useful life; and
c) The equitable allocation of responsibility for funding
the provision and maintenance of assets and facilities
throughout their useful life; and
d) The funding and financial polices set out in this long
term plan
Use of Reserves
The council is forecasting to record an overall deficit (excluding
gains on Asset Revaluation) in each of the first three years of teh
Long Term Plan. These deficits have been caused by the Council’s
decision to fund more reserve based costs than it is generatimg
from the surpluses of the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa.
The Council is comfortable with this approach as it is able to
utilise surplusses that have been generated over the past few
years that have yet to be allocated. The Council is forecasting
to record surpluses for each year of the Long Term Plan from
year four onwards. In some activities however, the Council has
resolved not to set revenue to fund all of the costs relating
In 1999, the Council widely consulted with its community over
this requirement and it concluded that the Council will not cash
fund depreciation on Water and Sewer assets, roading or ward
Amenity assets. In addition, it has been resolved not to fund
depreciation on the library building.
Rates for these activities are set at a level higher than required
to meet the operating costs in terms of the Internal Financing
System. The additional rates will be used to either repay debt (if
the activity holds some internal debt) or used to build an amount
to fund future capital expenditure. The Internal Financing system
is fully discussed in the Internal Financing Policy.
Implications to Not Fully Fund
Depreciation
As there are no specific depreciation reserves created for water,
sewer, roading and ward amenities, there are no funds available
immediately to apply to capital expenditure requirements of
each of these activities. As a result, the community of benefit
is required to meet the cost of the capital expenditure through
the use of internal loans or fund the capital cost through rates
and other income.
If internal loans are used, there is the requirement on that
community of benefit to fund not only the appropriate interest
charge but also a portion of the principal of the outstanding loan
on an annual basis. Both interest and principal repayments has
32
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
the effect of increasing the operational cost that the community
must bear and as a result, increases in the rate requirement are
inevitable. The Internal Financing system goes further to ensure
that communities continue to fund additional payments, even if
the debt has been repaid, to build up a reserve fund to assist in
funding capital expenditure requirements in the future.
Council is comfortable with increasing rates to meet the cost of
interest and principal because existing ratepayers have previously
been relieved of any rate increases that may have been required
if the Council resolved to fully fund the depreciation on those
assets.
33
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Community Outcomes
Introduction
‘Community outcomes’ are the community’s overall aspirations
for the future of the Hurunui district. They relate to all aspects
of our rural life – our environment, economy, social, and cultural
wellbeing. These four wellbeings are commonly referred to
by government agencies as summarising the various aspects
needed for healthy community life in New Zealand.
The community outcomes in this long term plan relate directly
to the activities that we do as a council as they are the only
ones we have direct control over. There can be many more
community outcomes which can only be achieved with help
from other organisations such as business, government, the
police and many others.
Hawarden /Waikari Volunteer Rural Fire Force (VRFF)
The term ‘community outcomes’ is used to describe what
people want to happen now and in the future for the benefit
of not only today’s people, but future generations. Community
outcomes are about improving the wellness of our communities
over time in a sustainable manner.
Identifying the Community Outcomes
In past years, we have sought public views to identify what our
communities consider important for the future of the Hurunui
District. In addition to this, we have often sought community
views on a variety of issues and we feel confident we have a
good understanding of what people in the Hurunui consider to
be important. We have since scaled down previously identified
community outcomes to five broad outcomes that we as a
Council are able to work toward achieving. These community
outcomes are described in table 1. and each is aligned to one of
the four key wellbeings as well as the service or activity that we
provide to contribute toward achievement of them.
Hawarden/Waikari & Scargill VRFF
Scargill VRFF
34
Table 1:
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Community Outcomes and the Link to What Council Does (Activities)
Social
Wellbeing Outcome Definition Council Activities (How we contribute)
Cultural
Economy
Environmental
A desirable and
safe place to live
A place where
our traditional
rural values and
heritage make
Hurunui unique
A place with a
thriving local
economy
A place with
essential
infrastructure
A place that
demonstrates
environmental
responsibility
• We have attractive well designed
townships
• Communities have access to
adequate health and emergency
services and systems and
resources are available to meet
civil defence emergencies
• Risks to public health are
identified and appropriately
managed
• People have a range of
opportunities to participate in
leisure and culture activities
• Our historic and cultural
heritage is protected for future
generations
• We are seen as a good place to
do business, to live and to visit
• We have a strong emphasis
on service delivery across
all infrastructure including
roading, water (for drinking
and development), waste water,
stormwater and solid waste
• We protect our environment
while preserving people’s
property rights
• We minimise solid waste to the
fullest extent, and manage the rest
in a sustainable way
Measuring and Reporting our Progress
Each of the above outcomes is aligned to our services which
will contribute toward the achievement of them. We are
responsible for monitoring our performance each year, and the
results are provided in our Annual Report. How we are doing
with each of our services will give a good indication of how we
are going overall to achieve the community outcomes. See the
Council Activity pages for performance information.
Groups
• Community Services and
Facilities
• Environment and Safety
• Governance
• Community Services and
Facilities
• Hanmer Springs Thermal
Pools & Spa
• District Promotion
• Hanmer Springs Thermal
Pools & Spa
• Water Supply
• Sewerage
• Stormwater & Drainage
• Roads & Footpaths
• Environment & Safety
Individual services
Property - Pensioner Housing,
Residential Housing, Public Toilets,
Council Offices & Depots, Car Parks,
Medical Centres, Halls, Swimming
Pools, Township Maintenance
Emergency Services - Civil Defence,
Rural Fire
Compliance and Regulatory
Functions - Building, Public Health,
Liquor Licensing, Animal Control
Governance
Community Services - Library, Youth,
Community Development, Grants
and Service Awards
Reserves - Parks and Reserves,
Queen Mary Historic Hospital
Reserve, Cemeteries
Thermal Pools – Spa, i-site, pools,
café
Promotion
Tourism
Economic Development
Water Schemes
Sewerage Schemes
Stormwater & Drainage
Roading - Roads, Bridges, Footpaths,
Street Lighting, Road Safety
Resource Management & Planning
- RMA Consents, Administration
& Policy Development, Subdivision
Inspection
Waste Minimisation - Refuse,
Recycling, Transfer Stations, Litter Bin
Collection
35
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Aligning Our Long Term Plan With the Government’s Drivers
for Economic Growth
The Government’s Economic Growth
Agenda
The government’s principal economic goal is to deliver greater
prosperity, security and opportunities to all New Zealanders.
It wants to improve New Zealand’s fundamental growth
momentum. An important part of this is through the economy
rebalancing itself toward exporting and investment. The
government has a six-point Economic Growth Agenda aimed at
creating an environment that allows businesses to grow, export
and create high-value jobs. The six drivers for economic growth
are:
• Enable better science, innovation and trade.
• Remove red tape and unnecessary regulation.
• Deliver better, smarter, public services.
• nvest in productive infrastructure.
• Lift education and skills.
• Create a growth-enhancing tax system.
Hurunui’s Annual Economic Growth
Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) Regional
Performance Indicators Report for 2011, published in March 2012,
which measures each district’s economic performance, ranked
Hurunui 10th out of 66 territorial local authorities in New
Zealand. Nine key performance indicators were compared
for the year ending March 2011. We maintained our 10th place
2010 ranking.
Infometrics Limited Annual Economic Profile for 2010, published in
2011, said Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Hurunui measured
$303m in 2010, down 0.3% from a year earlier. New Zealand’s
GDP declined by 0.5% over the same period. Hurunui’s GDP
growth of -0.3% ranked it number 32 among the 72 territorial
authorities for GDP growth.
Agriculture, fishing and forestry was the largest industry in
Hurunui in 2010 accounting for 45.3% of total GDP, followed by
business and property services (12.4%).
Council’s Contribution Towards Economic
Growth
From a local perspective, Hurunui District Council plays a
significant role in growing the local economy. Its involvement in
areas such as leadership, planning and infrastructure, regulation,
services, business support, and social and community, actively
create environments that attract, retain, and grow economic
activity. Our contribution occurs within its total annual spending
(planned to be $30m in the 2012/13 year). This spending can
be viewed as an investment into the Hurunui environment that
36
enables individuals, households and organisations to produce
and contribute to economic growth.
Leadership: We contribute through our role in local strategic
planning. We have developed a new vision (‘Community partnership
in growth and wellbeing’) and have developed a Long
Term Plan that provides for economic growth and allows business
interests to flourish. Key drivers for the Plan include core
principles of:
• Focusing on core services.
• Financial responsibility and affordability.
• Continuous improvement in service to everyone in our
district.
• Facilitating appropriate growth in the district.
and
• Maximising our Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
profits.
• Hurunui District Council being a High Performance
Organisation.
Infrastructure: We contribute through our role as an infrastructure
provider. Our investment in infrastructure plays a direct
role in creating an attractive environment for business to
invest.
Regulation: We contribute through our regulatory role. We
can make it easier for new investment, for businesses to grow
and create jobs.
Services: We contribute through our role in providing local
amenities, such as libraries and reserves. We provide services
that make our communities attractive to skilled migrants.
Business Support: We contribute through our support to
business and industry development. Our economic development
arm, Enterprise North Canterbury (ENC) carries out a range of
activities that help retain businesses and support growth and
prosperity in North Canterbury. ENC’s budget is over $1.1m
p.a. It receives 44% of its funding from the Hurunui and Waimakariri
District Councils (HDC funding is $50,000 p.a.); 30%
from central government contracts; 18% from the private sector
and other grants; and 8% from sponsorship.
We also continue by promoting tourism in order to attract
visitors into the district to enable local business growth (refer
to the District Promotion activity for proposed tourism changes
outlined for consultation).
Community: We contribute through our contribution to social
and community affairs, strengthening local social capital.
Overall, we have a fundamental role in ‘shaping’ places in the
Hurunui, like our towns, ensuring infrastructure and amenities
are provided to make our district attractive to investment and
skilled immigrants.
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Some of the important things we plan to do in this Long Term
Plan that directly relate to the government’s six-point Economic
Growth Agenda are highlighted below:
Enable Better Science, Innovation and
Trade
Science and innovation are enormously important drivers of
New Zealand’s economic growth.
ENC will be proactive in searching for and supporting new
initiatives that create substantial wealth in North Canterbury.
Particular emphasis will be given to the primary sector and its
related servicing industries. ENC’s Rural Technology Transfer
Project is particularly relevant. This project is about turning new
ideas developed at Lincoln Research campuses into practical
applications resulting in commercial returns on the farm.
Improved techniques for both dryland farming and irrigated land
use options are being pursued.
ENC will continue to facilitate the establishment of local
industry groupings where these are sought by the sector, to
achieve efficiencies in marketing, product development and
securing of resources. Management and marketing of the North
Canterbury Food and Wine Trail is one such example.
ENC assesses economic development opportunities in local
towns. A Cheviot project is currently underway.
In 2011 we approved a Hurunui Tourism Strategy and currently
continue to fund tourism promotion in order to attract visitors
into the district to support local business growth. Likewise, ongoing
investment in and the marketing of our Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa complex is provided for in this Plan;
the Thermal Pools and Spa complex are an internationally
recognised tourism icon that return a growing income stream
to fund works and services on Council reserves and off-set the
size of the district wide rate requirement.
Overseas trade links can be a productivity springboard. For this
purpose, councils often form overseas sister city relationships.
To date, we have not taken on such a role. Forming a relationship
with Hung Hu City in China at a cost of $7,500 p.a. has been
requested of Council. More information is being sought. No
provision for such a relationship is included in this Plan at this
stage.
Remove Red Tape and Unnecessary
Regulation
We have implemented the government’s recent simplified
Resource Management Act changes to reduce costs and make
processes clearer; and it will implement any further RMA and
building regulation reforms when enacted, to make it easier for
businesses to grow, invest and create jobs.
In terms of our own regulations, over the past few years we
have carried out a significant number of District Plan changes to
ensure the District Plan is up to date and that our rules reflect
current thinking. Among these approved changes, relatively
large amounts of land have been opened up for development
in Amberley, Hanmer Springs and Gore Bay, new areas of land
have been zoned for business and industrial purposes, and
appropriate rules for vine yards wanting to install frost fans have
been agreed.
We are required to give effect to recent new National Policy
Statements (NPS) such as the NPS for Renewable Electricity
Generation 2011. The government has a renewable electricity
target of 90% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025. This
requires a significant increase in the proportion of electricity to
be generated from renewable resources. The government was
concerned renewable electricity generation was being unduly
impeded by variable provisions in local authority policies and
plans and changing attitudes to the environmental effects of
development associated with renewable electricity generation
activities. Accordingly there are now new guidelines to ensure
the national significance of renewable electricity generation and
associated activities are more explicitly recognised in policy
development and resource management consenting processes.
This Long Term Plan contains funding for a comprehensive
review of our District Plan. We expect the District Plan to be
ready for notification by the end of 2013.
The Environment Court released its decision at the end of
2011 on the Mainpower proposal to establish and operate a
$200m wind farm at Mt Cass Waipara. The initial application was
declined by Hurunui District Council appointed commissioners.
During extensive mediation the proposal was modified and this
modified proposal was directly referred to the Court and it
is this proposal that has been granted consent, subject to an
extensive suite of conditions. Mainpower have eight years to
give effect to the consent. The Council will have an important
regulatory role to fulfil in respect to consent requirements.
In 2011 we agreed to directly refer Meridian Energy’s proposed
$200m to $300m Greta Valley wind farm development consent
application to the Environment Court. Meridian Energy has
agreed to pay our direct referral costs. We expect the Court
will be hearing the application by mid-2012.
In September 2011, developers announced their plans for a
$120m shopping centre and residential development on the
eastern side of Amberley. The $30m shopping centre on State
Highway One was granted a non-notified resource consent
by us in February 2010, but developers are still finalising plans
and have yet to provide a firm start date for what is likely to be
a staged development.
The $90m residential development is expected to open up 500
to 600 lots in total. We granted a subdivision application for the
first stage of the development late last year.
37
www.hurunui.govt.nz
In October 2011, another 60 lot subdivision application was
granted on the Western side of Amberley.
ENC will continue to play a role assisting new businesses
establish in the district. Part of this role is acting as an interface
for businesses with us to ensure regulatory processes are work
effectively.
In preparation of this Long Term Plan we commissioned
PricewaterhouseCoopers to review our Development
Contributions policy. As a result, a number of minor amendments
were agreed to ensure we will collect the correct amount of
money from developers to cover the costs of growth (refer to
the Development Contributions section of this Plan).
Deliver Better, Smarter, Public Services
We have a High Performance Organisation culture. A range of
work aimed at improving customer services and achieving cost
savings and value for money is undertaken each year.
We competitively tender a significant amount of its work.
Last year we saved $200,000 with our three year public toilet
cleaning contracts. Grass moving and street cleaning tendering
also resulted in savings. In our largest contract area, road
maintenance, last year Downers won this work, tendering a
three year price of $11,595,216. This was $3,707,704 under
our engineer’s estimate based on historic rates, and $2,113,444
lower than the next lowest tendered price. Savings are reinvested
into the roading network.
We are involved in and will continue to look for opportunities
in Shared Services arrangements in order to deliver our
services and to help get value for money (refer Shared Services
references throughout this Plan). See Table1: Shared Services.
ENC will continue to carry out regular research with local
businesses to identify gaps, opportunities and track business
issues and trends.
Invest in Productive Infrastructure
First-class infrastructure is an important enabler of higher
productivity and economic growth. In this Long Term Plan
we are investing in owning and maintaining a high standard
of infrastructure that meets both our community’s economic,
social, cultural and environmental needs, and the government’s
legislative requirements.
Importantly, this Plan makes the significant funding provision
necessary for Hurunui to be able to meet government’s Drinking
Water Standards. The Plan provides for more public toilets;
more cemetery land; new stormwater infrastructure; more
parks and reserves infrastructure; for library, hall and service
centre improvements; and for new emergency management and
rural fire equipment, to name just a few. It also contains initial
proposals for new sporting and medical centres.
Table 1: Shared Services
Hurunui District Council Shared Services
Arrangements as at February 2012
Collaboration Joint Procurement Shared Services
Canterbury Water Electoral Services Transwaste Kate Valley
Management Strategy
landfill
Civil Defence
Rural Fire
Flood Protection
Office accommodation
(for CRC)
Transportation
priorities
SOLGM – best practice
work
Ingenium – asset
management work
Building Accreditation
Environmental Health
District Plan work
Rate collection (for
CRC)
IT/ GIS/ Library
IT (hardware and
software)
SOLGM – industry
good work
SOLGM – staff
recruitment and
retention
Regional Purchasing
Group (electricity, fuel)
ENC
CED Co Ltd
Canterbury Museum
Insurance – Riskpool/
LAPP/ Civic
Building control work
Regional planning Road Maintenance
responses
(some sharing with
Waimakariri DC)
HDC Natural
Biodiversity (govt grant)
Environment Fund (joint
grant with Mainpower)
Community
Development (govt
grant)
Libraries (located with
local schools)
Water (Ashley
scheme extending into
Waimakariri DC area)
Water will be a key part of North Canterbury’s transformational
economic development. We continue to support the Canterbury
Water Management Strategy in this Long Term Plan. We provide
for our share of the operation of the Hurunui Waiau Zone
Committee, which is a joint committee with the Canterbury
Regional Council. The Regional Council’s Regional Water
Committee will be considering the matter of how to fund the
provision of infrastructure associated with any large water
storage options that are seen as feasible. Properly managed, bulk
water storage could result in large productivity gains in North
Canterbury. No Council funding for such a purpose has been
discussed or provided for in this Plan to date.
With the removal of the Hurunui and Waiau River moratoriums
on 1 October 2011, Meridian Energy and Ngai Tahu Property
have jointly lodged initial consent applications for a proposed
hydro and irrigation scheme to be located between the Waiau
and Hurunui Rivers. The development of the project will be
dependent on the Hurunui Waiau Regional Plan progress
in 2012 and the RMA consent process. The parties still have
significant investigations and design work to complete and
believe construction is likely to be at least 10 years away. We are
38
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
likely to have an important consenting role.
The Hurunui Water Project has also lodged consent for Waitohi
storage in line with the Zone Implementation Programme’s
preferred option.
The Long Term Plan contains further capital funding provision
for on-going renewal and refreshment of our Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa complex.
ENC is also focusing on government’s rural broadband delivery
project (directed at schools and hospitals) to put together local
business consortia to investigate higher capacity broadband
services for rural businesses to create new wealth, as an
adjunct to the government’s programme. We will be involved in
consenting requirements for at least two new cell phone towers
that are planned as part of the roll-out.
Lift Education and Skills
ENC will continue to provide training and coaching programmes
aimed at improving local business skills and business capability.
ENC is carrying out work to support the Amuri Dairy Employers
Group and Dairy NZ to improve employment practices, and the
recruitment and retention of employees in the Amuri area.
We continue to run our Secondary Education School Achievers
Awards, giving out $10,000 annually to assist young people to
undertake further study.
We continue to run our Youth Development Programme, aimed
at helping young people develop skills – both leadership and
technical.
Our Library is supporting the INZONE Career Information
Kiosk initiative. This is aimed at helping young people identify
suitable career options.
Create a Growth-Enhancing Tax System
Tax legislation and practice are constantly changing and it can
be a challenge within a small council to maintain the level of
knowledge required to ensure compliance with the various
tax acts. In November 2009 we commissioned Toovey Eaton
McDonald Ltd to review our tax compliance. They were
impressed with the overall level of compliance. A number of
technical and relatively minor observations were made as part
of the review for staff to action.
39
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Water Management
Canterbury Initiatives and Background
Water in Canterbury is a very topical and potentially
controversial issue, subject to many studies and public scrutiny.
The most wide ranging review in Canterbury to date has been
the Canterbury Strategic Water Study (CSWS). Stage 1 of the
CSWS, undertaken by Lincoln Environmental in response to
the severe drought of 1998 and published in 2002, concluded
that on an annual basis there is sufficient water in Canterbury
to meet likely future demand and development, but that there
were seasonal and geographic mismatches between supply and
demand. The initial study concluded that water storage and
distribution should be considered as part of meeting future
demands for water, to supplement supply in times of low natural
flows.
Under the auspices of the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, and
facilitated by Crown and local funding, the CSWS progressed
from 2004 through to 2008, respectively identifying a wide range
of potential water storage sites (Stage 2), and then undertaking
initial high level desk top evaluations of a more limited
number of major storage options (Stage 3). These evaluations
incorporated environmental, social, cultural, recreational and
economic viewpoints and included multi stakeholder group
meetings. Stage 3 concluded that a range of issues, opportunities,
trade-offs and concerns would need to be considered and
managed for any of the storage options to be taken further. Of
all the options considered, the Hurunui catchment option (up
to 68,000 hectares of irrigated land) was seen to be perhaps the
most viable hydrologically, albeit not without other issues and
concerns for some stakeholders.
The CSWS findings were subsequently put on hold (from mid-
2008), while wider social, environmental and economic aspects
were canvassed in a structured feedback process (in late 2008).
The Canterbury Strategic Water Study itself was renamed
‘Canterbury Water Management Strategy’ (CWMS) as it moved
through Stage 4 reviews, which culminated in public consultation
in May 2009. This eventually resulted in the publication of the
finalised strategy in October and adopted by the Council in
November 2009.
The Wider Scene & Context:
A Hurunui Perspective
New Zealand’s GDP and national prosperity continues to
be based on primary production and exports from the land.
Recent developments at all levels seem to suggest that the
country’s reliance on its land based economy will become even
greater in the years ahead. Hurunui has a traditional focus on
grass fed food and fibre production, and the present and future
prosperity of our communities, and their wellbeing on all fronts,
relies on Hurunui continuing to play to this traditional primary
sector strength.
The downside effects of the severe droughts of the late 1990s
(which in fact triggered the initial Canterbury Strategic Water
Study) are testimony to the risk of “doing nothing” with
regard to future proofing our land based production, and our
community prosperity. These same droughts, and downturns
in the agricultural economy, led to major visible decline in
Hurunui’s rural townships, and the implementation of a Hurunui
Tourism strategy was one of the responses. Given the pressures
of the global economy, and international tourism outlook, it is
highly unlikely that tourism in Hurunui could be the platform for
widespread prosperity across all communities and sectors, going
forward. Although tourism will be important, it will not replace
traditional primary production. Further, it must be remembered
that our tourism model is land based, given the attractions of
our striking landscapes, the traditional North Canterbury rural
character and values, the unique Hanmer Springs alpine spa
village, viticulture in the Waipara Valley, and more.
We believe that this issue of prosperity and the critical
importance of our land based industries and exports, is even
more important than many New Zealanders presently realise.
World food production is coming under increasing pressure
from the competing interests of bio-fuel production, climate
change, world population increase, socio economic growth and
development in countries such as India and China….”our planet
and global communities need high quality food in ever increasing
volumes, and New Zealand’s key role, historically, presently and
into the future, is as an efficient and sustainable food producer
and exporter. Such exports will be crucial to provide for New
Zealand’s import hungry lifestyle and prosperity for all”.
The subject of water is therefore of major importance to us.
Given the drought prone nature of the Hurunui, we believe
the future prosperity of the district can only be assured with
reliable sources of water to irrigate and support an increasing
proportion of its “food and fibre” producing farmland. Further,
there is also an on-going challenge for us to provide plentiful
domestic and stock water supplies and to meet New Zealand’s
drinking water standards.
We firmly believe that this Long Term Plan represents the best
opportunity to demonstrate a sense of leadership, by continuing
to support the CWMS through the Hurunui-Waiau Zone
committee.
Hurunui – Waiau Zone Committee
In July 2010, the Hurunui Waiau Zone Committee was formed
as a joint committee of the Hurunui District Council and
Environment Canterbury. This committee was the first of the
Canterbury formed ‘Zone Committees’ to be established as part
of the broader Canterbury Water Management Strategy. The
Hurunui Waiau Zone Committee has worked collaboratively
40
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
to develop recommendations on water management in as
described in the Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP). See
a summary of the ZIP appended to this Plan. A full copy is
available on our Council website.
The Zone Committee and this ZIP are part of implementing
the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) in
the Hurunui Waiau Zone. The CWMS sets as its first order
priorities: environment, customary use, community supplies
and stock water; with second order priorities as irrigation,
renewable electricity generation, recreation and amenity. The
Zone Committee recognizes that clean drinking water, land use,
water quality and quantity, environmental flows and allocation
for the rivers, biodiversity protection and enhancement,
irrigation, hydro power development and water storage options,
and the principles of kaitiakitanga are all (intimately) interrelated
and must be considered as a whole rather than in isolation. The
ZIP recommends actions and approaches for collaborative
and integrated water management solutions to achieve the
CWMS vision, “to enable present and future generations to
gain the greatest economic, environmental, recreational and
cultural benefits from our water resources”. In accordance
with the CWMS, the Zone Committee has arrived at its
recommendations through consensus.
Drinking Water Quality
Under this Strategy, we fully acknowledge that our focus on
productive development must be matched with a similar
energy and commitment to drinking water standards. See
the ‘Key Issues’ and ‘Water Supply’ sections of this plan for a
comprehensive explanation of our intentions to address this
issue across the Hurunui district.
Land and Water Quality Use Research
Council will continue to support initiatives, with Enterprise
North Canterbury and Environment Canterbury, and other
appropriate agencies, to position Hurunui at the forefront of
land use and water quality research programmes, projects and
pilots in the interests of Hurunui and all rural New Zealand. We
believe Hurunui is well placed to pursue this lead role, especially
given our dry east coast climate and our strong relationships
with entrepreneurial landowners and agencies. We believe that
this is a critically important component of our overall strategic
and comprehensive approach, particularly to demonstrate that
the Hurunui Water Management Strategy in relation to storage
and irrigation will require landowners to commit to best
industry practise and the uptake of available science.
Environmental, Social and
Recreational Interests
The environmental, social and recreational values of our
rivers and lakes are critical to the Hurunui. This point cannot
be overemphasised. We fully recognise this and support the
concept of having healthy rivers, lakes and streams in the
district. We have established a close working relationship with
the Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury
and Ngai Tahu, and are extending this to other agencies and
interest groups on both a general and case specific basis. (e.g.
Our present work on the Waipara River is an example of our
commitment to play a proactive role in facilitating solutions
balancing environmental, recreational and other interests.)
Advocacy
It should be clear from this strategy that we see the Hurunui
Water Management Strategy as a critical component that has
the potential to influence, positively or negatively, every aspect
of wellbeing and prosperity in this district. Accordingly, we are
committed to pursue every advocacy role we can, in support of
the Hurunui Water Management Strategy. In particular, we will:
• Continue to play a positive, proactive part in the
Canterbury Water Management Strategy
• Lobby Government to position any water development
project that meet the aims of the ZIP as important
infrastructure developments, in the interests of Hurunui,
Canterbury and NZ
• Maintain and/or build relationships with all key
stakeholders and interest groups
Conclusion:
The Key Principle of “Balance”
This section on Water Management as outlined has been
deliberately included to recognise the importance of the
strategic issue of water. We cannot over emphasise the key
principle of balance that we firmly believe must be achieved if
true prosperity for all is to result. This is not a strategy about
irrigation and land use development at any cost. It is equally
not a strategy about locking up our resources and assets for
the benefit of a few, whoever they may be. The guiding themes
of the Hurunui Water Management Strategy are responsible
and sustainable growth and development for Hurunui and the
prosperity of its communities. At the same time, it is to also
protect natural and traditional environmental and recreational
values, and a commitment to pursuing and applying best
practice land use and water quality research, scientific advances
41
www.hurunui.govt.nz
in water use efficiency and water conservation. Hurunui is at
the forefront of this balanced, comprehensive and critically
important strategy. That is the role we are engaged in with our
community’s support and encouragement.
Hurunui River - Acrylic on Canvas - by Stella Sales
42
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Sustainability
• Walking and Cycling Strategy – the intention is to
develop a series of linking walking and cycling tracks in
Introduction
the District
Sustainability is a key ideal of the Local Government Act
2002 which sets out the requirements for taking a sustainable
development approach, and advises that we should take into
account the social, economic, and cultural wellbeing of people
and communities; the need to maintain and enhance the quality
of the environment; and the reasonably foreseeable needs of
future generations.
These factors are relevant to most of our policies and activities,
and where appropriate, we will explicitly address the ideal of
sustainability in relation to these.
They also tie in with some climate change issues that merit
some discussion here. We are mindful of trends in these areas,
and will aim for compliance with any central government
initiatives, but the Hurunui District has long been subject to
adverse weather events, and we do not see climate change as a
matter of top priority.
This Plan
Sustainability issues are discussed throughout the Council
Activities chapter of this plan where they are explicitly addressed
as the “significant negative effects” and “sustainability”. In the
Policies section of this plan, the topic of sustainability is raised in
the Significance Policy, in which the current and future wellness
of the community is taken into consideration in determining
whether or not any issue is significant. It is also raised in the
Revenue & Financing policy, in which the sustainability of the
means of funding each Council service is considered.
“Environmental Responsibility” is a key desire expressed
through one of our community outcomes in this plan. This
outcome is described as:
A Place that Demonstrates Environmental Responsibility:
• We protect our environment while preserving people’s
property rights
• We minimise solid waste to the fullest extent, and
manage the rest in a sustainable way
Other Initiatives
We have a number of bylaws, strategies and other policies which
consider sustainable environmental issues. These include our:
• Biodiversity Strategy – this aims to ensure that the unique
natural values of the district are maintained and enhanced
by the council, landowners and other parties working
together in partnership, voluntarily and cooperatively, in a
non-regulatory framework
43
• Hurunui Waiau Zone Implementation Programme
– the summary of this programme is included in the
appendices of this Long Term Plan
• Smoke Free Outdoors Strategy (which is under
development) – this is to encourage smoke free
outdoor areas in a non-regulatory manner
• Pegasus Bay Bylaw – aims to control activities and the
use of land, including camping, the use of horses and the
use of vehicles, on the foreshore, beaches and adjacent
areas of Northern Pegasus Bay to protect the important
natural values of the coastline.
• Freedom Camping Bylaw – encourages people to
freedom camp in a responsible manner and in designated
areas to protect the environment from harm
• Earthquake Strengthening Policy – sets out criteria to
make buildings more likely to withstand earthquakes.
The Canterbury earthquakes in 2010/11 have focused
our attention on the potential for earthquake prone
buildings in the District and we are in the process of
reviewing these now.
Climate Change
A “once in 50 year flood” on 30/31 July 2008 and a “once in 25
year flood” on 26 August 2008 caused widespread damage to
roads, fences, floodgates and tracks. This was compounded by
the fact that the floods came not long after a major drought,
due to which many farmers were already struggling financially.
The Ministry for the Environment warns us to expect an
increase in the frequency of such extreme weather events, and
compounding factors such as rising sea levels, due to “climate
change” brought about by “human activity increasing the natural
level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere”.
This is a controversial topic, but whether or not the floods and
drought were caused by climate change, and whether or not
such climate change is primarily due to human influences (there
is much debate about this, even amongst the “experts”), it is
clear that we need to be prepared to respond to such events in
order for farming and other key activities in the District to be
economically and environmentally sustainable.
Potential sea level rise is also an issue we have to grapple with in
the District Plan review. Some of our small coastal settlements
are likely to be inundated, but the time frame for when such sea
level rises may impact is dependent on updated research and
modelling.
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Emissions Trading / Carbon Tax
The Emissions Trading Scheme was a central government driven
initiative aimed at moving New Zealand towards compliance
with international protocols for offsetting the human influenced
drivers of climate change. With the recent change of government
there has been some discussion as to whether a “carbon tax”
might be a more effective way of achieving this end.
Either way, it is likely that in the near future some financial
compensation will be required from industries that produce
emissions. In the Hurunui District, forestry and farming stand
to be most affected, but until the details of the Emissions Trading
Scheme (or carbon tax) are finalised, it is difficult to say precisely
what the impact upon these industries will be. Federated Farmers
have staff dedicated to monitoring and producing responses to
these issues, and should be able to provide reliable advice to
farmers on these matters in the coming years.
44
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Township Profiles
46 Hurunui District Profile
52 Amberley Ward Profile
55 Amuri-Hurunui Ward Profile
60 Cheviot Ward Profile
62 Glenmark Ward Profile
65 Hanmer Springs Ward Profile
45
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Hurunui District Profile
Kaikoura
District
46
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Location
Land Use
Area
Coastline
Climate
Population
The Hurunui District is in North
Canterbury, on the East Coast of
the South Island, New Zealand.
Predominantly rural
864,640 hectares (8,646,400,000 m²)
106 Kilometres
Ranging from unique coastal microclimates
to alpine climates
The estimated total population for
the Hurunui District is 11,330*,
distributed between the various
wards.
Labour Force
Labour Force Hurunui District New Zealand
Unemployment Rate 2.2% 5.1%
Employment
Participation
Main Occupations /
Industries
Education
Education
15 years and over
69% 63%
Agriculture &
Forestry
Hurunui District
Service & Sales
New Zealand
School Qualification 35.6% 40%
Tertiary Qualification 36.1% 39.9%
*Note: The 2011 Census was called off following the 22
February Christchurch earthquake. The estimated population
is from Statistic New Zealand’s population projections which
uses data from the 2006 NZ Census. The Government has
announced that the next census will be held in March 2013.
No Formal Qual. 28.3% 25%
Unless otherwise specified, statistics quoted in this section are
projections based from the NZ Census 2006. Figures have
been randomly rounded by Statistics New Zealand in order to
protect privacy, and thus may not add up to the totals given.
Population by Ward / Community Rating Area
47
www.hurunui.govt.nz
48
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Population
The population of the Hurunui District is predicted to grow
steadily over the next 20 years, although the population of some
towns in the district is dropping. The greatest proportion of
growth is occurring in the Amberley and Hanmer Springs wards.
Census data reveals that the Hurunui District has an aging
population, and shows a steeper rise than that predicted for
the country as a whole in the proportion of people aged 65
and over. Ethnic diversity is lower than that of New Zealand
as a whole, but there has been a marked increase in overseas
migrants, especially in the 30-50 year old age group (indicating
that they have come to work in the District).
Recreation, Visitor Attractions, Parks
and Reserves
The Hurunui is one of the few places in New Zealand’s South
Island that in less than two hours traveling time, you can drive
from the Lewis Pass (the northern most point of the Southern
Alps) with its fresh mountain air, spectacular scenery and lush
beech forests, to be sitting by the coast watching the waves
from the Pacific Ocean crash onto the Beach. Activities
include mountain walks, skiing, thermal bathing, river sports
and recreation, surfing, fishing and spectacular walks amidst
salt stone cliffs on our secluded beaches. The Waipara Valley is
renowned for some of New Zealand’s award winning wines, and
this area offers the opportunity to discover many fine vineyards.
The Hurunui has over 270 hectares of passive and recreation
reserves including the world famous Hanmer Springs Thermal
Pools and Spa. A significant recent addition is the former Queen
Mary Hospital grounds in Hanmer Springs. The main beaches
are at Leithfield, Amberley, Motunau and Gore Bay. The main
recreational lakes are Lake Sumner, Lake Taylor and Lake
Tennyson.
Main Industries
The Hurunui is continuing to experience growth and
diversification in terms of industry. Historically the district
has been primarily agriculture based, and this still continues
to be the single largest contributor to the Hurunui economy.
However, recent times have seen an expansion in both viticulture
and tourism. The growth of Hanmer Springs, the district icon,
as a tourist destination and the establishment of associated
infrastructure, is unprecedented in the tourism sector New
Zealand wide. The majority of the district’s working population
are employed in the “agriculture, forestry or fishing” industries
(as defined by Statistics NZ). The second largest employment
industry category is “accommodation, cafes and restaurants”,
followed by “health and community services”.
Agri/Viticulture
According to the 2007 Statistics New Zealand Agricultural
Production Census, the Hurunui District is home to 1,065 farms,
462 of which are sheep farms (total of 1,612,116 sheep), and
130 of which are beef cattle farms (with 119,141 cattle). 53,099
dairy cattle and 34,042 deer were counted in the Hurunui
District. The major horticultural activities in the District are
grape-growing (970 hectares), followed by olives (87 hectares)
and hazelnuts (25 hectares). There is a small vegetable harvest
in the Hurunui District (e.g. asparagus), and we produced 9,679
tonnes of barley, 3,852 tonnes of wheat, and 556 tonnes of field/
seed peas during the year ended 30 June 2007.
Development and Growth
The Hurunui District has a highly diversified economy based
around agriculture, viticulture and tourism. Both domestic
and international tourism have increased significantly over the
past decade in recognition of the wide array of recreational
opportunities within Hurunui from the coast to the mountains.
The Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa, Mt Lyford Ski Field
and Waipara wine producing area are recognised as anchor
destinations that have been a catalyst for business investment in
the District. Statistics New Zealand has estimated the Hurunui
population at 2026 to be 12,350 on a medium growth projection.
However because of a large absentee population owning
lifestyle and holiday homes, the Council is planning for growth
demands based upon trends in subdivision developments, and,
upon this basis, indications are that district wide growth will
be slower than what is indicated by the Statistics New Zealand
projections, but the Amberley and Hanmer Springs Wards are
more likely to be at the medium or even high growth rates.
Health
Indicators of health in the District include the Ministry of
Health’s “Deprivation Index”, which has been shown to correlate
with various health statistics (e.g. rates of cervical cancer,
mental health problems). This index assigns deprivation scores
(1 least deprived, to 10 most deprived) to each meshblock in
New Zealand. Meshblocks are geographical units defined by
Statistics New Zealand (containing a median of approximately
87 people in 2006). Scores are based on variables like income,
home ownership, unemployment, qualifications, household
crowding, transportation, and access to telecomunications.
These scores are assigned as measures of relative (rather than
absolute) deprivation. Thus, 10% of meshblocks in New Zealand
as a whole will always score 10. Scores for the Hurunui District
indicate much lower than average deprivation, with more than
75 % of meshblocks scoring in the top half (see graph on page 14).
Lower than average levels of income and education in Amberley,
and lower than average home ownership in Hanmer Springs
(due to holiday and workers’ accommodation) contributed to
higher than expected scores for these areas (both 7).
49
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Rateable Value
78% of our ratepayers pay their rates electronically, (eg: internet,
direct debit, automatic payment etc). the remaining 22% pay by
cheque or cash.
Rates are levied on rateable properties based on their rateable
value. The definition of land is very broad and may include the
right to pass utilities over land, e.g., power lines and water
pipes. Almost all lands are rateable. Exceptions apply to certain
Crown land and land mainly used for educational and charitable
purposes. As at June 2012, the total rateable value of property
in Hurunui is $4,680,288,642.
Property Values by Ward
Name
District
Capital Value
No of Rateable
Properties
Amberley 945,624,200 2,180
Amuri 1,142,832,950 1,206
Cheviot 622,508,900 956
Glenmark 576,633,550 767
Hanmer Springs 689,567,550 1,673
Hurunui 524,777,000 801
Utilities 132,005,000 0
Value as at 1 July 2011 4,633,949,150 7,583
Growth Factor (1%) 46,339,492 76
Total Rating Value Assumed 4,680,288,642 7,659
*Note: The Council rates an additional 1,500 properties in the Waimakariri District, which
are on our Ashley Water Scheme.
50
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Services and Amenities
Major services and amenities in the district are available in the
following locations.
Kaikoura
District
51
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Amberley Ward Profile
• Amberley is about a 35 minute drive from Christchurch,
Background and History
Named after Amberley in Derbyshire, Amberley was originally
established as a result of the arrival of the railway in 1876. The
township continued to grow and became an important farming
service centre. Amberley has grown significantly since the
1950s and was the first township in the Hurunui District with
a water supply scheme undertaken by a county council (1957).
Amberley’s southern neighbour, Leithfield, is one of the oldest
townships in Canterbury; Leithfield was founded in 1857 by
John Leith as an important coach stop and to provide services
to the surrounding farming and milling area. In 1863 Leithfield
boasted one of the first flour mills in North Canterbury and
the only one to be powered by wind. The village flourished in
the 1870s when it was then only business centre at the time,
between Kaiapoi and Kaikoura.
The beach settlements of Amberley Beach and Leithfield Beach
developed as residential suburbs between 1950 and 1990, and
their current populations have grown dramatically.
Recreation / Visitor Attractions
Amberley is the largest township in the ward, located on State
Highway 1, it is a busy rural service centre with an impressive
range of cafes and shops as well as the vibrant district library.
The ward is ideally placed as a country retreat, it is renowned
for its impressive country gardens and offers a variety of
accommodation options for visitors. There are very handy rivers,
lakes and mountains to explore, and lots of walks including beach
tracks, the Mt Grey scenic walkways and the Kowai Walkway - a
well maintained track from the historic Old Leithfield Hotel to
the coastal settlement of Leithfield Beach.
Several parks and reserves can be found in the townships, and
the local Amberley Domain and Pavilion is always popular for
sport and recreation events, agricultural shows, and leisure
activities.
Present Profile
• The population of the Amberley Ward is estimated
at 4,050.
• The Amberley Ward is the largest community in the
Hurunui District. The ward makes up over one third
of the total district population, with a steady growth in
residents.
• 2006 NZ Census data shows Amberley’s population
profile as somewhat older that the Hurunui average.
29% of Amberley’s residents are aged 65 years and over,
compared to 25% for the Hurunui District, 24% for
the Canterbury Region, and 21% for New Zealand as
a whole.
52
and Leithfield is even closer. The townships’ close
proximity presents an advantage for residential growth,
offering commuters a country lifestyle while still being
able to work in the city.
• State Highway 1 runs through the centre of the
Amberley Township. While this visibility and accessibility
is a great strength for development and growth, it
simultaneously creates challenges for road safety, noise
and heavy transport effects.
• Both the Amberley Township and Leithfield Village have
experienced notable urban expansion and development
in recent years, including increased lifestyle block
development. This growth did slow during the
economic crisis, but it has now taken off again post the
Christchurch earthquakes, with many viewing the area
as ‘less shaky’ and offering a desirable lifestyle.
• The Amberley Ward also experienced substantial
growth and development in the Glasnevin area, including
large scale viticulture plantings, and subdivision activity.
This rate of growth also eased during the economic
downturn but is also taking off again.
• A concept plan was developed by and for the Amberley
community, and includes far reaching planning on many
fronts, including urban and commercial zoning, social
and recreation activities, streetscaping and branding.
The Amberley Township Plan was finalised in 2008 and
many of the high priority projects contained have now
been completed.
• The Amberley Ward offers a wide range of services and
facilities.
In addition to the numerous shops and commercial premises,
the ward is fortunate to have three primary schools, two
preschools, two Playcentres, a medical centre, a public swimming
pool, a community hall and two libraries (The Hurunui Memorial
Library in Amberley and a community library in Leithfield). The
ward has many amenities including a cemetery and several
blocks of public toilets. The Amberley Township is home to the
ward’s volunteer fire and ambulance services and two full-time
police officers. The Council’s main office, including the Council
Chambers, is located in Amberley.
Ward Governance
District Councillors are responsible for representing the
interests of their ward, setting Council policies and monitoring
the Council’s performance. They are elected every three years
by the voters of their ward.
The Amberley Ward is currently represented by three
councillors: as at 2012, they are Gary Cooper, Ross Little and
Judith McKendry.
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
In addition, the Amberley Ward also has an elected Ward
Committee which includes amongst its varied responsibilities
the overseeing of the ward’s water and sewerage schemes, and
the Amberley Recreation Reserve Subcommittee. The Amberley
Ward also has the Amberley District Residents’ Association,
the Leithfield and Leithfield Beach Residents’ Groups and the
Amberley Beach Residents’ Association.
Key Long Term Opportunities and
Challenges
• The worldwide economic downturn had a temporary
negative effect on growth and development in the
Amberley Ward. However, this is expected to reversed
as people need or want to leave earthquake affected
areas in Christchurch and Kaiapoi may consider buying
houses and sections in the ward. Amberley Township is
also popular to an increasing number of retirees.
• State Highway 1 remains a major economic strength
and improvements have lessened the pedestrian
safety challenges for the community. The outcome of
the proposed District Plan change will likely have an
influence on development in upcoming years.
• The number one Amberley Concept Plan (ACP)
priority project that was identified was in regards to
residential and commercial zoning. After a lengthy
consultation process, the District Plan Changes became
operative in 2009.
• New District Plan provisions for independent senior
living units (ISLUs) and minor dwelling units (MDUs)
were made operative late last year. This enables another
type of residential development that will cater for the
needs of the “earthquake refugees” as well as the needs
of the aging population.
• The ACP identified the current centre of town location
for the Amberley Transfer Station to be inappropriate,
and new potential sites have since been investigated. A
site in Greys Road has been identified as the preferred
location and this will now be consulted on.
• The need to upgrade the Amberley Swimming Pool was
also highlighted during the concept planning process,
and subsequent investigations have found that the pool
has a limited life expectancy and that we should not rely
on it after 2018. The Amberley Ward Committee, via a
working group, has been further investigating options
for the future including whether the current pool can
be upgraded or whether a new pool should be built.
Extensive consultation will be carried out prior to any
final decisions being made.
• A huge land bank now exists in Amberley resulting
from recent plan changes which rezoned rural land to
residential use.
• The resource consent for the long awaited supermarket
and shopping complex for Amberley was signed off in
2010. Although a commitment has not yet been made
by one of the major supermarket chains, this is still
being pursued by the developer who remains optimistic
that a deal will be completed in the near future.
• The Council has adopted a Walking and Cycling
Strategy, which aims to facilitate the desires made by
some members of the Community to improve the
Walking and Cycling linkages within the Hurunui District.
Of particular importance for the Amberley Ward are
the proposed commuter routes from Amberley to
Amberley Beach, Amberley to Waipara, and Amberley
to Leithfield.
• The Amberley Ward beaches from Ashworths to “the
Rocks” are included in the Northern Pegasus Bay
Coastal Management Plan. This Plan contains a number
of recommendations, including a requirement that all
vehicles on Northern Pegasus Bay must obtain a permit
and obey all conditions of the permit including, a speed
limit for vehicles of 10km/h around people and 30km/h
on the open beach, in addition any vehicle on the beach
must be operated below the high tide mark.
• The Amberley Ward’s population growth since 2008 has
been slow. However, previous growth, and anticipated
moderate future growth, particularly in the townships,
will ultimately create a need for expanded community
facilities. Further expansion and development of the
Amberley Domain may become necessary. New
subdivisions need to include the provision of parks,
reserves and walkways. Another long term challenge
to meeting population growth and developers’ and
residents’ expectations for the Amberley Ward will be
the possible demands to seal existing gravel roads.
• The presence of State Highway 1 will continue to
stimulate associated growth and development, whilst at
the same time placing responsibility on the council, the
community and the New Zealand Transport Agency to
manage the associated effects of such traffic.
• Amberley Ward’s locality acts as a valuable “gateway”
to the Hurunui District, offering opportunities for
further growth and profitable gains to the local tourism
industry.
• Impacts from the Pegasus Town development have
not yet become apparent. As the town grows, a
foreseeable possible adverse impact on the Amberley
Ward is the additional traffic volumes creating longer
commuting times between Woodend and Christchurch.
Possible positive impacts include more employment
opportunities and Amberley Ward could be a satellite
base for staff for the new township. The proposed new
High School would be the closest one to the Amberley
Ward.
• The Amberley Ward has nearly one third of its
population aged 65 years and over (Stats NZ Census
2006). The requirements of this demographic has
53
www.hurunui.govt.nz
different demands than the rest of the district, such as
a higher need for pensioner housing and rest homes,
increased medical centre usage, a preference for passive
recreation facilities etc.
Key Projects
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015-2022
Water pipe renewal $448,773
Water reticulation $260,933 $239,763
Water connections $10,392 $10,738 $11,107
SH1 bore commissioning $25,000
Water rising main upgrade $236,500
Sewerage pipe upgrade $474,000 $243,678
Waste water plant renewals $12,240 $10,780 $78,256 $41,293
Stormwater/drainage detention ponds $100,000
Stormwater/drainage upgrading $194,000
Amberley Township roadside construction $23,000 $23,902 $24,697 $201,646
Leithfield Township roadside construction $10,000 $11,945
Leithfield Beach Township roadside construction $5,196 $6,215
Leithfield Beach Community Centre heat pump $4,000
Amberley Township – Railway Tce landscaping/fencing $15,000
Walking and cycling routes $250,391
Amberley domain – playground improvements $4,000
Amberley domain – relocate cricket nets $6,000
Amberley neighbourhood reserves $264,752
Amberley reserves – passive links $10,000 $10,392 $10,738 $87,672
Amberley Beach reserve – tennis courts $24,858
Leithfield Beach reserve – tennis courts $72,744
Amberley Ward - Sample Properties
Water
# of Actual Proposed Increase / Decrease
Capital
Property
Fixed Rates Rated
Value Supply Units $ %
Charges 2011/2012 2012/13
Amberley Township 255,000 Amberley 209 1 $1,464.46 $1,549.20 $84.74 5.79%
Amberley Township 520,000 Amberley 238 1 $1,805.80 $1,909.12 $103.33 5.72%
Amberley Beach
Township
175,000 Ashley Rural 0.5 1 $1,575.36 $1,647.24 $71.88 4.56%
Amberley Rural 2,400,000 Ashley Rural 1 0 $3,146.30 $3,306.33 $160.03 5.09%
Leithfield Township 205,000 Ashley Rural 0.5 1 $1,338.13 $1,412.35 $74.23 5.55%
Leithfield Beach
Township
180,000 Leithfield
Beach
1 1 $1,219.49 $1,297.30 $77.80 6.38%
54
Amuri-Hurunui Ward Profile
Background and History
New Beginnings
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Amuri
The township of Waiau was the first of the three main
settlements established in the area previously known as the
Amuri Ward. It originated in the 1860s, and due to the ferry, the
bridging of Waiau River, the opening of the road to Kaikoura and
the completion of the railway line, soon became an important
farm servicing and transport centre.
The development of Rotherham as a township followed in 1877,
as it was laid out in order to attract labourers to the district.
Culverden was the last to be established and only so due to the
arrival of the railway in 1886, consequently becoming the rail
and coach, as well as the farming centre for Amuri.
Over the years, the Amuri has been an area of traditional large
scale farming, characterised in many cases by continuous family
ownership across several generations. A secondary school
department was established in Culverden in 1960, making it the
third high school in the district, changing its status to an area
school in 1977. The first ‘Amuri Community Health Centre’
opened in Rotherham in 1982.
The impact of the arrival of the dairy industry in the 1980’s
has been substantial and provided enormous opportunities. The
future of the industry will be heavily influenced by the potential
to store water.
Hurunui
Historically, the Waikari Township was a very busy little
community with the flour mill, lime-works siding adjacent to the
north bound railway line providing a lot of employment locally.
It also accomodated the Hurunui County offices, an extensive
council works yard. Waikari school established 1882.
The nearby township of Hawarden began with a Roads’ Board
cottage and a store on a route taken by thousands of gold
seekers who made their way over the old Weka Pass Road in
the 1860s. Later Hawarden became the service centre for a
large farming area and included several businesses, a post office,
a community hall and a church. Hawarden Consolidated School
was a feeder from Hurunui, Medbury, Mason’s Flat and The
Peaks – becoming Hawarden District High school in 1927, it
was the first high school of the Hurunui District, and is now
known as Hurunui College.
Water supplies and sewerage works for the two townships
were completed in 1966. A medical centre was first opened in
Waikari in 1971. Both communities had Post Offices.
Following a legislatively mandated Representation Review in
2007, the Local Government Commission determined that
the pre-existing individual Amuri and Hurunui Wards become
amalgamated to form a new combined ward area: the Amuri-
Hurunui Ward. In their determination, the Commissioners wrote
that they felt there were “sufficient commonalities of interest to
enable effective representation within this new combined ward
area” and cited that both the Hurunui and Amuri Wards are
located within the same valley and are both primarily agriculture
areas with collections of small, discreet settlement areas that
supported the surrounding rural hinterland. However the
Commissioners also noted that the Hurunui and Amuri ward
and community committees had “strong community governance
arrangements” and recommended retaining these as part of the
new structure.
Recreation / Visitor Attractions
The townships of Amuri-Hurunui epitomise small New Zealand
rural towns. They are great places to relax and enjoy the local
scenery and attractions.
The natural outdoors paradise at the southern area of the ward
features some of New Zealand’s most spectacular mountain
ranges, hillside, lakes and the headwaters of the Hurunui River,
as well as offering many accommodation options for visitors.
Waikari is the final stop for the popular Weka Pass vintage
steam railway, and the area is a photographers’ dream –
resplendent with remarkable limestone rock outcrops and some
breathtakingly beautiful sunsets over the ranges and hinterland.
The stunning vistas can readily be taken in from the Weka
Pass Walkway, and you can also climb up a local hill to view
ancient Mäori rock drawings in the Weka Pass Reserve. Since
1868 the historic Hurunui Hotel has provided weary drovers
moving sheep from Nelson to Christchurch for stock sales with
a place to rest and pick up their mail and catch up on news. As
the gateway to Canterbury all the sheep entering the district
were once dipped here before moving on to avoid the spread
of any diseases from one region to another. The Hotel remains
a classic landmark in North Canterbury and is still a great place
to stop for refreshments.
Just a few kilometres to the west, Hawarden is home to the
well-known Flaxmere Gardens - which are Gardens of National
Significance, and is the gateway to the secluded wilderness and
pristine Lake Sumner Forest Park area offering excellent fishing
and hunting grounds.
Events of interest in the Hurunui area include the Hawarden
A&P Show, Waikari annual ANZAC day fun run, ART in the
Garden, and the biennial Hurunui Race and Gala Day.
55
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Towards the northern reaches of the ward, the delightful
Culverden township offers a choice of farmstays, bed and
breakfasts and gardens to enjoy, making it a great place for
visitors to stay who are seeking a rural New Zealand experience.
The Culverden Golf Course is an enjoyable 9-hole course with
an attractive mountain backdrop. October each year is time for
the famous Christmas Country Fete showcasing arts, crafts,
food and wine in a garden party atmosphere.
Just a short drive inland, Waiau offers some of the best access to
the Waiau River, brimming with trout for the skillful angler and
where the salmon run during February and March. Amuri Golf
Club also has a 9-hole golf course. 26km north of Waiau, the
small, privately-owned alpine resort of Mt Lyford was developed
in 1986, and includes a commercial ski field and offers various
facilities and services, including ski and snowboard hire,
accommodation and a café, horse trekking and a riding school.
Current Profile
The population of The Amuri-Hurunui Ward is estimated at
3,730.
• The Amuri-Hurunui Ward makes up approximately 30%
of Hurunui District’s population as a whole.The ward
experienced modest growth in the five years from
2001-2006 and Statistics New Zealand had predicted
no further increase for 2011, however growth in the
dairy industry is likely to have seen modest increases
in population numbers – particularly in the numbers of
migrant workers and their families.
• The Amuri-Hurunui Ward is centrally located in the
District and acts as an essential access way to the
Hanmer Springs Alpine Village when travelling to and
from Amberley / Waipara, or to and from Kaikoura.
• The Amuri-Hurunui Ward is dominated by traditional
farming, and developments in recent years include an
extensive number of conversions, from traditional
sheep farming to intensive irrigated dairy farming.
• The Amuri-Hurunui Ward is home to Amuri Area
School in Culverden and Hurunui College in
Hawarden. The Hurunui Academy based in Culverden
offers NZQA approved courses in outdoor education,
rural skills, tourism and hospitality, and carpentry for
youth and adult students. There are three primary
schools, located in Waikari, Waiau and Rotherham. Preschool
options include a pre-school in Culverden and
Playcentres at Hawarden Culverden and Waiau. The
Amuri Area School is also houses the Council’s Service
Centre/Library. Hurunui College also houses the
Council’s public library. A community library is based
in Waiau.
• The Amuri-Hurunui Ward is fortunate to have two
medical centres and a hospital:
• Waikari is home to the Waikari clinic (a subsidiary of
Amberley Medical centre), which meets most medical
needs of residents’ in the southern end of the ward.
This was a purposed-designed building built in 2001 and
is funded from a targeted amenity rate from what was
the previous Hurunui Ward boundary area.
• The new, purposed-designed, Amuri Community Health
Centre in Rotherham provides for the majority of the
residents’ medical needs in the northern end of the
ward. The Amuri Health Centre building is funded by a
targeted amenity rate on what was the previous Amuri
Ward boundary area. The General Practice is owned
by the Amuri Community Trust and operated by Amuri
Health Care Ltd.
• Waikari Hospital is set in beautiful grounds overlooking
the Alps, it provides services to the local community as
well as rest of the district. Services include Maternity,
Continuing Care of the Elderly, General Medical, Surgical
Rehabilitation, Carer Support, Respite Care, Meals on
Wheels, Day Care and equipment Hire
• The Amuri-Hurunui ward is fortunate to have a St John
Ambulance Station based in Culverden, as well as the
Hawarden–Waikari and Amuri–Waiau Volunteer Rural
Fire Forces, and New Zealand Fire Service Volunteer
Fire Brigades in Waikari, Culverden, Waiau and
Hawarden. There is one full-time police officer working
from Waikari, and two based in Culverden.
Ward Governance
District Councillors are responsible for representing the
interests of their ward, setting Council policies and monitoring
the Council’s performance. They are elected every 3 years by
the voters of their ward.
The Amuri-Hurunui Ward is currently represented by three
councillors: as at 2012, they are Marie Black, Richard Davison
and Jim Harre. Mayor Winton Dalley is also from this ward but
was elected ‘at large’ to represent the interests of the entire
district.
Council committees in the Amuri area are the Amuri Community
Committee, the Amuri Plains Rural Water Committee, the
Balmoral Water Committee, the Waiau Rural Water Committee,
the Waiau Township Water Committee, Culverden Township
Water Committee and the Waiau Reserve Committee.
Council committees in the Hurunui area are the Hurunui
Community Committee, the Hurunui Recreation (Racecourse)
56
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Key Long Term Opportunities and
Challenges
Reserve Committee, the Waikari Reserve and Hall Committee,
and the Hawarden Recreation Reserve and Hall Committee.
Water
Water issues, in terms of both opportunities and challenges, are
so important to the entire ward that a separate section has
been included here to showcase this.
• A key issue in the ward over the past 50 years and
probably the next 50 is the use of water from the two
main rivers, the Waiau and Hurunui for irrigation. The
consequential changes to the physical environment,
economic activity and most importantly to the social
structure of the district is a work in progress.
• The impact of the arrival of the dairy industry in the
1980’s has been substantial and provided enormous
opportunities. The future will be heavily influenced by
the potential to store water and to utilise currently
underperforming land.
• It is generally accepted that the real opportunities for
the ward remain with land based industries - both
agriculture and recreation based. To continue to grow
and develop these, the focus is on the rivers, lakes and
hills.
The Hurunui-Waiau Zone Committee
The Hurunui-Waiau Zone Committee was the first of the 10
zone committees established throughout Canterbury. In August
2011, its Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) was received
by Environment Canterbury and the Hurunui District Council.
This is designed to provide an integrated approach to water
management in the zone while achieving the desired social,
environment, cultural and economic outcomes. The committee
has also agreed on its Immediate Steps Biodiversity Fund projects
and work has already started on some. Projects include wetland
protection, weed control in Conway River and protection and
enhancement or riparain areas.
Hurunui Water Project
The Hurunui Water Project Ltd (HWP) proposes to develop
a community irrigation scheme which includes water storage
dams and hydro power generation. The resource consents
sought have been delayed by the Hurunui Waiau catchment
moratorium. While the moratorium was lifted on 2nd October
2011 applications cannot be processed until 2 April 2012.
HWP’s applications will subsequently be held until 2 April 2012,
at which stage processing will begin.
Hurunui Water Project – Waitohi Proposal
This proposes to develop a series of four water storage dams
on the Waitohi River to irrigate 58,500 ha of land in the Hurunui,
Waipara and Kowai catchments. The dams are proposed to be
located at Hurricane Gully; Seven Hills; Inches Road and in the
Lower Gorge.
Run-of-river water would be taken directly from the Hurunui
River as the predominant supply of water when it is available.
When this water is not available, they intend water stored in the
Waitohi River catchment to be released from the dams to meet
the irrigation demand and provide hydro-electricity generation
capability. Water stored within the dams will be sourced from
both the Hurunui and the Waitohi Rivers.
Hurunui Water Project
South Branch Hurunui River and Lake Sumner Proposal
This proposal involves the abstraction of water from the Hurunui
River, via either an intake near the confluence of the Mandamus
River or an intake 1-2 kilometres upstream from the Dampier
Stream confluence to irrigate approximately 42,000 hectares
of land in the Hurunui and Upper Waipara catchments. Two
storage structures are proposed; a dam on the South Branch of
the Hurunui River and a weir structure on the main stem of the
Hurunui River, just downstream of the outlet from Lake Sumner.
The proposed hydro power generation will be either on the
scheme distribution canal, or located at the proposed dam on
the South Branch of the Hurunui River, or both.
Other Key Long Term Opportunities
and Challenges
• A long term challenge for the Amuri Ward will continue
to be overcoming the shortage of farm labour.
• A recent upsurge in migrant workers has given the
skill shortage a boost but has provided a new set of
challenges.
• It continues to be a challenge for new small businesses
to find premises. Correctly zoned areas are required to
meet the needs of today and the future.
• Another challenge, shared by many small rural towns
in New Zealand, is the viability and thus the retention
of local services and businesses. Economies of scale,
potential efficiencies of centralisation and greater use
of technology all impact on the sustainability of small
businesses and government agencies alike.
• Increased fuel prices in recent years and the recent
economic down turn may have a challenging impact on
the ward’s economic wellbeing.
• Key long term opportunities include ongoing prospects
for tourist related activities and general promotion of
57
www.hurunui.govt.nz
businesses in the Ward.
• There are potential opportunities for the wider
Culverden area to become an attractive option as a
residential location for employees working in Hanmer
Springs.
• There are potential opportunities for the wider Waikari
area to be attractive option as a residential location for
employees working in the vineyards in Waipara.
• Continuing development of Mt Lyford as a boutique
resort and ski area may benefit the ward’s long term
opportunities economic development and growth.
• Council has adopted a Walking and Cycling Strategy,
which aims to facilitate the desires made by some
members of the community to improve the walking
and cycling linkages within the Hurunui District. Of
particular importance for the Amuri-Hurunui ward is
the completion of the commuter link between Waikari
and Hawarden.
Key Planning Assumptions
The recent worldwide economic downturn had a negative effect
on development, however, the significant growth in the dairy
industry may have shielded the area and it is anticipated that the
Amuri-Hurunui Ward has the potential for modest to substantial
growth. It is also expected that the ward is able to capitalise on
the benefits of tourist traffic and there is considerable potential
in the relatively ‘undiscovered’ lakes area.
Key Projects
Year Planned
Amuri 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015-2022
Culverden Township Roadside Construction $12,000 $12,470 $12,886 $105,206
Rotherham Township Roadside Construction $4,000 $4,157 $4,295 $35,070
Waiau Township Roadside Construction $6,000 $6,235 $6,443 $52,602
Rotherham Hall (capital expenditure) $5,000 $2,078 $2,148 $17,534
Waiau Hall – heat pump upgrade $10,738
Waiau Hall – Kitchen upgrade $6,000
Rotherham Pool (capital expenditure) $2,000 $2,078 $2,148 $17,525
Culverden Township projects $17,000 $5,196 $5,369 $36,144
Rotherham Township projects $1,500 $1,559 41,611 $13,151
Waiau Township projects $2,000 $2,078 $2,148 $17,525
Culverden Reserves – walking track projects $5,000 $5,196 $5,369 $43,839
Rotherham Reserve (capital expenditure) $2,500 $2,598 $2,685 $21,919
Mt Lyford Reserve – BBQs $1,000 $1,039 $1.074 $8,768
Hurunui 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/2022
Hawarden-Waikari water reticulation $45,637 $50,710
Hawarden sewerage - desludging $103,563
Hawarden sewerage - pump $4,939
Hawarden sewerage – plant renewals $37,973
Waikari sewerage - desludging $70,000
Hawarden Township footpath construction $16,627 $80,295
Waikari Township footpath construction $16,000 $17,181 $59,979
58
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Amuri-Hurunui Ward - Sample Properties
Property
Capital
Value
Supply
Water
Units
No of
Fixed
Charges
Actual
Rates
2011/2012
Proposed
Rates
2012/2013
Increase/(Decrease)
$ %
Waiau Township 200,000 Waiau Town 147 1 $1,275.40 $1,321.31 $36.92 2.89%
Rotherham Township 270,000 No water n/a 1 $1,125.37 $1,155.69 $30.33 2.69%
Culverden Township 215,000 Culverden 322 1 $1,415.94 $1,459.27 $43.33 3.06%
Amuri Rural 2,215,000 Waiau Rural 8 1 $8,083.30 $8,433.62 $350.31 4.33%
Amuri Rural 7,725,000 Amuri Plains 7 4 $11,222.30 $11,782.84 $560.55 4.99%
Hawarden Township 138,000 Hawarden-Waikari 292 1 $1,362.90 $1,405.65 $42.75 3.14%
Waikari Township 175,000 Hawarden-Waikari 694 1 $1,718.89 $1,779.97 $61.08 3.55%
Hurunui Rural 3,435,000 Hurunui Rural 2 1 $5,339.19 $5,774.60 $435.41 8.15%
Chip Sealing, Princes Street, Waikari
59
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Cheviot Ward Profile
Background and History
Cheviot is well-known for its rural history, and from the
1950s, the township of Cheviot was a relatively settled, stable
community that was largely self-contained with various trades
and businesses.
Cheviot ward’s other settlements include Parnassus which
originally had a railway station, a sole-charge school and some
businesses. The famous Waiau River road/rail bridge was here,
before being abandoned and replaced with a new road bridge.
Prior to the opening of the old bridge in the 1930s a ferry
across the river carried goods north and south. In the 1950’s the
settlement of Spotswood had a hall (which is still used regularly
today) and a public library. Gore Bay was a largely picnicking and
holiday venue with some permanent residents, and Conway Flat
had its own school. Domett, originally a railway town, is now
only populated by farms, and the old Domett Railway Station
has now been relocated to the main road as a cafe.
The Cheviot Rural Water Supply was put in place in 1971,
with further extensions in 1980. Cheviot District High School
transformed to an area school in 1976, and in 1978, the
township’s old hospital was converted to a medical centre.
Recreation / Visitor Attractions
The Cheviot area offers a variety of quality accommodation,
from hotels and motels to farm stays and home stays that
provide a traditional slice of kiwi life. In the township there are
several cafes, a museum and a golf course.
The Cheviot Hills Domain and Mansion Foundation was the
original site of the historical home of the founder of Cheviot,
William “Ready Money” Robinson. The front steps of the
mansion are still in place, and lead into the cricket pavilion. The
domain has a charming walkway and superb picnic spots. St
Anne’s Lagoon, about 2 km north of Cheviot, is a popular nature
reserve that used to provide Mäori settlements around the area
with eel. The Sunday Craft Market is a great place to stop, with
a great range of handmade crafts of very high quality available.
The market is often there on Fridays too, weather permitting.
Gore Bay is nature’s treasure trove, offering great surfing,
amazing walks and popular camping grounds and the nearby
Cathedral Gully, a spectacular weathered clay canyon. The
Hurunui and Waiau Rivers are easily accessible for salmon, trout
and white bait fishing, while Conway Flat is yet another stunning
site for surf casting. The area’s spectacular coastline provides
opportunities for watching both whales and sea birds.
Current Profile
The population of the Cheviot Ward is estimated at 1,340.
The Cheviot Ward had a population count of 1311 in the 2006
Census. It had experienced a slight decline (around 30 people)
over the last two census periods. Cheviot Ward’s residents
make up approximately 12% of Hurunui District’s population
as a whole.
State Highway 1 runs through the centre of the Cheviot
Township. This is a great strength for development and growth,
as it makes the township highly accessible, as well as visible,
while simultaneously increasing visitor numbers through traffic
and heavy transport.
The importance of traditional farming is an on-going strength in
the Cheviot economy.
With the closure of Parnassus School, the Cheviot Ward is
home to only one school now – the Cheviot Area School in the
Cheviot Township.
The Cheviot Medical Centre operates from an old converted
building that is less than ideal for the provision of services and
is unlikely to be adequate for future demand. A new purposeddesigned
building or an upgrade to the existing medical centre
is proposed for consideration for 2016/17.
Based in the Cheviot Township are volunteer fire and ambulance
services and two full-time police officers. A council service
centre is also located there, and the community library is based
at the Cheviot Area School. A volunteer rural fire force operates
at Conway Flat.
Ward Governance
District Councillors are responsible for representing the
interests of their ward, setting Council policies and monitoring
the Council’s performance. They are elected every three years
by the voters of their ward.
The Cheviot Ward is currently represented by one councillor:
Vince Daly.
The Cheviot Council committees include the Cheviot Ward
Committee, and Reserve Committees at Spotswood, Cheviot,
Domett and Port Robinson.
60
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Key Long Term Opportunities and Challenges
Changes to staffing at the Council Service Centre brought
about an opportunity to review current services and look at
opportunities for the future. After considering public feedback,
the Cheviot Ward Committee’s preferred option is for a
combined Service Centre/Library to be developed on the
existing service centre site. Through this plan therefore, is a
proposal to move the community library from the Cheviot
Area School, where this is now based, into the service centre
in 2012/13. The school library would remain in the school. A
working party is scoping and developing a plan to take to the
community for further consideration before the final plan is
confirmed.
A growth strategy for the Cheviot township and the coastal
areas, predominantly Gore Bay and Port Robinson area, was
developed in 2007/08 with extensive community input.
The impact of tourism and tourist traffic on local services and
amenities present key long term challenges and opportunities.
Changes in Cheviot Ward’s land use, such as rising numbers
of vineyards, lifestyle blocks (particularly at Gore Bay and
Port Robinson), irrigation, and tourism, may result in new
opportunities and challenges.
Key Planning Assumptions
Population growth is projected to be restrained and Cheviot
has historically lacked popularity as a retirement area (as
elderly residents tend towards areas with more support
services). Recent interest by some in the comparatively low
cost of housing in Cheviot, indicate that some people wishing
to leave Christchurch post the earthquakes, are finding the area
attractive even without these supports.
A new medical centre or an upgrade to the existing building is
proposed for the Cheviot township in 2016/17. Full scoping of
the options and extensive consultation will be carried out prior
to any final decisions being made.
Key Projects
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015-2022
Water pipe renewal $62,352
New asset pipe $60,000 $62,352 $64,428 $526,032
Sewerage - plant renewals $10,994 $36,498
Sewerage - desludging $77,749
Sewerage - wave band correction $30,822
Cheviot Ward footpath construction $25,000 $25,980 $26,845 $219,183
Cheviot Ward drainage improvements $5,000 $5,000 $5,196 $5,369
Cheviot Medical Centre new building $1,150,700
Cheviot Library / Service Centre $100,000
Cheviot Ward - Sample Properties
Property
Capital
Value
Water
No of
fixed
Charges
Actual
Rates
Proposed
Rates
Increase (Decrease)
Supply Units 2011/2012 2012/2013 $ %
Cheviot
Township
170,000 Cheviot 0.5 1 $1,512.82 $1,662.99 $150.99 9.93%
Cheviot Rural 2,025.000 Cheviot 2.5 2 $4,225.26 $4,686.27 $266.48 10.91%
61
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Glenmark Ward Profile
Background and History
The area of Glenmark dates back to the original owner of
Glenmark station, George “Scabby” Moore. Like other
Canterbury runholders he built up his property on the back
of profitable pastoral farming, the generosity of his bank, and
his use of cheap leasehold land. He began as the farm manager,
and acquired Glenmark at auction in 1873. He paid £90,000 for
38,935 acres (15,756 hectares) of freehold land, but this was
linked to another 78,740 acres (31,865 hectares) of leasehold
land. Eventually the run carried over 90,000 sheep and was the
most valuable in the colony. Holdings on this scale were not
found in the North Island.
Moore was notorious as a hard employer and a bad neighbour.
His station was for years Canterbury’s scabbiest run, in fact
at one stage his fines for owning diseased sheep amounted
to £2,400. It is believed that Moore sought to discourage
prospective purchasers of his leasehold land by keeping the run
infected.
Waipara led the way in rural irrigation schemes by opening its
No. 1 Rural Reticulated Water Supply Scheme in 1986 - the
first water harvesting scheme in New Zealand. By the turn of
this century the area had become a significant wine production
region, accommodating fourteen wineries.
The township of Waipara has its origins as a railway town, at
the junction of the main trunk line and services heading west. It
was famous for having the longest siding in the South Island. For
many years Waipara was also home to State forestry workers
and nassella tussock grubbers, but more recently it has become
home to wine workers.
The smaller settlement of Greta Valley was created in the late
1970s, complete with amenities, a primary school, a church and
a library service. Scargill owes its existence to the Christchurch/
Picton railway line, while Omihi already housed some services
including a primary school, a community hall and a railway
station in the 1950s. The beach settlement of Motunau Beach
has expanded over the past 50 years, with a third subdivision
recently being developed, complementing the many earlier
“traditional Kiwi baches” that characterise this settlement.
The Glenmark rugby club in Omihi has produced more All
Blacks than any other club in NZ -14 in all at last count!
Recreation / Visitor Attractions
The Waipara region is one of New Zealand’s most rapidly
expanding wine areas, producing in the order of 1,000,000
cases of award winning wines in an average year, including
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris,
Gewurztraminer, Merlot and Shiraz. Daily wine tours and
personal excursions are available at many of the wineries.
The Glenmark Ward also features the Glenmark railway, where
one can recall the era of rural train travel with a ride in vintage
former NZR passenger carriages through scenic Weka Pass on
the 13-kilometre-long railway from Waipara to Waikari, using
vintage former NZR steam and diesel locomotives.
There are many and various accommodation options available
in the area.
The Motunau Beach settlement is a great place to retreat and
enjoy the quiet seaside ambience. Sea fishing, marine wildlife
watching and diving are just some of the great adventures on
offer. In nearby Greta Valley and Scargill a peaceful, rural farming
atmosphere still exists.
The Canterbury regional landfill at Kate Valley is located within
the Glenmark Ward. The landfill has areas of regenerating native
bush and wetlands which form the nucleus of the Transwaste
Tiromoana Bush Restoration plan. Transwaste are planning for
Tiromoana Bush to be a major national feature, with recreational,
educational and scientific opportunities for present and future
generations of New Zealanders and tourists.
Current Profile
The population of the Glenmark Ward is estimated at 1,170.
The Glenmark Ward population was 1,143 people at the time
of the 2006 Census an increase of around 300 people over the
previous five years. Statistics New Zealand predicts further
increases for the area, but at a more modest rate than the
previous five year period. Glenmark Ward’s residents make up
approximately 11% of Hurunui District’s population as a whole.
The Waipara Wine Valley offers ideal conditions for growing
premium quality grapes, the combination of hot summer
temperatures, well-drained soil and protection from the cool
easterly wind makes for award winning wines. It is the fastest
growing wine region in New Zealand with around 80 vineyards
in the Waipara Wine Valley covers more than 1,200 hectares of
plantings, including the extended Glasnevin area of the Amberley
Ward). The north facing moderately sloping terrain provides an
ideal sun trap for fruiting vines.
The Canterbury regional landfill at Kate Valley is
located within the Glenmark Ward. Council has an ongoing
commitment to ensuring that this landfill operates in line with
its consent conditions, and that the interests and values of the
Hurunui community are effectively represented and protected
throughout the planned 35 year life. A Community Trust,
established and funded by the landfill company, provides financial
benefits to the neighbouring community, primarily focused on
Waipara. Because Council has no involvement in this Trust or its
disbursements, this Long Term Plan does not take into account
any community projects or developments funded by the Trust.
62
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
There are three primary schools in the Glenmark Ward – Greta
Valley, Omihi, and Waipara, as well as the Glenmark Playcentre.
A community library, run entirely by volunteers is run from the
Greta Valley School.
Waipara Township is home to the ward’s New Zealand Fire
Service volunteer fire brigade. Volunteer rural fire forces
operate from Motunau Beach and Scargill.
Ward Governance
District Councillors are responsible for representing the
interests of their ward, setting Council policies and monitoring
the Council’s performance. They are elected every three years
by the voters of their ward.
The Glenmark Ward is currently represented by one councillor:
• Russell Black.
There is no ward committee representing the Glenmark Ward.
The Glenmark Ward has, however, the Glenmark Reserve
Committee, the Waipara Residents Association, the Waipara
Wine Growers and the Waipara Valley Promotions. In addition,
Omihi, Scargill and Motunau Beach have their own residents
groups.
Key Long Term Opportunities and
Challenges
community to improve the walking and cycling linkages within
the Hurunui District. Of particular importance for Glenmark
Ward is the proposed commuter route from Amberley to
Waipara.
The Greening Waipara project provides environmental
opportunities by focusing on promoting non-regulatory
indigenous and exotic biodiversity initiatives to achieve its goals
relating to sustainable agricultural practices. The project is
sponsored by Four Leaf Japan Co Ltd and the Bio-Protection
Research Centre at Lincoln University.
Drinking water continues to be a challenge for Waipara – both
availability and hardness.
Development proposals for the Waipara area are causing
concerns regarding ‘sprawl’.
Key Planning Assumptions
The worldwide economic downturn will likely have a negative
effect on growth and development in farming and associated
rural activities in the Glenmark Ward. It is not expected to effect
change to any large degree in the next ten years in regards to
growth and development in the wine and tourism areas, resulting
in the continued demands and pressures on infrastructure in the
Waipara area.
The Waipara growth strategy and concept plan, when
completed, will identify long term opportunities for the
Glenmark Ward.
Last year, a number of Waipara Valley wineries and other
businesses created a collaborative group to market and promote
the region. This group, called Waipara Valley NZ, includes over 15
wineries and other businesses and is supported and resourced
by Waipara Valley Winegrowers and the Hurunui Tourism Board.
Local opportunities will be afforded by the funds available from
the Kate Valley Community Trust.
Key long term challenges include the limited of availability of
labour and housing to support Glenmark Ward’s wine industry
and tourism development.
Future challenges are also likely to involve pressure on local
infrastructure due to an increase in Glenmark Ward’s industry
and population.
The Council has adopted a Walking and Cycling Strategy, which
aims to facilitate the desires made by some members of the
63
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Key Projects
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015-2022
Waipara Township water pipe renewal $20,000
Greta Valley Sewerage – plant renewals $17,000 $18,255
Greta Valley Sewerage – electrical/communications $2,000 $2,078 $2,148 $17,525
Motunau Beach Sewerage $35,000 $144,326
Glenmark Ward - Sample Properties
Property
Capital
Value
Supply
Water
Units
No of
fixed
Charges
Actual Rates
2011/2012
Proposed
Rates
2012/2013
Increase (Decrease)
$ %
Motunau Beach Property 390,000 Hurunui
Rural
0.5 1 $1,467.34 $1,592.07 $124.73 8.50%
Waipara Township 220.000 Waipara 66 1 $908.48 $974.51 $66.03 7.16%
Glenmark Rural
1,900,00 Hurunui
Rural
7 2 $6,959.65 $7,740.85 $781.20 11.22%
64
Hanmer Springs Ward Profile
Background and History
In its very early days, the presence of the hot springs made
the Hanmer Springs township a popular visitor destination, and
entrepreneurs were quick to offer accommodation for travellers
and tourists. This popularity as a holiday destination continues
today and many tourism and hospitality focused businesses have
flourished as a result.
Timber logging and milling of the surrounding forests commenced
in 1900 as part of a Government scheme employing prison
labour. There have been subsequent changes of ownership and
operation of this forest over the years, culminating in the recent
closure of local milling, and Ngai Tahu taking over ownership as
part of New Zealand’s treaty settlements legislation.
The well known Queen Mary Hospital site dates back to the
establishment of a Soldiers Hospital in 1916, for the recuperation
and rehabilitation of injured and war weary soldiers returning
from the WW1 front lines. The surrounding park-like grounds
and magnificent trees add to the special value of this nationally
recognized heritage site.
In late 2008 the council and the New Zealand Government
reached an agreement that has secured the future of a
substantial six hectares of the old Queen Mary Hospital site
in public ownership for present and future generations of New
Zealanders. The Crown vested the land and protected Heritage
buildings in the Council in 2010. Most recently the Hanmer
Springs Township has undergone a facelift through the Hanmer
Springs Growth Strategy. The upgrade of the town centre was
completed in 2010. Ongoing upgrades have been applied to the
reserves and walkways in the area.
Community Board Vision
The Hanmer Springs Community Board has a vision for Hanmer
Springs as a place for all to live, work and play. Their vision is;
“a place for all ages and stages of life, with a focus on community
growth, provide a sustainable environment for people to visit and live,
and expand the tourism opportunities of the area.”
Recreation / Visitor Attractions
Situated in a high country basin, the small, natural alpine spa
village of Hanmer Springs has been a favourite retreat for
generations of New Zealanders. The award winning Hanmer
Springs Thermal Pools and Spa complex is a major draw card,
and the pristine alpine environment with its forests, rivers
and mountains enhance its appeal as the ultimate year round
destination.
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
There’s a substantial variety of accommodation available,
complimented by delightful restaurants, cafés, boutique shopping,
galleries and craft shops.
Hanmer Springs offers activities for all tastes and fitness levels,
with numerous walkways, golf, horse riding and mountain biking
options available. There are opportunities for pure relaxation
with massage & wellness treatments or blood pumping, thrill
seeking adventures such as jet boating, white water rafting,
bungee jumping, and four- wheel driving.
The newly vested St James Station Conservation Area and Queen
Mary Hospital site will also provide both locals and visitors with
exciting new opportunities for recreational activities.
Current Profile
• The population of the Hanmer Springs Ward is
estimated at 1,040.
• With more than 600 holiday homes in the Hanmer
Springs and its popularity as a tourist destination, the
number of people in the area during peak holiday times
can be as high as 6,000
• The hospitality industry is the single largest employer
in the Hanmer Springs Ward, employing around 30% of
the ward’s full time workers
• Hanmer Springs has always promoted a general ‘health
and wellness’ theme
• There are local town planning controls in place in the
Hanmer Springs Township to ensure that the look and
feel of this special alpine spa village are preserved for
future generations
• The Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa is an award
winning tourist attraction. Owned by the Hurunui
District Council, the complex hosted 527,801 visitors
during the twelve months ending June 30th 2011. From
2009-11 the Thermal Pools and Spa had an increase in
visitor numbers of 4%. The surpluses achieved at the
Hanmer Springs Thermal pools & Spa were $2,064,966
in 2009/2010 and $2,131,000 in 2010/2011. From these
surpluses, a total of $3,492,460 was transferred from
the Thermal Pools surplus for the funding of district
wide reserves. For the 2011/2012 year, the amount
to be transferred from the Thermal reserve to offset
the costs of reserves throughout the District has been
budgeted at $2,021,372
• The Hanmer Springs Township is home to one primary
school, a child care centre and a Playcentre. Council
also runs a service centre/ library in the township
65
www.hurunui.govt.nz
• In response to growth and demand, a purpose designed
medical centre was built in Hanmer Springs in 2008
• Hanmer Springs has a combined emergency response
facility which houses Fire, Police, and Ambulance
services
Ward Governance
District Councillors are responsible for representing the
interests of their ward, setting Council policies and monitoring
the Council’s performance. They are elected every three years
by the voters of their ward.
The Hanmer Springs Ward is currently represented by one
councillor:
Michael Malthus (who is also Deputy Mayor).
In addition, the Hanmer Springs Ward has the publicly elected
Hanmer Springs Community Board. The current representatives
on the Board are;
Jason Fletcher (Chair)
Bill Clarkson
Rosemary Ensor
Kate Poiner
Chris Preston
Hanmer Springs also has its own Business Association.
Key Long Term Opportunities and
Challenges
Community:
• Target local population by 2023 of 1500 people
• Provide housing for all ages and stages of life
• Be a recognised sustainable community
• Provide access to affordable housing for the retired and
those on low incomes
• Provide village wide high speed broadband connectivity
• Extend the pedestrian friendly approach to the town
• Ensure the Queen Mary Hospital opportunities are
realised for both the business community and the
residents
Commercial and Tourism:
• A long term challenge for the Hanmer Springs Ward is
to maintain annual visitor growth
• The vesting of the 6 hectare reserve area on the Queen
Mary site represents a substantial opportunity for the
Hanmer Springs Ward and the district
• The Track Network provides a great opportunity to
add to Hanmer’s visitor attractions
• Long term security of access to the forests that
surrounds Hanmer.
• The high country areas are some of the best in new
Zealand and offer visitors unique and easy access.
• Maximisation of the commercial Zoned area in the
village
• Hanmer Springs needs to tap into the conference
market
• Hanmer Springs needs better community facilities in
order to attract and keep people
Infrastructure:
• Improved access to the high-country will open up great
opportunities for further tourism development
• Entry at State highway 7 and 7a needs to be safer and
more user friendly
• Environment Canterbury has made it a requirement
that we improve the quality of sewage outfall.
• Peak loading for water needs to be safe guarded
Key Planning Assumptions
The Hanmer Springs area is predicted to continue to grow at
above district average rates. Whilst there are some important
challenges facing tourism, it is assumed that on balance whilst
there has been an impact from the economic downturn on
international travel, the Christchurch/Canterbury market has
continue to grow, further strengthening the already strong
demand for holiday homes.
Hanmer Springs is a popular location for retirees and those able
to work from home. It is predicted that as telecommunications
and technology advance over the coming years, this market will
further increase.
The key projects table on the next page sets out the work we
are planning over the next ten years. In addition, we are also
keen to:
• Seek accreditation as a sustainable community
• Provide Village wide high speed broadband connectivity
• Seek continued funding and upgrading of the Track
Network
• Look at the purchase the Heritage Forrest and link to St
James walking/cycling /horses and extend to Woodbank
Road and Clarence Valley
• Improve the roads and access to the high-country
66
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
• Improve the entry at State highway 7 and 7a
• Improve the sewage out fall water quality to meet
ECAN requirements
• Start looking at water supply for 2023
Key Projects
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015-2022
Land purchased for water treatment $140,000
Water – renewal reticulation (from Asset Management Plan) $623,656
New sewerage monitoring bores - disposal $555,350
New sewerage monitoring bores - desludging $93,528
Stormwater – Capital Expenditure $62,352 $154,086
Sewer Improvements $220,000 $1,288,560
Roading - renewals $15,000 $15,588 $16,107 $131,511
Roading – new construction $45,000 $46,764 $48,321 $394,527
Street lighting $15,000 $15,588 $16,107 $131,511
Hanmer Springs Hall – stage upgrade $10,000
Hanmer Springs Hall – extension $193,284
Sports ground upgrade $30,000
Exercise equipment $35,000
$1,077,
379
Additional seating $3,000 $2,078 $1,074
BBQ equipment – Brooke Dawson $5,000
BBQ equipment – Tarndale $5,196
Reserve capital projects $10,000 $10,392 $10,738 $87,681
Conical Hill Walkway Project $119,450
New welcome sign on SH7 $70.000
Hanmer Springs Ward - Sample Properties
Property
Hanmer Springs
Township (Tourism)
Hanmer Springs
Township
Hanmer Springs
Rural
Capital
Value
Supply
Water
Units
No of
fixed
Charges
Actual Rates
2011/2012
Proposed
Rates
2012/2013
Increase (Decrease)
$ %
405,000 Hanmer Springs 215 1 $2,061.62 $2,142.58 $80.96 3.93%
430,000 Hanmer Springs 27 1 $1,626.17 $1,689.71 $63.53 3.91%
3,325,000 No Water n/a 1 $4,267.03 $4,464.69 $197.67 4.63%
67
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Council Activities
69 Introduction
71 Water Supply
79 Sewerage
84 Stormwater and Drainage
88 Roads and Footpaths
94 Community Services and Facilities
96 Community Services
102 Property
108 Reserves
112 Environment and Safety
115 Emergency Services
119 Resource Management
122 Compliance and Regulatory
Functions
126 Waste Minimisation
130 District Promotion
135 Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
141 Governance
68
Council Activities
Introduction
In this section, you will find detailed information about our plans
for the next ten years, with particular focus on the next three
years. Our work is grouped into nine categories:
1. Water Supply
2. Sewerage
3. Stormwater and Drainage
4. Roads and Footpaths
5. Community Services and Facilities
6. Environment and Safety
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Community Outcomes and Activity
Groupings
Our community outcomes express what we want to achieve
through the delivery of a particular group of activities. The
chart on the next page shows how the groups of activities are
linked to specific community outcomes.
Plan Review/Public Consultation
This long term plan will be comprehensively reviewed each three
years. Before it is finalised each time by the Council, the public
will have the opportunity to give their opinion on any aspect
of the draft plan beforehand through a special consultative
procedure. Parts of the plan may be reviewed at other times if
circumstances alter what we had intended in the plan. The next
long term plan review is due in 2015.
7. District Promotion
8. Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
9. Governance
The following pages go into detail about each category and its
associated activities. The format for each is similar and although
some information is relevant for some activities and not for
others. In each of the groups of activities, you will be able to
find out:
• Council’s overall aim in relation to the activity
• Background to the activity
• How the activity will contribute towards the
achievement of our community outcomes
• What the current situation is in relation to the activity
• What council’s future plans are in relation to the activity
• How the activity is funded
• How the activity is maintained and operated
• What significant negative effects are caused through the
activity
• Assumptions and risks that are associated with the
activity
• How we measure or monitor our progress
• Financial forecasts
69
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Contribution to Community Outcomes
Community Outcomes
Groups of
Council Activities
A desirable
and safe place
to live
A place where our
traditional rural
values and
heritage make
Hurunui unique
A place with a
thriving local
economy
A place that
demonstrates
environmental
responsibility
A place with
essential
infrastructure
Water Supply ü ü
Sewerage ü ü ü
Stormwater and
Drainage ü ü
Roads and Footpaths
ü
Community Services
and Facilities ü ü
Environment and Safety ü ü
District Promotion
ü
Hanmer Springs Pools
and Spa ü ü
Governance
ü
70
Water Supply
Overview
Water Supply covers the following activity described below:
Activity 1: Water Supply (township supply and rural water
schemes)
Our Aim
To provide a sustainable supply of water that meets the needs
of present and future domestic and agricultural/horticultural
consumers, and complies with the New Zealand Drinking Water
Standards.
Why is the Council Involved?
The subject of water is of major importance to our Council. It is
an on-going challenge for us to provide a plentiful water supply,
particularly given the drought prone nature of the Hurunui,
and to have water that is of a good drinking standard while at
the same time operating an efficient and cost effective service.
Water is of primary importance to any community and has a
direct influence and impact on the economic, social, cultural and
environmental wellbeings of our population.
Community Outcomes
The Water Supply activity described in this section, primarily
contributes to two of our community outcomes:
1. A desirable and safe place to live:
• We have attractive well designed townships
• Communities have access to adequate health and
emergency services and systems and resources
are available to meet civil defence emergencies
• Risks to public health are identified and
appropriately managed
2. A place with essential infrastructure:
• We have a strong emphasis on service delivery
across all infrastructure including roading, water
(for drinking and development), waste water,
stormwater and solid waste
Major Projects Planned
Project
Renewal reticulation -
Amberley
Commission SH1 bore -
Amberley
Rising Main upgrade -
Amberley
Renew and upgrade pipes
and fittings – Ashley Rural
Mixed Oxidant treatment
plant – Ashley Rural
Water security (tank farm)
– Culverden Township
Drinking Water Standards
Stage I – Waiau Township
Mixed Oxidant treatment
plant – Waiau Rural
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
$25,000
$236,500
$170,000 $124,704
$90,000
$205,000
$98,000
$51,960
Renew pipework- Cheviot $62,352
Mixed Oxidant treatment
plant (Main, Parnassus,
Blythe, Kaiwara) - Cheviot
Pipe renewal – Waipara
Township
Mixed Oxidant treatment
plant – Waipara Township
Land purchase water
treatment – Hanmer
Springs
Renewal mechanical –
Hurunui Rural
Renewal pipe – Hurunui
Rural
Mixed Oxidant treatment
plant (#01, Peaks, L.
Waitohi) – Hurunui Rural
$293,000
$20,000
$98,000
$140,000
$260,933
$128,856
$25,000 $25,980 $26,845
$120,000 $124,704 $128,856
$269,000
Significant Negative Effects
There is potential for significant negative effects on the
environmental and cultural wellbeing of the community if there
is excessive abstraction of water. Abstraction is managed to
minimise the chance of outages or disruption to supply. There
are also potential negative public health effects in providing
water in some areas that does not meet current drinking water
guidelines for biological contaminants. We issue public “boil
water” notices when positive samples are detected. We are
working toward improving the standard of our water supply to
71
www.hurunui.govt.nz
meet the New Zealand drinking water standards over the next
10 years or so. Ultimately, we aim to negate the need for boil
water notices in the future.
Development contributions are being collected to offset the
negative economic effects on ratepayers of upgrades of supplies
in the District that are necessary to cater for growth. Such
upgrades will help to ensure that the present level of provision
of water supply services is sustainable.
Emergency Management
In an emergency, particularly a civil defence emergency, we will
continue to deliver services as long as it is safe and practical to
continue to do so. Water is a priority commodity at any time,
and no less so in the event of a civil emergency. Every effort
will be made to maintain our water services in an emergency
situation, or when major damage has occurred for whatever
reason.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this group of activities is shown at the
end of the Water Supply activity.
72
Activity 1: Water Supply
Overview
The Water Supply activity includes the various functions of rural
and township water supplies.
Current Situation
The quality and quantity of drinking water in the Hurunui
District remains a concern and priority for us.
There are currently 13 Council owned water schemes in the
District, extracting water from 22 different sources, five others
are for emergency backup supply if required. Eight of these intake
sources are on permanent boil water notices (method used for
killing any bacteria, viruses, ova and cysts that may be present
in potentially contaminated water). The schemes are overseen
by Water Committees with delegated responsibilities for the
planning and development of their schemes, alongside council
officers. A schedule of the water schemes is included within
this section. On-demand water is supplied to 8 of the urban
communities in the district; these being from 7 high pressure
schemes consisting of 9 water intakes and 60 km of pipe.
Other small urban communities (Leithfield, Cheviot, Gore Bay,
Rotherham, Greta Valley, Amberley Beach and Motunau Beach)
are supplied via tanks from restricted rural supplies. All rural
communities in the district are serviced by Council operated
restricted-flow water supplies providing water to consumers
as “units” of water supplied into individual tanks. One unit is
1800 litres supplied over 24 hours, except for Balmoral and
Amuri Plains, where a unit is 1000 litres per day. The Hurunui
and Cheviot Rural Water Schemes cover four separate supplies
within each of their areas. The Ashley Scheme also has four
distinct intake sources and includes part of the Waimakariri
District within its boundaries.
All townships with on-demand supplies, except Leithfield Beach
have metered connections and charges are made on actual
water consumption used.
The levels of service for our water supplies can be found in
the appendices section of this plan. These levels of service are
monitored internally and will not be reported in the Annual
Report.
Plans for the Future
The availability of safe drinking-water for all New Zealanders,
irrespective of where they live, is a fundamental requirement
for public health. The revised Drinking-Water Standards are
a significant achievement in New Zealand’s endeavours to
maintain and improve the quality of drinking-water.
Since the publication of Drinking-Water Standards for New
Zealand 2000, the approach to managing drinking-water has
changed. The focus has moved from quality control to a broader
approach of quality assurance. This has been necessary due
to changes in technology, an improvement in our scientific
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
knowledge and the requirement to address a broader range of
issues than previously covered. This change has been managed
though the Drinking-Water Standards for New Zealand 2005
(revised 2008) (DWSNZ).
The Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2007 amended
the Health Act 1956 to require all drinking-water suppliers
providing water to consumers to develop and start to implement
a Public Health Risk Management Plan (PHRMP) to guide the safe
management of each minor drinking-water supply (501 to 5000
consumers) before 01 July 2014 onwards. A Public Health Risk
Management Plan is a tool to help suppliers identify, manage and
minimise events that would cause water quality to deteriorate.
This amendment marks a milestone in New Zealand in that, for
the first time, all drinking-water suppliers have a duty to ensure
their drinking-water supply is safe to drink.
The three main themes covered by the DWSNZ are maximum
acceptable values (water quality standards for microbial,
chemical and radiological determinants); the compliance criteria
and reporting requirements; and lastly, the remedial actions to be
taken when non-compliance is detected. The quality of the water
that is provided will continue to be governed by the DWSNZ,
which prescribes the maximum allowable concentrations of
potentially harmful contaminants that may be present in the
drinking-water supplied.
The penalties for failing to comply with DWSNZ are very severe
($200,000 plus for a continuing offence, and $10,000 for each
day of continued non-compliance). Accordingly, we have worked
hard with our local water and ward committees to ensure that
the requirements under DWSNZ are met within the PHRMP
compliance times specified, with latitude for affordability.
Six of our 22 water supply sources are defined as “minor”
supplies, which require PHRMP compliance with the Act by 1
July 2014. Of these seven intakes; three have approved PHRMP’s,
one has a current drafted PHRMP (to be submitted to Ministry
of Health (MoH) for endorsement); two are currently being age
tested (deep water secure sources); and the remaining one is
currently being drafted. The other 16 drinking water sources
are categorised as either “small”, “neighbourhood” or “rural
agricultural” with PHRMP compliance timeframes of 01 July
2015, 2016 or later than 2016 respectively. Table 1 in this section
details the situation for all of our drinking water supplies.
The cost to fully comply with DWSNZ is currently estimated at
an additional $14 million (capital works) and a further $484,000
per annum (operational costs) in today’s dollar value. Initial
discussions with the Ministry of Health (Canterbury District
Health Board) indicated that we must meet physical compliance
no later than three years after the final compliance approval
date for the PHRMP, for each shallow at-risk intake source.
This comes at a huge capital expenditure from 2017 to 2020.
We have raised with MoH, the affordability issue for a small
73
www.hurunui.govt.nz
rural council such as ours to meet these exorbitant costs. We
arrived at a proposed compromise to achieve full DWSNZ
compliance no later than ten years after the final approval date
for the respective PHRMP. The expectation from the MoH
is that we will, as a minimum, provide drinking-water to our
consumers that is bacteriologically free (meets compliance for
maximum acceptable e-coli contamination levels, but is still safe
to consume). Furthermore, we will show that we are making
provision for the impending capital cost impact through years
2024 to 2027 through a district-wide general rated scheme, thus
mitigate a repeated affordability argument in years to come. All
currently approved PHRMP’s will require a review to include
this MoH endorsed strategic approach.
We are planning to meet the drinking water standards in two
phases. The first will involve installing Miox treatments in each
of the nine at risk water intakes in the 2012/13 year. This will put
an end to our ‘boil water’ notices. The second phase involves
the actual upgrading to full compliance and the Miox treatments
will end. This last phase will occur between 2024 and 2027.
We have been undertaking a pipe replacement programme
over the past few years, and due to the extensive nature of the
Hurunui District, this will continue for many years to come.
Funding
Operational Costs:
Restricted Supply
• As a local Uniform Annual Charge on water unit
entitlement.
Unrestricted Supply
• Fixed costs – As a local Uniform Annual Charge.
Variable costs
• As a set price based per cubic meter of water as
recorded by the individual water meters.
Depreciation
• Council does not cash fund depreciation on its assets.
Instead, it builds up a fund for future maintenance
through rating at a higher level than required to meet
the operating costs. See the Statement Concerning
Balancing of the Budget on page 33.
Capital Costs:
• Significant Council capital expenditure will be funded
by loan for the life of the investment pursuant to the
Internal Financing Policy.
• If loans are not raised then it will be treated as a fixed
cost and funded from annual rates.
via Development Contributions.
• Landowners with new connections will pay the cost of
connecting to the nearest main plus, if a new subdivide,
putting in the sub-main and any levies as specified in the
Development Contributions policy.
• Property owners wanting new connections will pay
those costs necessary for the connection.
Loan Repayments
• Significant Council capital expenditure should be funded
by loan for the life of the investment. Repayment of the
loan will be treated as a fixed cost and will be funded
from a local Uniform Annual Charge.
Table 1: Water Supply Source Definitions (re MoH criteria)
Source Type Population Category
Effective
Date
Amberley Town
• SH1, Leithfield Well 1300 Minor 2014
Amberley Beach
• Kowai Well 630 Minor 2014
Amuri Plains Well 400 Small 2014
Ashley Rural
• Main intake
• Mays
• Racecourse
Road
Well
Well
Well
2750
500
450
Minor
Small
Small
2014
2015
2015
Balmoral Rural Gallery 200 small 2015
Cheviot Rural
• Waiau River
• Blythe
• Kaiwara
• Parnassus
Well
Well
Gallery
Well
1340
65
162
100
Minor
Neighbourhood
Rural Agriculture
Neighbourhood
2014
2016
2016
2016
Culverden Well 475 Small 2015
Hanmer Town Gallery 1,500 Minor 2014
Hawarden / Well 750 Minor 2014
Waikari
Hurunui Rural
• No. 1
• Peaks
• Upper
Waitohi
• Lower
Waitohi
Gallery
Well
Gallery
Gallery
600
100
400
300
Rural Agriculture
Neighbourhood
Rural Agriculture
Rural Agriculture
2016
2016
2016
2016
Leithfield Beach Well 150 Small 2015
Waiau Rural Well 240 Rural Agricultural 2016
Waiau Town Well 420 Small 2015
Waipara Town Well 300 Small 2015
• If any of the Capital Expenditure caters for future growth
of the scheme, then that portion of the expenditure
that relates to growth may be funded from future users
74
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Council Owned Assets
13 water schemes:
On Demand Water Schemes (Urban)
1. Amberley
2. Leithfield Beach
3. Culverden
4. Waiau
5. Waipara
6. Hanmer Springs
7. Hawarden-Waikari
Restricted Water Supplies (Rural)
8. Ashley
9. Amuri Plains
10. Balmoral
11. Waiau Rural
12. Cheviot
13. Hurunui
Table 2 shows the water network valuations as at 30 June 2011.
Maintenance and Operating Implications
We intend to retain the ownership of all public water supply
assets on behalf of the communities that these facilities serve.
Asset management, basic design work, contract documentation,
tendering, record keeping, operation and routine repair and
maintenance are to be carried out by our staff. Larger budget
capital works are likely to be let as contracts. Larger repairs,
work across state highways or arterial roads and some
emergency works may also be contracted to preferred or
available contractors. External consultants will be engaged only
for specialised tasks, where we do not have those skills in-house.
Information relating to the overall condition and performance of
the assets that make up the water supply networks in the district
are in our Asset Management Plans. Age and condition have an
influence on the maintenance of assets, but do not necessarily
impact on output and/or outcome performance. Breakages can
occur due to nearby earthworks, natural emergency events,
pressure waves (from pumps) or illegal connections that can
influence demand for water. Low performance can also arise
from an increase in demand from high growth, changes in
technology and materials, and changing expectations from the
community. The Water Asset Management Plan will be reviewed
and updated through 2013.
The Demand Management Strategy will look at significant
ways to improve forecasting, planning and upgrading of water
infrastructure into the future, thus addressing the national issue
of increasing competition for access to water. The challenges
of future growth, development and land-use changes (both
domestic and industrial) within the district and the subsequent
need to replace or renew supply infrastructure to meet these
needs, will drive us to reassess how we currently do our business
and to start thinking smarter and wiser. Water supply efficiency
is a core directive to ensuring that we use what we currently
have more effectively, before expensive upgrade works are
considered. We have a responsibility to help educate the public
Table 2: Water Network Valuations
Network Replacement Cost
Depreciated
Values
Amberley $2,815,297.48 $1,111,538.26
Amuri Plains $1,290,870.87 $800,292.87
Ashley $11,993,509.66 $8,349,455.36
Balmoral $1,312,486.28 $775,449.94
Blythe $401,350.63 $223,933.83
Cheviot $3,255,002.95 $1,513,348.23
Culverden $1,011,591.28 $380,681.82
Hanmer Springs $5,817,078.18 $3,645,959.74
Hawarden-Waikari $2,485,771.81 $878,670.62
Hurunui 1 $5,124,151.09 $2,321,822.64
Kaiwara $1,662,809.98 $954,166.69
Leithfield Beach $490,747.49 $275,692.71
Lower Waitohi $1,677,400.52 $814,691.71
Parnassus $1,106,936.83 $603,963.87
Peaks $273,119.55 $160,382.43
Upper Waitohi $2,279,526.49 $862,083.11
Waiau RWS $2,292,416.66 $1,100,388.11
Waiau Township $712,104.90 $200,642.77
Waipara $708,485.77 $254,815.72
to reduce water consumption and encourage other methods
to conserve water (such as grey water systems in new homes).
Most of the network reticulation is in good repair and operating
under a policy of renewal when necessary, thus reticulation should
remain serviceable indefinitely. Pumps, controls, telemetry (data
sent back to the office by radio) and water treatment devices
are repaired as the need arises and are replaced as the benefits
of repair are outweighed by replacement – usually every 12 – 20
years. Reservoirs, weirs, bores, and ponds are maintained on an
on-going basis. The asset ages of on-demand water networks is
quite recent, with the earliest network installations dating back
to 1955 (in Amberley).
Assumptions and Risks
Upgrading of water systems, new treatment plants and filtration
systems to meet Drinking-Water Standards New Zealand, have
all assumed financial subsidies from Central Government in
the past in order for the work to affordably proceed. However,
reduced national subsidy funding (less money available for all)
and the ever-increasing limiting eligibility criteria (specifically
the deprivation index to address more financially needy
communities) have put council in a position that requires
reconsideration of this hopeful approach. We will have to
fund the full cost from their perceived deep pockets, placing
more financial burden upon our communities to meet these
legislatively imposed standards.
75
www.hurunui.govt.nz
We will continue to make application for this subsidy yearly
from the Ministry of Health, wherever we see opportunity
within the constraints of the set and strict criteria applicable to
qualify for an adjudicated consideration.
Effort is continually on-going to establish the useful lifespan of
underground and fixed water supply assets. Most of the urban
reticulation is AC pipe (older community areas prior to early
1970’s) and PVC for new sub-divisions and replacement sections
of the current infrastructure.
Pipe material has performed satisfactorily since installation,
but renewal is anticipated for much of this over the next 20
years or so. We have been undertaking a renewal programme
for some years, which will continue so that the cost is spread
out rather than peaking at once. Expected life for AC is 60
years and 80 years for PVC and polyethylene (PE). Some AC
pipe has experienced wall softening, thus demanding repair
or replacement. This effect is localised in all networks, but
the frequency of pipe failure is closely monitored to ensure
replacement is carried out at the optimum time.
External and internal stresses determine the useful life of all
assets. The inability to pin-point these means approximate
values are applied to useful service lives. This implies that
renewal priorities are spontaneous (reactive based on incidents
of breakages), rather than being confidently known (proactive
based on scientific data). Better scientific information around
the pipeline infrastructure (sectional investigations for condition
ratings) could swing this approach to the NAMS best practice
asset management outcomes, but comes at a high initial cost.
Sectional Investigation Programmes (SIP) will be initiated to
selected schemes over the next three years to make inroads
towards this desirable outcome and improved proactive
forecasted replacement/renewal maintenance programmes.
We recognise risks associated with failure to supply safe drinking
water on public health and potential failure to supply where
natural disasters have the capacity to damage reticulation. The
rural character of the district means immediate assistance may
be limited at such times. We hold limited pipe and fittings stock
at each depot (dormant cash flows) and have built-in generators
or external plugs at some of the main pump stations. Reservoir
back-up when intakes are out of commission is very limited
(except for Hanmer Springs – tank farm). Operators and plant,
located at each depot, are a first point of call through these risk
associated periods identified.
All water networks operate under approved resource consents
to take water. Conditions are set with council utilities staff and
are administered by Canterbury Regional Council (Environment
Canterbury - ECan). All intakes are within consented limits at
present. It is assumed that future demand will be able to be
met with the capital projects planned and that the consents for
such will continue to be renewed as necessary and be able to
be complied with.
Council Utilities Team undertake emergency repairs to
the main line on the Waipara Water Scheme.
76
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Development contributions are being collected to offset the
negative economic effects on ratepayers for future upgrades of
infrastructure in the District that are necessary to cater for
growth. Such upgrades will help to ensure that the present level
of provision of water supply services is kept sustainable.
Shared Services
We have an agreement with Waimakariri District Council to
supply water to the Ashley and Sefton parts of their district. As
such, approximately 1,650 Waimakariri ratepayers = many more
residents pay the water proportion of rates directly to us.
Community Outcomes
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place with essential infrastructure
Goals
Supply water
to meet
consumer
needs
How we will
achieve our Goals
Provide a
continuous ‘ondemand’
supply of
potable water to
urban areas and a
‘restricted’ supply
of water to rural
areas
Undertake
a residents
satisfaction survey
Maintain and
improve water
schemes to comply
with DWSNZ
Water tested for
quality
Goals and Performance Measures
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
Major faults to water
supply pipelines
greater than 250mm
diameter that affect
customers are
repaired within 24
hours
Resident satisfaction
will continue to
improve over the
coming years
Install 9 mixed oxidant
treatment plants and
eliminate the need for
permanent boil water
notices
The safety standard
of potable water
improves each year**
No such faults were reported
during the year, but we have a better
system in place now to capture this
information and track the completion
of work via our service request
programme
Resident satisfaction levels have
improved since 2007 and in 2011
it reached 82.5%* satisfaction with
water quality. Satisfaction with
quantity of rural water was 81%.
We have 8 permanent boil water
notices in place.
Water standards are measured weekly
or monthly depending on the number
of consumers for each scheme.***
Our potable water met safety
standards in 85% of the district.
√ √ √ √
*Average score over three questions relating to pressure and flow of water (86%), appearance and taste (79%).
**We have been working to improve the safety standard of potable water in the district each year and last year we reached 85%.
***Each scheme, dependent on its risks at intake (shallow through river gallery would be high risk), has a monitoring regime associated with
its need for sampling and testing for e-coli and total coliforms. The higher the risk, the more tests required for the scheme. High risk - once per
week, low risk (deep intake) - once per month. A failure is an e-coli reading >1, which requires retesting until it achieves three clear results.
√
√
√
√
√
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
77
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Water Supplies - Group Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates 0 0 0 0 271,471 271,471 271,471 271,471 271,471 271,471 271,471
Targeted Rates 3,865,925 4,216,961 4,457,076 4,708,071 4,886,798 5,073,337 5,195,456 5,397,543 5,608,551 5,828,920 6,059,113
Other Income 109,485 221,616 111,380 114,772 118,411 122,310 125,788 129,341 133,434 137,927 142,441
Internal Interest Received 9,777 8,998 6,282 7,175 7,174 18,473 44,853 73,948 103,961 133,439 170,799
Development Contributions 351,193 129,978 135,200 139,651 144,432 158,431 164,570 171,222 178,498 186,590 177,157
Total Operating Revenue 4,336,380 4,577,553 4,709,939 4,969,669 5,428,287 5,644,022 5,802,138 6,043,525 6,295,915 6,558,347 6,820,981
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 592,896 619,190 638,571 658,013 678,880 701,233 721,171 741,542 765,009 790,768 816,650
Direct Operating Expenditure 1,585,555 1,777,070 1,832,692 1,888,492 1,931,934 1,995,544 2,052,283 2,110,255 2,177,037 2,250,340 2,323,994
Internal Interest Paid 385,126 309,960 385,568 372,162 358,493 331,971 355,551 352,948 340,269 322,951 305,297
Council Overheads Expenditure 873,937 909,309 938,215 968,821 995,825 1,026,094 1,053,709 1,081,800 1,115,190 1,147,304 1,181,450
Depreciation 850,000 932,086 967,325 959,417 1,063,748 1,055,069 1,058,271 1,160,750 1,147,615 1,137,668 1,315,536
Total Operating Expenditure 4,287,514 4,547,615 4,762,371 4,846,905 5,028,879 5,109,911 5,240,984 5,447,296 5,545,121 5,649,030 5,942,927
Operating Surplus (Deficit) 48,866 29,938 (52,432) 122,763 399,407 534,111 561,154 596,229 750,794 909,318 878,055
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
District Wide Water 96,602 32,713 33,996 35,127 36,335 50,835 52,770 54,908 57,250 59,865 49,835
District Wide Water - Miox Treatment 0 758,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Amberley Water 14,678 261,500 10,392 279,220 142,170 448,773 108,700 0 0 0 0
Leithfield Beach Water 7,920 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ashley Rural Water 137,914 310,000 176,664 182,546 188,819 195,619 203,065 211,293 220,303 230,367 374,194
Culverden Town Water 60,125 5,000 72,432 7,517 48,982 5,754 5,973 8,700 6,480 6,776 9,922
Waiau Town Water 8,659 205,500 520 537 555 575 597 621 648 678 709
Amuri Plains Water 0 4,500 4,676 4,832 4,998 5,178 5,375 5,593 5,832 6,098 6,378
Balmoral Water 15,756 16,000 2,078 3,221 4,443 3,452 2,389 4,972 2,592 2,710 5,670
Waiau Rural Water 25,500 23,500 24,421 17,718 18,327 18,987 19,709 20,508 139,309 22,359 23,387
Cheviot Water 707,957 81,000 143,410 81,609 84,413 87,453 90,782 94,460 98,488 102,988 107,722
Waipara Town Water 2,112 20,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hanmer Springs Water 245,657 162,000 25,980 23,624 22,214 31,069 23,890 27,344 25,918 36,588 652,004
Hawarden-Waikari Water 16,520 3,000 0 46,173 4,443 575 3,703 51,332 5,184 678 0
Hurunui Rural Water 196,688 209,000 209,918 211,539 218,808 312,415 235,317 244,851 255,292 266,955 279,228
Total Capital Expenditure 1,536,088 2,091,713 704,488 893,662 774,506 1,160,685 752,269 724,583 817,295 736,060 1,509,048
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 0 0 52,432 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Capital Expenditure 1,536,088 2,091,713 704,488 893,662 774,506 1,160,685 752,269 724,583 817,295 736,060 1,509,048
Increase to Reserve Funds 0 47,261 61,613 86,502 371,630 1,009,549 1,119,895 1,209,217 1,270,884 1,439,669 1,388,383
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 898,866 914,763 853,280 995,678 1,091,525 579,631 499,530 547,762 627,525 607,317 805,208
2,434,954 3,053,737 1,671,813 1,975,842 2,237,662 2,749,865 2,371,695 2,481,561 2,715,705 2,783,046 3,702,639
Funded by
Operating Surplus 48,866 29,938 0 122,763 399,407 534,111 561,154 596,229 750,794 909,318 878,055
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 850,000 932,086 967,325 959,417 1,063,748 1,055,069 1,058,271 1,160,750 1,147,615 1,137,668 1,315,536
Capital Expenditure funded from existing Reserve Funds 0 124,855 36,074 85,059 45,776 251,057 282,233 343,634 418,531 353,244 686,544
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 1,536,088 1,966,858 668,413 808,604 728,730 909,628 470,036 380,949 398,765 382,816 822,504
2,434,954 3,053,737 1,671,813 1,975,842 2,237,662 2,749,865 2,371,695 2,481,561 2,715,705 2,783,046 3,702,639
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
78
Sewerage
Overview
Sewerage covers the following activity described below:
Activity 1: Sewerage (township and rural sewer schemes)
Our Aim
To provide proficient, cost effective sewage disposal schemes
relevant to the needs of the community.
Why is the Council Involved?
Council provides a sewerage service to support the development
of the District and to protect the physical environment and
health of the community through good sanitary practice. We
try to ensure that adverse environmental impacts are avoided,
minimised or eased.
Community Outcomes
The Water Supply activity described in this section, primarily
contributes to three of our community outcomes:
1. A desirable and safe place to live:
• We have attractive well designed townships
• Communities have access to adequate health and
emergency services and systems and resources
are available to meet civil defence emergencies
• Risks to public health are identified and
appropriately managed
2. A place that demonstrates environmental responsibility:
• We protect our environment while preserving
people’s property rights
• We minimise solid waste to the fullest extent,
and manage the rest in a sustainable way
3. A place with essential infrastructure:
• We have a strong emphasis on service delivery
across all infrastructure including roading, water
(for drinking and development), waste water,
stormwater and solid waste
Major Projects Planned
Project
Amberley pipe upgrade $474,000
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Amberley pond desludging $96,642
Amberley wastewater plant
renewals
$12,240 $10,780 $78,256
Cheviot wave board correction $30,882
Greta Valley wastewater plant
renewals
Motunau Beach wastewater
plant renewals
Hanmer Springs pond
desludging
Hanmer Springs disposal to
land option
Hanmer Springs treatment
pond aeration improvements
$17,000 $18,255
$35,000
$220,000
Significant Negative Effects
$93,528
$1,288,560
There are significant negative effects for environmental,
economic, cultural and social wellbeing from this activity. The
disposal of treated effluent to land and waterways carries
physical and health risks, although these are minimised by
ensuring that the reticulation and disposal systems comply
with the appropriate resource consents. All facilities are based
around pond treatment, which means any overflow or failure
at these locations will involve release of treated or partially
treated material. The lack of reticulated sewerage systems is
affecting the environmental and social wellbeing of some local
communities. However, the cost of installing such systems at
this stage, have an even bigger negative effect on the economic
wellbeing of these communities.
Emergency Management
In an emergency, particularly a civil defence emergency, we will
continue to deliver services as long as it is safe and practical
to continue to do so. Sewerage issues will receive priority in
the event of a civil emergency and every effort will be made to
effectively and safely dispose of sewerage to minimise health
risks.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this group of activities is shown at the
end of the Sewerage activity.
79
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Activity 1: Sewerage
Overview
The Sewerage activity includes the various functions of the
seven sewerage schemes in the District.
Current Situation
The district operates 7 separate sewerage schemes, serving all
but 4 urban localities. All use oxidation ponds for treatment of
sewage and 14 pump stations are operated within the pipework.
Table 1, sets out the number of connections each sewerage
scheme services.
1. The current situation for each of the sewerage schemes
is outlined below:
2. Amberley: Reticulation was installed between 1974
and 1977 with a staged multi-pond treatment and land
disposal onto pasture (free draining sandy soil) adjacent
to the coast.
3. Cheviot: Reticulation and aeration tank was installed in
1964, upgraded to single oxidation pond plus borderdyke
disposal in 1982 and further improved in 1999/00
to a multi-pond facility with spray irrigation to pasture
and overland flow polishing prior to discharge to
adjacent waterway when the irrigation area is saturated.
4. Greta Valley: Reticulation and treatment/disposal
facility was installed in 1979 for a Council funded
subdivision with one pond treatment and disposal to
land (travelling irrigator) or to nearby waterway when
the soil conditions are too wet for irrigating.
5. Motunau Beach: Reticulation, treatment and disposal
area was installed in 1987 in response to meet
community and public health expectations, using a dual
pond for treatment (with aeration) and land based
discharge onto pasture (private title) with border dyke
application.
6. Hanmer Springs: Reticulation was installed 1971 with
dual pond treatment and discharge to the Chatterton
River, replacing the older reticulation and settling tank
(installed in 1949 in the hospital property) which was
not meeting local expectations. A further upgrade
including additional ponds and aerators was completed
in 2007/08.
7. Hawarden: Reticulation and treatment/disposal facility
was installed in 1966 with twin ponds and overflow to
an open drain.
8. Waikari: Reticulation and treatment/disposal facility
was installed in 1967 with twin ponds and overflow to
the Waikari River with discharge altered to land disposal
via spray in 1996 on an adjacent farmland. It has been
further upgraded in 2005 with an additional pond and
an increased effluent disposal area.
Recently, we investigated the feasibility of two new sewerage
schemes for Culverden and Waipara. Public feedback on the
results, and particularly the cost of the building the schemes was
not favourable. There clearly is the sentiment “don’t fix what’s
not broken”,therefore, reticulated schemes for Culverden and
Waipara are not planned at this stage. Should there be any
changes in legislation or adverse effects to groundwater are
noted (in terms of effluent contamination), then this democratic
approach will be revisited for alternative consideration.
The levels of service for our sewerage schemes can be found
in the appendices section of this plan. These levels of service
are monitored internally and will not be reported in the Annual
Report.
Table 1: Sewerage Connections
Scheme
Active
Connections
Undeveloped
Sites (half
connections)
Pan Connection
Equivalents
(includes multiple
pans)
Amberley 1,042 106 1,350
Leithfield 172 25 203
Cheviot 208 8 328
Greta Valley 28 12 59
Motunau Beach 119 18 137
Hanmer Springs
1114 293 1,923
Hawarden 120 11 169
Plans for the future
New pipelines in Amberley are to be built. Plant renewals will
be undertaken as identified in our Activity Management Plan
for wastewater.
We have an ‘Assessment of Water and Sanitary Services”. This
assessment will be reviewed from time to time during the life
of this plan and is due for its next review in the 2013/14 year.
Works associated with current resource consent requirements
for Hanmer Springs and Cheviot wastewater treatment plants
requires us to look towards disposal to land as alternative
adopted approaches to disposal to waterways (by 2014/15).
Hanmer Springs wastewater treatment plant ponds exhibited
seasonally low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, which could result
in odour problems to nearby residential properties (dependent
upon the prevailing wind at the time). Aerator upgrades will be
required to eliminate this potential problem and ensure that
council remains within the tolerated minimum acceptable values
for DO.
80
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Operational Costs:
Funding
• Operation and loan repayments are funded by way of a
wastewater Uniform Annual Charge:
• on each connection
• for connected commercial properties a charge of
1 for the first pan
• ½ charges on the second pan
• ¼ charges on the third and subsequent pans
• Serviceable properties within the urban sewerage
scheme will be charged ½ the Uniform Annual Charge.
• Council may allow capital contributions to be made at
its discretion in place of a loan Uniform Annual Charge.
Capital Costs:
• Significant Council capital expenditure are funded by a
loan as per the Council’s Internal Financing Policy
• If loans are not raised, then it will be from targeted
rates
• Council may loan/fund sewerage main extensions with
the loan repayments met by those properties directly
benefiting where the majority of the property owners
agree to the extension
• If any of the Capital Expenditure caters for future
growth of the scheme, then that portion of the
expenditure that relates to growth may be funded
from future users via Development Contributions and
Financial Contributions
• Landowners with new connections will pay the cost of
connecting to the nearest main plus, if a new subdivide,
putting in the sub-main
• Property owners wanting new connections will pay
those costs necessary for the connection and any levies
as specified in the Development Contributions policy
• Council should pay any costs of scheme requirements
that are over and above those necessary for the
connection and the direct costs
Council Owned Assets
Sewerage schemes in:
• Amberley
• Cheviot
• Greta Valley
• Motunau Beach
• Hanmer Springs
• Hawarden
• Waikari
Table 2 shows the sewerage network valuations as at 30 June 2011 which
includes all pipe, point and plant assets.
Table 2: Sewerage Network Valuations
Network Replacement Cost Depreciation Values
Amberley $7,505,640.48 $4,689,448.33
Cheviot $1,593,516.79 $644,791.07
Greta Valley $465,836.98 $226,644.78
Hanmer Springs $7,979,250.47 $5,633,596.60
Hawarden $868,863.41 $295,961.48
Motunau Beach $869,115.26 $517,905.72
Waikari $1,755,490.76 $737,717.77
Maintenance and Operating Implications
We intend to retain ownership of all wastewater assets on
behalf of the communities they serve. Asset management, basic
design work, contract documentation, tendering, record keeping,
operation and routine repairs and maintenance is to be carried
out by our staff.
Larger budget capital works may be let as contracts. Decisions
affecting wastewater networks will be made in consultation
with ward committees and Residents Associations.
Larger repairs and emergency works may also be contracted to
preferred or available contractors. Preference will be given to
locally based contractors for these activities where their prices
are competitive. External consultants will be engaged only for
specialised tasks, where we do not have the skills, or another
opinion is required.
Assumptions and Risks
Effort is on-going to establish the useful lifespan of underground
and fixed wastewater assets. Most of the reticulation is AC pipe
and is affected by both sewage and soil conditions. Much of
the newer reticulation is PVC. Expected life for manholes and
PVC is 80 years and AC, 50 years. External stresses determine
useful life of assets, being soil conditions, quality of installation,
additional loadings, and maintenance. The inability to pin-point
these means approximate values are applied. The inherent
variations in-situ makes it difficult to accurately formulate
renewals priority programme, but will be refined as additional
information is obtained.
All wastewater networks operate under current resource
consents for all emissions and discharges. These conditions are
generally agreed between us and Canterbury Regional Council.
Most of the consent terms will not expire until 2018 – 2030.
81
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Goals and Performance Measures
Community Outcomes
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place that demonstrates environmental responsibility
3. A place with essential infrastructure
Goals
Protect public health through
ensuring good sanitary
standards
How we will achieve our
Goals
Maintain sewerage disposal
and treatment facilities in
most urban areas
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
All major and significant
non-compliances for our
sewerage disposal resource
consents reduce until we
have 0% non-compliance
All sewer breaks are
repaired within 12 hours of
notification
We have 14 resource
consents relating to
wastewater, which have 186
conditions to comply with.
We had 2.2% major and
significant non-compliance to
date this year*
No major breaks occurred
and minor breaks were
repaired within 12 hours of
receiving the notification
2% 1% 0% 0%
√ √ √ √
* The non-compliance issues have related to matters such as late reports and failure to complete log books. These were initially minor
noncompliance matters but accelerated to major and significant non-compliance as they were not remedied within the allotted timeframes
set by the Regional Council.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
82
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Sewerage - Group Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
Targeted Rates 588,808 618,127 683,846 758,360 842,193 937,618 1,046,410 1,170,631 1,312,674 1,475,324 1,661,819
Other Income 317 320 330 340 351 362 373 383 395 409 422
Internal Interest Received 5,504 2,158 322 634 788 1,317 0 0 0 0 0
Development Contributions 175,529 70,086 72,788 75,187 77,757 104,721 108,678 113,076 117,927 123,282 109,270
Total Operating Revenue 770,158 690,691 757,286 834,522 921,089 1,044,019 1,155,461 1,284,090 1,430,996 1,599,015 1,771,511
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 50,270 52,454 54,096 55,743 57,511 59,404 61,093 62,819 64,807 66,989 69,182
Direct Operating Expenditure 168,439 236,920 249,492 251,775 254,277 256,987 270,117 271,759 286,537 289,800 305,879
Internal Interest Paid 259,221 295,001 360,119 374,948 487,096 502,193 511,283 533,576 524,281 501,287 465,873
Council Overheads Expenditure 126,363 134,154 138,419 143,502 146,961 151,478 155,588 159,770 165,414 169,566 174,678
Depreciation 320,000 366,060 373,326 368,475 408,244 415,129 411,244 456,681 449,510 441,295 491,252
Total Operating Expenditure 924,293 1,084,588 1,175,452 1,194,443 1,354,089 1,385,191 1,409,325 1,484,606 1,490,549 1,468,937 1,506,864
Operating Surplus (Deficit) (154,135) (393,897) (418,166) (359,922) (433,000) (341,172) (253,864) (200,516) (59,553) 130,078 264,647
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
District Wide Sewer 96,602 32,713 33,996 35,127 36,335 50,835 52,770 54,908 57,250 59,865 49,835
Amberley Sewer 0 486,240 10,780 174,898 20,948 12,384 243,678 7,961 0 0 0
Cheviot Sewer 10,000 40,046 0 10,994 77,749 0 0 36,498 0 0 0
Greta Valley Sewer 2,684 19,000 2,078 20,402 2,221 2,301 2,389 2,486 2,592 2,710 2,835
Motunau Beach Sewer 0 35,000 0 0 12,218 12,658 119,450 0 0 0 0
Hanmer Springs Sewer 31,840 235,000 103,920 1,304,667 11,107 17,261 11,945 18,644 12,959 20,327 14,174
Hawarden Sewer 8,000 0 0 4,939 0 141,536 0 0 0 0 0
Waikari Sewer 0 71,000 0 0 7,775 0 34,641 7,457 0 0 0
Total Capital Expenditure 149,126 918,999 150,774 1,551,028 168,353 236,975 464,873 127,953 72,801 82,902 66,844
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 154,135 393,897 418,166 359,922 433,000 341,172 253,864 200,516 59,553 0 0
Capital Expenditure 149,126 918,999 150,774 1,551,028 168,353 236,975 464,873 127,953 72,801 82,902 66,844
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 165,865 760 53 8,553 5 73,957 157,380 256,165 389,957 571,373 755,899
469,126 1,313,656 568,993 1,919,503 601,358 652,104 876,117 584,634 522,311 654,274 822,742
Funded by
Operating Surplus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 130,078 264,647
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 320,000 366,060 373,326 368,475 408,244 415,129 411,244 456,681 449,510 441,295 491,252
Transfer from Special Funds 0 28,597 44,893 0 24,761 0 0 0 0 0 0
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 149,126 918,999 150,774 1,551,028 168,353 236,975 464,873 127,953 72,801 82,902 66,844
469,126 1,313,656 568,993 1,919,503 601,358 652,104 876,117 584,634 522,311 654,274 822,742
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
83
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Roads and Footpaths
Overview
Roads and Footpaths covers the following activity described
below:
Activity 1: Roads (roads, bridges, footpaths, street lighting, and
road safety)
Our Aim
To provide a transport network that is safe and accessible for all
people throughout the District.
Why is the Council Involved?
We undertake the professional and technical work involved in
providing the on-going management of the District’s roading
network. Partial funding for road construction projects and
on-going maintenance requirements is received from the New
Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). Public ownership of the
roads and footpaths ensures appropriate property access and
unimpeded rite of passage for the freedom of travel throughout
the area.
Community Outcomes
The Roads and Footpaths activity described in this section,
primarily contributes to two of our community outcomes:
1. A desirable and safe place to live:
• We have attractive well designed townships
• Communities have access to adequate health and
emergency services and systems and resources are
available to meet civil defence emergencies
• Risks to public health are identified and appropriately
managed
Major Projects Planned
Project
Bridge maintenance
and repairs
Sealed Road
resurfacing
Minor improvement
programme
Pavement
rehabilitation
programme
Traffic services
renewals - street
lighting
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015+
$269,106 $279,900 $285,858 $299,435
$1,000,371 $1,040,519 $1,062,647 $1,113,118
$270,999 $281,874 $287,869 $301,541
$580,215 $603,501 $616,336 $645,608
$207,703 $216,039 $220,633 $231,112
Significant Negative Effects
Hurunui’s land transport network affords people a high degree
of mobility, but this, and other economic and social benefits, has
some significant environmental costs. High volumes of traffic
produce noise, air, and light pollution. Dust from unsealed roads
causes a nuisance on neighbouring properties and impacts on
road safety due to decreased visibility. At present our transport
infrastructure needs outweigh the negative effects on our
environmental wellbeing and are sustainable at least for the
period of this plan. Alternatives for the future will need to be
sought if this balance shifts.
Emergency Management
In an emergency, particularly a civil defence emergency, we will
continue to deliver services as long as it is safe and practical to
continue to do so. The roading network will receive priority in
the event of a civil emergency and every effort will be made to
make the roads clear and safe to drive on.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this group of activities is shown at the
end of the Roads and Footpaths activity.
2. A place with essential infrastructure:
• We have a strong emphasis on service delivery across
all infrastructure including roading, water (for drinking
and development), waste water, stormwater and solid
waste
Princes Street, Waikari - Road & Community Improvement Programme
84
Activity 1: Roads and Footpaths
Overview
The Roads and Footpaths activity includes the various functions
of street lighting, bridges and road safety, as well as roads and
footpaths.
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
We are an active member of the ‘Hurunui District Road Safety
Coordinating Committee’. The committee has a Road Safety
Strategy which provides a framework for a road safety policy
and initiatives in our district, together with practical, long term
community solutions.
Current Situation
The Roading Network activity deals with the day-to-day
operations, maintenance and improvements of road pavement
(renewals, improvements and upgrades), signs, street lighting,
parking, cleaning, bridge maintenance, corridor management,
overweight and oversize permits, licenses to occupy and
various road safety activities. These initiatives are supported
through policy development and forward planning, including
linking in with transport and land use planning and road safety
coordination.
Our roads are maintained and built using subsidy funds from
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and moneys collected
through local rates. This excludes state highways which are
funded and maintained solely through NZTA. Three years ago,
central government deliberately cut maintenance funding to
all district councils, as it decided to focus on capital works to
national state highways (Roads of National Significance) and the
Auckland roading network needs as priorities. Our funding was
cut by $600,000 per annum on average, for the full funding cycle
2009/2012.
Our Asset Management Plan (AMP) for roading is an important
plan when it comes to planning and deciding on upgrades,
maintenance and new work. An ongoing challenge is to match
the level of service provided by the roading asset with the
expectations of our community.
The district’s roading network comprises of approximately
1455 kilometres of local roads (excluding state highways), 278
bridges, 94,204 square metres of footpaths, 60kilometres of
kerb and channeling, 886 streetlights, 4622 traffic signs and 43
kilometres of culvert pipes. Each road in the roading network
has been categorized into a roading hierarchy (in the District
Plan) based on the road’s purpose and level of use. Of the 1455
km local roads, 1380 kilometres are rural and 75 kilometres are
urban. 602 kilometres of the road network is sealed, with 853
kilometres remaining unsealed to date.
Current desirable levels of service have been defined against
urban and rural road hierarchy categories. These are 6
carriageway service indicators (Quality, Safety, Environment,
Efficiency, Comfort/Convenience and capacity and 5 associated
roading asset service indicators (kerb and channel; bridges;
street lighting; road marking; and signs). The road hierarchy
established is designed to meet the expected levels of service
(as per the AMP), although incomplete inventory data for some
assets limits a full assessment. The levels of service defined in
the AMP inform the performance measures set out in this plan.
Plans for the future
The roading network uses a significant share of our annual
expenditure (almost 25%), and it is planned that this will continue
on a long term basis. Whereas the AMP provides important
information for the work programme, we also routinely monitor,
audit and assess, using traffic counts on a rotational basis to
collect data about trends. Hurunui is a large district with a small
population (rating base), therefore it is crucial that priority is
given to roads and bridges that serve important functions, such
as road safety, and have high traffic use.
NZTA have released indicative allocation budget figures for
road maintenance through 2012-2015, which are 5% less than
our original Regional Land Transport Programme submission
requests. Although these budget amounts are 3.4% more than
the 2009-2012 budget allocations, they equate to $226,000
less per annum across the three year programme. Coming to
grips with a total $1.6 million reduced budget is going to be
major challenge to both assets and operations alike. Our Asset
Management Plans (AMPs) tell us when, how and why we need
to do work on each of our roads to ensure maximum wholeof-life
for this asset (maximum return on investment approach);
but we do not have the required subsidised income to maintain
our roading network to the level our AMPs stipulate. We
will continue to retain our funding as previously indicated as
unsubsidised work and the rate impact for roading will continue
as previously stated in the plan. We have made the assumption
that the reduced level of NZTA funding will continue through
the life of the LTP.
We have done our best to get greater efficiencies within our
current road maintenance contracts, without affecting the
current levels of service (LoS). At the end of this period, our
maintenance contracts will be renewed with cost escalations
included. NZTA have declared that they will not pick up contract
price escalations through their road maintenance subsidy
scheme. This implies that the ratepayer will have to cover this
shortfall otherwise less and less will be physically spent on
maintenance outputs resulting in loss of road asset life and
potentially putting road’s lives at risk driving on a compromised
infrastructure. Thus, NZTA and Central Government are
imposing more and more responsibility upon the local ratepayer
to fund their roading infrastructure’s needs, unless the Minister
of Transport is lobbied by all affected stakeholders to reverse
this tactic and strategy.
The financial savings effected through the last road maintenance
tender round will sustain the infrastructure for the following
year (2012-2013), but after that, we will have to seriously
consider what elements of the planned works will have to be
85
www.hurunui.govt.nz
deferred to divert these funds back to essential maintenance
works.
So far, we have done much better than the national averages in all
areas of our road performance assessment measures (roughness,
smoothness and road integrity). We expect to remain above
national average in these areas throughout the ten year period
covered by this plan, given that all Road Controlling Authorities
have been affected financially and more importantly, that we are
not watching and waiting, but rather taking proactive steps to
mitigate loss of asset life through rational and judicious decision
making. We will continue to monitor our key performance
indicators for road condition to establish if there is any loss
of predicted asset life and the extent of any decline in levels
of service. Over a long period of time, if our funding continues
to be significantly less that our AMPs indicate, levels of service
will gradually decrease. Increasing rates for roads in the future
may be the only way to maintain current levels of service, or we
could accept that a reduced level of service is necessary and
decide what that will be.
This is a problem we are not facing alone. Nationally, there are
investigations into how we establish the point of critical failure
for our roads so that we are able to proactively intervene. At
this stage, we do not have the answers, but expect that this will
continue to be a key issue when we review our long term plan
again in three years. By then, with continued monitoring and
exploring the how we can continue to do more for less, as well
as on-going national discussion on this topic, we will have more
information and options for consideration going forward.
We have been undertaking only minor seal extensions over
the past few years. The last major work was carried out on
Woodbank Road, completed in 2010. We plan to take advantage
of any external funds available or funding opportunities through
the Road Seal Extensions Policy to reduce the length of unsealed
roads in the district. Other processes for dust suppression
will continue to be investigated. Bridge maintenance and
replacements are also a priority focus during the next several
years.
Many timber bridges built after World War II are now nearly
at the end of their economic lives, and will have to be replaced
during the life of this plan. We have been working through a
bridge replacement plan according to the priorities established
after we contracted OPUS to investigate the state of our
bridges in 2009. To date priority bridges which include Lyndon
No.3 Bridge (Lyndon Road), MacFarlanes Bridge (Conway Flat
Road), Humpback Bridge (Gore Bay Road), Williams Bridge
(Glenmark Drive), Coops Bridge (Parkview Road), Gola Peaks
Bridge (Virginia Road), Charwell No. 1 Bridge (Stag and Spey
Road), Thompsons Bridge (Glenmark Drive) and Jamiesons
Bridge (Megowans Road) have been completed.
Bridges targeted for the 2012/2015 period include Broxton
Bridge (Broxton Road), Mandamus Bridge (Tekoa Road), Lower
Hurunui Swing Bridge (Blythe Road), Okuku Pass Bridge
(Okuku Pass Road), Uphams Bridge (Conway Flat Road), Mid
Waipara Bridge (Greys Road), Blythe No.1 Culvert (Blythe
Road), Crossleys Bridge (Leader Road East), Brophys Bridge
(Brophys Road), Armco Culvert (Ngaroma Road), Jacks Creek
(Lake Sumner Road). Because of the significant costs associated
with bridge maintenance and improvements, it may be a better
solution to replace bridges with fords instead, subject to location
and traffic counts. This will only be considered where there is
low traffic volume and few people affected (sometimes there
is only one household). Consultation with relevant people and
sectors of the community will be done before any decisions
such as this are made. A budget provision has been made for
the bridge repairs.
We have been working through a programme of installing School
Active Warning Signs where schools are positioned on busy
roads. Warning signs have been installed for Amberley, Cheviot,
Amuri, Leithfield, Rotherham, Broomfield, Waiau, Waikari
and Greta Valley Schools. Further signs are programmed for
Hurunui College, Hanmer Springs, Waipara and Omihi during
2012/2015, at an approximately cost of $7,500 per sign.
Roading challenges coming up include:
• Binding up of metal material to unsealed roads so that they
are sustainable and durable
• Blending of metals to improve structural strength and
enhanced mosaic aggregate interlocking
• Improved open drains for land drainage requirements
• Deciding on effective sealed road widths for improved traffic
conveyance, and ways to reduce maintenance expenditure
Funding Model
Roads
Operational Costs:
• Council’s contribution is 100% District Rate for operations,
roads and bridges known as the ‘Roading Rate’
Capital Costs:
• Capital improvements above $100,000 may be funded
by reserves or loans pursuant to the Council’s Internal
Financing Policy
• Other Capital Expenditure to be funded as operational
• If a community wants new sealing work done that does not
qualify for a government subsidy, the Road Seal Extension
policy allows for ratepayers to meet 50% of the costs,
with the Council contributing the remaining 50% from the
General Rate
• If any of the Capital Expenditure caters for future growth,
then that portion of the expenditure that relates to growth
may be funded from future users via Financial Contributions
Footpaths
Operational Costs:
• Township maintenance 100% local amenity rate on ward or
community rating area
Capital Costs:
• Township maintenance 100% local amenity rate on ward or
community rating area
86
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Maintenance and Operating
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) subsidizes up to
60% (confirmed by NZTA as fixed for Hurunui from July 2012
to June 2015) of improvement projects such as seal extensions
and minor improvement works that meet its funding criteria
and requirements. A 50% financial assistance rate (FAR) is
confirmed for ongoing maintenance requirements to ensure
whole-of-life objectives of the asset are competently met.
As a national core driver from central government, all road
controlling authorities are being tasked to manage their roading
assets with less and less subsidy funding. This means every
authority must revisit the way they have done business in the
past and look hard at improving output efficiencies, productivity,
effectiveness of asset management decisions and resultant works
programmes, value-for-money and best for asset outcomes. The
reality is that councils are tasked to do “more (outputs) with
less (money)” and ensure that the assets meet their fit-forpurpose
objectives, whilst being affordable and pragmatic. This
strategic approach, across the country (applicable to both local
and national highways), has resulted in essential works (need
to have) being completed, with less latitude for lavish (nice to
have) outcomes. We are concerned about this reduced funding
approach on a continued long-term basis, given that this has the
latitude to erode the asset life of the infrastructure, resulting
in expensive renewal works that could have been mitigated
by prompt and timeously co-ordinated maintenance works,
given the right level of subsidy funding. This situation is being
meticulously monitored through asset condition ratings, visual
inspections and customer service requests to ensure that the
asset continues to meet the levels of service demanded by the
ratepayers of this district for transportation requirements.
Consideration is required on the ongoing ownership and
management of very low trafficked roads and bridges currently
justified on a community and social basis. In consultation with
the Police and NZTA, we maintain and annually review a road
safety strategy for the district, which is then implemented
through an action plan.
Assumptions and Risks
Increases in population, vehicle ownership, industrial growth and
development in both the primary and value-added sectors, as
well as the popularity of our district as a tourist destination, all
have an impact on the use of our roads and footpaths.
Increasing traffic volumes are most significantly expected
to impact on the district’s arterial road network and aging
bridge structures. Project costs are based on current best
practice, industry standards and local knowledge of materials,
construction costs and geotechnical profiling.
Strategic planning, scoping of works, initial investigations,
preliminary designs, cost estimates and forward work plans for
the roading network have been based on the assumption that
Council will qualify for subsidy funding from NZTA for certain
road-related capital, improvement and maintenance projects.
Inflation has not been allowed for in NZTA’s funding assistance
into the future and councils have been tasked to manage the
cost impact. If we maintain the current rates take for road
maintenance and not provide for the effects of escalation, then
less money will be spent on physical maintenance works thus
leaving the road asset at critical risk of failure and loss of asset
life. Compound this with the effects of Peak Oil (and the resultant
bitumen cost increases) and drainage and environmental
impacts, then the situation becomes more bleak. We either put
up our annual rates to provide more local unsubsidised funds to
keep our roads in their current condition, or we can accept that
there will be a deterioration in our road conditions (structural,
appearance and driving quality) from 2013/2014 onwards.
The level of cost that has been allowed for in the Long Term
Plan falls significantly short of what was provided for in the
Asset Management Plan (AMP) which was developed prior to
the change in NZTA funding. The difference over the next ten
years between what was scheduled in the AMP and what NZTA
have provided, less than what was requested in the Regional
Land Transport Programme (RLTP), the shortfall is now closer
to $18 million, which would need to be covered by rates.
Our asset register was been prepared based on the best available
asset management information. Some work still needs to be done
to ascertain the exact relevant details of all of the roading assets,
and to be able to accurately ascertain their current condition,
current serviceability and future useful life, and from there to
accurately predict the future needs and requirements to ensure
continued sustainability and safe condition. Valuations shown for
each network asset type are as at 2012 and are prepared using
our historical cost estimates and current contract prices. These
are approximate replacement values and may not reflect market
values.
We have a comprehensive Risk Management Strategy for the
roading assets which identifies risks such as land use change,
seasonal impacts on roading requirements, fluctuating oil prices
and quality supply and the effect to the bitumen and petroleum
industry, peak oil, climate change, demand for recreational
facilities with associated access interlinks, the demand for cycling
as alternative transportation mode and geographic issues and
inherent fault lines. The risk management strategy includes ways
to mitigate these factors.
Shared Services
We have a shared maintenance agreement with Waimakariri
District Council for Sicon (their maintenance contractor) to
undertake the maintenance of Okuku Pass Road and Balcairn/
Amberley Road, which is a shared road with both Districts.
The costs are shared between both Councils.
We also have a shared service contract with Mainpower for
street lighting for economy of scale efficiencies, and another
one for network assessments with BECA.
87
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Community Outcomes
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place with essential infrastructure
Goals and Performance Measures
Goals
How we will achieve our
Goals
Maintain the Contract out road
district’s roads to a
maintenance and
monitor performance
standard appropriate accordingly
to their use
Ensure that all
bridges are safe and
well maintained
Undertake a residents
satisfaction survey
Contract out bridge
maintenance and
monitor performance
accordingly
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
Hurunui roads will compare
favourably with the national rural
road averages using the measures
shown below:
The smoothness of our roads
The roughness of our roads
The strength of our roads
Residents consider the overall
standard of road maintenance
to be satisfactory (more than
70%)
Replace priority bridge
structures according to
the bridge replacement
programme
Overall, our roads compared better than the
national average as shown below:
Overall, our roads compare better than the
national average as shown below:
Smooth travel exposure – Hurunui’s roading
network is 97%. The national average is 86%
(a higher value is better)
Overall, our roads compare better than the
national average as shown below:
Percentage rough roads in the Hurunui is
4.2%. The national average is 9.1% (a lower
value is better)
Overall, our roads compare better than the
national average as shown below:
The strength of our roads is measured by a
pavement Integrety Index (PII). The PII for
the Hurunui is 96.6% The national average is
93.7% (a higher value is better)
Resident satisfaction levels have improved
since 2007. In 2011 they were 73% satisfied
Bridge repairs have commenced after a
bridge structural component replacement
programme was identified
√ √ √ √
√ √ √ √
√ √ √ √
√
√
√ √ √ √
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
Happy Valley Road, Emergency Preventative Maintenance
88
Roading and Footpaths - Group Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates 2,530,693 3,330,774 3,448,061 3,581,566 3,676,230 3,803,429 3,954,195 4,065,093 4,217,827 4,410,833 4,557,402
Targeted Rates 0 181,043 182,746 183,293 189,419 196,059 215,275 217,578 220,162 224,947 235,288
Other Income 3,681,103 3,417,324 3,537,973 3,650,457 3,771,539 3,901,663 4,031,387 4,171,048 4,326,697 4,498,895 4,677,661
Internal Interest Received 730,877 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Development Contributions 452,926 152,662 158,646 163,928 169,561 237,230 246,260 256,238 267,165 279,370 232,563
Total Operating Revenue 7,395,599 7,081,803 7,327,426 7,579,245 7,806,748 8,138,381 8,447,116 8,709,957 9,031,851 9,414,044 9,702,914
Operating Expenditure
Direct Operating Expenditure 2,783,808 2,835,517 2,923,593 3,034,095 3,106,987 3,208,862 3,323,755 3,393,032 3,500,804 3,644,415 3,736,813
Internal Interest Paid 2,779 2,162 1,953 1,729 1,489 1,231 955 659 341 0 0
Council Overheads Expenditure 621,618 597,985 617,912 638,714 659,260 682,123 702,541 723,397 748,335 773,703 800,141
Depreciation 2,900,000 2,863,125 3,182,179 3,191,330 3,202,063 3,557,671 3,568,108 3,580,853 4,009,038 4,020,758 4,035,406
Total Operating Expenditure 6,308,205 6,298,789 6,725,637 6,865,869 6,969,798 7,449,888 7,595,359 7,697,941 8,258,518 8,438,876 8,572,360
Operating Surplus (Deficit) 1,087,394 783,013 601,789 713,376 836,950 688,493 851,757 1,012,016 773,333 975,169 1,130,554
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Subsidised Roading 3,915,811 3,426,258 3,560,567 3,679,116 3,805,544 4,004,157 4,156,571 4,324,991 4,509,418 4,715,420 4,872,558
Special Purpose Roading 10,708 16,000 16,627 17,181 17,771 18,411 19,112 19,886 20,734 21,682 22,678
Unsubsidised Roading 26,526 25,000 25,980 26,845 27,768 28,768 29,863 31,073 32,398 33,878 35,435
Amberley Ward Roadside Construction 42,440 33,000 29,098 24,697 25,546 26,466 39,419 34,801 29,806 31,167 32,600
Amuri Ward Roadside Construction 50,243 22,000 22,862 23,624 24,435 25,315 26,279 27,344 28,510 29,812 31,183
Cheviot Ward Roadside Construction 25,625 30,000 31,176 32,214 33,321 34,521 35,835 37,287 38,877 40,653 42,522
Hanmer Springs Ward Roadside Construction 85,000 75,000 77,940 80,535 83,303 86,303 89,588 93,218 97,193 101,633 106,305
Hurunui Ward Roadside Construction 16,000 16,000 16,627 17,181 17,771 18,411 19,112 19,886 20,734 21,682 22,678
Total Capital Expenditure 4,172,353 3,643,258 3,780,878 3,901,392 4,035,459 4,242,352 4,415,777 4,588,486 4,777,670 4,995,926 5,165,960
Funds Required
Capital Expenditure 4,172,353 3,643,258 3,780,878 3,901,392 4,035,459 4,242,352 4,415,777 4,588,486 4,777,670 4,995,926 5,165,960
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 0 2,880 3,090 3,314 3,553 3,811 4,088 4,384 4,702 0 0
4,172,353 3,646,139 3,783,967 3,904,706 4,039,013 4,246,164 4,419,865 4,592,869 4,782,371 4,995,926 5,165,960
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Funded by
Operating Surplus 1,087,394 783,013 601,789 713,376 836,950 688,493 851,757 1,012,016 773,333 975,169 1,130,554
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 2,900,000 2,863,125 3,182,179 3,191,330 3,202,063 3,557,671 3,568,108 3,580,853 4,009,038 4,020,758 4,035,406
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 219,308 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4,206,702 3,646,139 3,783,967 3,904,706 4,039,013 4,246,164 4,419,865 4,592,869 4,782,371 4,995,926 5,165,960
C:\Users\jab\Desktop\Fuck Up with Subsidised Roading\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions - with Option 2 for Subsidised Roading.xls 27/06/2012 2:31 p.m.
89
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Stormwater and Drainage
Overview
Stormwater and Drainage covers the following activity described
below:
Activity 1:
Our Aim
Stormwater and Drainage
To prevent or minimise adverse effects of surface flooding and
stormwater discharge.
Why is the Council Involved?
Both our Council and the Canterbury Regional Council
(Environment Canterbury) have joint responsibilities regarding
the management of stormwater drainage, flood control and
stormwater quality in our district. We provide drainage services
where a community has requested our involvement or where
it is efficient to be involved. This includes managing drainage
in localised areas to protect them from the effects of surface
flooding. Stormwater is rain that has run off hard surfaces such
as roofs, roads and car parks. Our aim is to protect human
and ecological values by preventing or reducing the effects
of stormwater on the human and aquatic environment. We
monitor stormwater systems to ultimately minimise flooding
and damage to property or the environment.
Community Outcomes
The Water Supply activity described in this section, primarily
contributes to two of our community outcomes:
1. A desirable and safe place to live:
• We have attractive well designed townships
• Communities have access to adequate health and
emergency services and systems and resources
are available to meet civil defence emergencies
Major Projects Planned
Project
Construct new drains for
Eastern Drain and Dry
Gully, Amberley, direct to
the lagoons
Capital works on existing
infrastructure
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
$294,000 $69,042
Significant Negative Effects
$62,352
There is potential for significant negative impacts on
environmental and cultural wellbeing due to this activity, but
this is offset by ensuring that the disposal of stormwater is done
in a manner that minimises contaminants and eases peak flows.
Drainage systems may not always cope with changes in volumes
of rainfall, with subsequent negative effects of flooding on roads
and properties. This may cause additional social problems in
living quality, public health and access to and safety of transport
systems. However, such problems are mitigated to some extent
by the provision of stormwater systems to cope with flooding.
Drain clearances can have adverse effects on biodiversity,
ecosystems and water quality, but such clearances are obviously
necessary, and the negative effects that they have are short lived,
with no implications for sustainability.
Emergency Management
In an emergency, particularly a civil defence emergency, we will
continue to deliver services as long as it is safe and practical
to continue to do so. Stormwater and drainage will receive
priority in the event of emergencies involving flooding.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this group of activities is shown at the
end of the Stormwater and Drainage activity.
• Risks to public health are identified and
appropriately managed
2. A place with essential infrastructure:
• We have a strong emphasis on service delivery
across all infrastructure including roading, water
(for drinking and development), waste water,
stormwater and solid waste
90
Activity 1: Stormwater and Drainage
Overview
The Stormwater and Drainage activity includes the various
functions of land drainage schemes and flood protection.
Current Situation
We maintain four small land drainage schemes set up by the
former North Canterbury Catchment Board. They are the
Ashworths drains, Leithfield Outfall drain, Newcombes Road
drains and the Jed River areas.
We have only a very small quantity of stormwater pipes in
our townships, as most stormwater is disposed of to kerb and
channelling and open drains. There are approximately 100 metres
of stormwater pipe in Hanmer Springs and approximately 560
metres of pipe in Amberley. Much of the District’s stormwater
disposal systems comprise infrastructure that is maintained by
private individual property owners, such as on-site soakage
disposal, open drains/creeks, piped networks outfalls, silt traps,
and detention structures.
After two significant rainfall events in and around Amberley in
2008, we engaged a specialist consultant to review the adequacy
of our stormwater systems. The recommendations were to
carry out some major capital works to reduce the impact of
surface flooding on both Amberley Township and Amberley
Beach. The works were to include diversion drains to “behead”
the surface flows from north of Amberley to discharge them to
natural waterways outside the urban area, and realignment of
drains discharging to the lagoons north and south of Amberley
Beach.
Because of the time taken to obtain resource consents,
exacerbated by the Canterbury earthquakes and appeals lodged
against the consents granted after a lengthy hearing, only two
major physical works have been completed. These were the
flood diversion from Dock Creek along Lawcocks Road, and a
piped outfall of the Leithfiled Outfall Drain to the sea.
However with consents now finalised for three more significant
capital projects, work is expected to be completed for flood
diversion works in the Amberley swamp area (to include an
outlet culvert under Stanton Rd) and from Dry Gully across to
Mimimoto lagoon before the end of the 2011/12 year.
Plans for the future
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
2016/17 budget for unspecified improvements. All funding is
from a special rate struck over the entire Amberley Ward.
A global consent for discharge of stormwater from the Amberley
Urban area was heard in 2011, along with the other 15 consents
for flood mitigation works described above. This was put on
hold pending as there was not enough information and a new
application will be made in the 2012/13 year.
AECOM Consultants will finalise an application in the 2012/13
year for a global consent for management of stormwater
from future residential developments in Hanmer Springs. In
anticipation of the stormwater management plan identifying some
minor capital works being required on existing infrastructure, an
allowance of $62,000 has been made in the 2013/14 year and
a further $69,000 in the 2016/17 year. As in Amberley this will
be funded by a separate rate over all properties in the Hanmer
Springs Ward.
We are proposing a new stormwater engineer to be appointed
in 2013/2014 to manage this area of our work. This engineer
will be responsible for developing district-wide stormwater
catchment and management plans, and undertake the range of
tasks required to ensure we have effective stormwater systems
in place, inclusive of appropriate maintenance regimes.
We will progressively move towards managing all of its urban
stormwater responsibilities in a more holistic, integrated and
life cycle way.
Funding
Operational Costs:
• 100% Targeted Rate based on the area benefiting
• Engineer for stormwater catchment and management
plans funded through the General Rate
Capital Costs:
• Significant Council capital expenditure is funded by a
loan as per the Council’s Internal Financing Policy
• If loans are not raised, then it will be from targeted
rates
A flood flow diversion from Eastern Drain across to the
Amberely North lagoon is proposed for the 2012/13 year to
complete the flood mitigation works covered by the 15 consents
mentioned above.
Detailed design and land ownership issues still have to be finalised,
but a preliminary estimate of $298,000 has been allowed for in
the 2012/13 budget for this work and a further $84,000 in the
• If any of the Capital Expenditure caters for future
growth of the scheme, then that portion of the
expenditure that relates to growth may be funded
from future users via Development Contributions and
Financial Contributions
91
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Council Owned Assets
Land drainage schemes:
• Ashworths drains
• Leithfield Outfall drain
• Newcombes Road drains
• Jed River drains
Maintenance and Operating Implications
We plan to continue to maintain the 4 drainage systems as well
as other drainage channels created as part of the improvement
works described above. Annual maintenance has been limited to
occasional drain clearing. Contractors will be engaged to carry
out regular work to maintain the system as and when needed.
Assumptions and Risks
It is assumed that both global consent applications (Amberley
and Hanmer Springs) will be approved and that land-owner
approvals will be given to allow the flood mitigation construction
works to proceed.
Community Outcomes
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place with essential infrastructure
Goals and Performance Measures
Goals
Minimise the risk of
flooding
How we will achieve our
Goals
Maintain all drainage
systems in accordance with
resource consent conditions
Employ an engineer to
manage the stormwater and
drainage portfolio
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
All major and significant
non-compliances for our
stormwater resource
consents reduce until we
have 0% non-compliance
District wide stormwater
catchment and management
plans have been put
in place
We have 30 resource
consents relating to
stormwater, which have 363
conditions to comply with.
We have had 0% major and
significant non-compliance so
far this year.
We have a stormwater plan
for the Amberley area but
not for the other areas in the
district
2% 1% 0% 0%
√
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
92
Stormwater and Drainage - Group Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates 0 0 103,130 106,270 109,640 113,250 116,470 119,760 123,550 127,710 131,890
Targeted Rates 217,829 279,042 286,471 280,990 277,894 286,212 279,536 275,397 271,368 267,418 276,708
Internal Interest Received 3,275 3,382 2,512 3,149 3,472 4,140 3,085 3,735 4,029 4,721 5,462
Development Contributions 39,360 17,032 17,791 18,303 19,005 27,007 27,975 28,999 30,223 31,703 25,894
Total Operating Revenue 260,464 299,457 409,903 408,712 410,011 430,609 427,066 427,892 429,170 431,552 439,953
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 0 0 103,130 106,270 109,640 113,250 116,470 119,760 123,550 127,710 131,890
Direct Operating Expenditure 19,535 58,500 34,549 20,723 13,705 73,046 9,900 46,108 10,502 12,132 89,026
Internal Interest Paid 138,688 109,175 120,064 115,834 105,527 94,798 93,921 81,360 69,984 56,309 41,960
Council Overheads Expenditure 10,744 12,850 13,255 14,474 14,082 14,530 14,933 15,345 16,759 16,324 16,837
Depreciation 17,241 45,752 48,800 48,970 53,917 53,255 54,480 59,721 58,988 58,264 65,288
Total Operating Expenditure 186,208 226,277 319,798 306,271 296,870 348,879 289,705 322,294 279,782 270,740 345,001
Operating Surplus (Deficit) 74,256 73,180 90,106 102,441 113,141 81,730 137,361 105,598 149,388 160,812 94,952
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Amberley Stormwater 0 294,000 0 0 0 84,001 0 0 0 0 0
Hanmer Springs Stormwater 0 0 62,352 0 0 69,042 0 0 0 0 85,044
Total Capital Expenditure 0 294,000 62,352 0 0 153,043 0 0 0 0 85,044
Funds Required
Capital Expenditure 0 294,000 62,352 0 0 153,043 0 0 0 0 85,044
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 91,497 118,932 138,906 151,411 167,058 134,985 191,841 165,319 208,376 219,076 160,240
91,497 412,932 201,258 151,411 167,058 288,029 191,841 165,319 208,376 219,076 245,284
Funded by
Operating Surplus 74,256 73,180 90,106 102,441 113,141 81,730 137,361 105,598 149,388 160,812 94,952
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 17,241 45,752 48,800 48,970 53,917 53,255 54,480 59,721 58,988 58,264 65,288
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 0 294,000 62,352 0 0 153,043 0 0 0 0 85,044
91,497 412,932 201,258 151,411 167,058 288,029 191,841 165,319 208,376 219,076 245,284
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
93
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Community Services and Facilities
Overview
Community Services and Facilities covers the following 3 activity
areas described below:
Activity 1: Community Services (library, youth programme,
community development and grants and services awards)
Activity 2: Property (housing, public toilets, council offices,
medical centres, halls, swimming pools and township
maintenance)
Activity 3:
Our Aim
Reserves (parks, reserves and cemeteries)
To provide services that will support the community to lead
healthy and fulfilled lives and meet and extend their recreational,
cultural, educational development and information needs.
Major Projects Planned
Project
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015+
Cheviot Community Library
to move into the Service $100,000
Centre
Toilet extension for Council
Chambers, Amberley
$45,000
Hanmer Springs Sports
Stadium upgrade feasibility $30,000 $1,077,379
study
Hanmer Springs Community
Hall extension
$193,284
Purchase land to expand
Balcairn cemetery $124,704
Upgrade or rebuild of the
Cheviot Medical Centre
New public toilets built in
Rotherham
$1,150,700
$103,563
Why is the Council Involved?
Council is involved with the activities within the Community
Services and Facilities group to provide for the social and
cultural wellbeing of its people. All of the activities within this
group are to do with ensuring our communities have the type
of facilities and services reasonably expected to be provided
by the Council and are unlikely to be privately supplied at an
affordable cost. These activities also contribute to the long
term achievement of our community outcomes.
Community Outcomes
The Community Services and Facilities described in this section,
primarily contribute to two of our community outcomes:
1. A desirable and safe place to live:
• We have attractive well designed townships
• Communities have access to adequate health and
emergency services and systems and resources are
available to meet civil defence emergencies
• Risks to public health are identified and appropriately
managed
2. A place where our traditional rural values and heritage
make Hurunui unique:
• People have a range of opportunities to
participate in leisure and culture activities
• Our historic and cultural heritage is protected
for future generations
Significant Negative Effects
Most of the activities in the Community Services and Facilities
section do not pose any significant negative effects. We are
mindful that in the Property area, there are some identified risks,
such as car parks – particularly in Hanmer Springs where the
volume of vehicle and pedestrian traffic is high during holiday
periods. Every effort has been made to minimise the risk of
accidents occurring through the design of the footpaths and car
parks, and signage. Similarly with public toilets, car parks have
been designed to reduce congestion and hazards. Public toilets
are positioned in well-lit areas close to main roads to reduce
incidents of vandalism and undesirable anti-social behaviours.
Pensioner housing is only available in Amberley, Cheviot,
Hanmer Springs and Waikari. This may inadvertently have
social and cultural impacts upon the age demographics in local
communities as the elderly population becomes concentrated
in certain areas only. This may result in higher demands on
some local services and facilities. There has not been a strong
demand for pensioner housing in other areas in the District. If
this changes, we will look at whether we can meet the demand
at the time.
Emergency Management
In an emergency, particularly a civil defence emergency, we will
continue to deliver services as long as it is safe and practical to
continue to do so. Civil defence management plans provide
the Council with guidance and contingencies. However, in an
extreme emergency, most of the services in this group would
not be considered to be essential.
94
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Financial Summary
Community Services and Facilities - Group Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates 116,287 79,898 134,672 192,722 153,094 108,399 113,923 119,037 126,183 131,124 137,129
Targeted Rates 1,489,962 1,444,655 1,486,789 1,511,809 1,549,173 1,596,583 1,678,487 1,734,096 1,791,966 1,845,129 1,900,155
Other Income 728,501 756,270 700,577 723,575 746,419 770,489 791,958 813,894 839,163 866,900 894,770
Internal Interest Received 96,304 35,250 35,797 40,963 46,085 48,170 52,981 54,398 58,737 59,462 63,445
Development Contributions 317,240 238,682 247,626 255,938 253,498 234,236 242,264 250,106 251,357 263,546 232,096
Total Operating Revenue 2,748,294 2,554,755 2,605,461 2,725,007 2,748,270 2,757,877 2,879,613 2,971,531 3,067,407 3,166,161 3,227,596
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 772,836 876,883 821,337 846,344 873,183 901,934 927,578 953,780 983,964 1,017,094 1,050,384
Direct Operating Expenditure 1,829,955 1,953,905 1,976,216 2,052,134 2,078,095 2,103,949 2,175,368 2,235,006 2,302,220 2,379,279 2,457,276
Internal Interest Paid 298,170 297,186 293,193 281,858 279,090 332,437 385,884 373,819 357,336 365,904 344,141
Council Overheads Expenditure 954,541 997,821 1,019,704 1,052,590 1,066,808 1,092,457 1,116,040 1,139,355 1,177,573 1,197,135 1,226,943
Depreciation 350,974 397,951 399,752 460,108 484,813 487,427 517,458 519,239 521,096 542,425 544,456
Total Operating Expenditure 4,206,476 4,523,747 4,510,203 4,693,035 4,781,988 4,918,204 5,122,328 5,221,200 5,342,189 5,501,838 5,623,200
Operating Surplus (Deficit) (1,458,182) (1,968,992) (1,904,742) (1,968,028) (2,033,718) (2,160,327) (2,242,716) (2,249,669) (2,274,782) (2,335,676) (2,395,604)
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Community Services 92,654 65,000 67,548 69,797 72,196 74,796 77,643 80,789 84,234 88,082 92,131
Property 46,637 115,500 61,832 229,256 24,991 1,280,154 38,821 26,751 261,124 30,490 31,892
Reserves 115,831 260,146 306,716 152,906 2,344,865 126,745 256,992 155,544 401,011 142,483 156,121
Total Capital Expenditure 255,122 440,646 436,096 451,959 2,442,051 1,481,694 373,456 263,083 746,368 261,055 280,143
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 1,458,182 1,968,992 1,904,742 1,968,028 2,033,718 2,160,327 2,242,716 2,249,669 2,274,782 2,335,676 2,395,604
Capital Expenditure 255,122 440,646 436,096 451,959 2,442,051 1,481,694 373,456 263,083 746,368 261,055 280,143
Transfer to Special Funds 341,814 199,265 231,358 237,120 248,751 232,374 236,254 248,506 255,204 240,990 216,298
Transfer to General Council Reserves 145,013 154,805 143,785 159,691 161,603 150,859 169,146 170,928 172,892 178,004 180,288
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 1,052,455 295,358 344,188 308,274 318,038 334,388 331,140 381,390 647,741 422,848 470,177
3,252,586 3,059,065 3,060,170 3,125,072 5,204,161 4,359,643 3,352,711 3,313,576 4,096,987 3,438,572 3,542,511
Funded by
Transfer from Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve 1,977,146 2,128,166 2,142,035 2,161,289 2,219,254 2,306,761 2,362,035 2,425,037 2,480,892 2,547,375 2,625,468
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 350,974 397,951 399,752 460,108 484,813 487,427 517,458 519,239 521,096 542,425 544,456
Transfer from General Council Reserves 99,808 83,285 220,033 75,166 77,749 169,335 83,615 87,003 90,713 94,857 99,218
Transfer from Special Funds 107,646 140,646 83,807 86,598 1,738,963 92,799 203,837 100,235 342,786 109,283 114,308
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 717,012 309,017 214,542 341,911 683,383 1,303,320 185,765 182,061 661,499 144,632 159,060
3,252,586 3,059,065 3,060,170 3,125,072 5,204,162 4,359,643 3,352,711 3,313,575 4,096,987 3,438,572 3,542,511
95
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Activity 1: Community Services
Overview
The Community Services activity includes the Council’s:
• Library Service
• Hurunui Youth Programme
• Community Development Programme
• Grants and Services Award Schemes
Current Situation
Library
Our library system as we know it was established in 1993.
Libraries are an important educational and recreational resource
for the district, and a public library system ensures that there is
equitable opportunity for people to access the information that
they want and need.
The library service is available throughout the district through
our website and network of libraries. The libraries are well
stocked with a wide range of resources in a variety of formats.
Our library staff and volunteers provide assistance and support
so that everyone can effectively access and use any of the library
materials.
• There are 8 libraries in the District. Four of these share
premises with school libraries (Amuri, Cheviot, Greta
Valley and Hawarden).
• The Hurunui Memorial Library, based in Amberley, is
the administrative centre for the district.
• Branch libraries with paid staff are based at Hanmer
Springs, Amuri, Cheviot and Hawarden.
• There are 3 community libraries at Greta Valley, Waiau
and Leithfield which are run solely by volunteers.
• The Hanmer Springs Library/Service Centre and the
Amuri Library/Service Centre are combined Council
Service Centre/libraries.
• The library provides books to the Omihi School and
Conway community.
Volunteers are active at all libraries and support the library
service with many hours of their time. The “Friends of the
Hurunui District Libraries inc.” was formed in 2002 to support
the library service , who along with other groups of volunteers
contribute to the delivery of library services across the District.
Without the many library volunteers throughout the District,
we would either have to employ more staff to run them, or not
operate as many libraries. The 3 community libraries which are
solely run by volunteers would incur greater ratepayer expense
if they were staffed.
Since 2008 the library has provided free internet access for
customers via the Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa (APNK).
This is a national government subsidised initiative aimed at
increasing New Zealanders access to digital information and
technology. For the Hurunui libraries, this provides computer
technology and software, including wireless access at some sites.
This internet access is high speed and reliable and delivered
through 17 computers throughout the District.
Youth Programme
Since 2008 we have run a Youth Programme within the District.
Funding to support the first three years of the project was
received from the Ministry of Youth Development. A youth
coordinator was appointed to develop and run a programme
with youth aged between 12 and 18 years. The programme has
been developing and a number of initiatives and activities have
been organised with the support and assistance of the youth
concerned and the local Area schools. The Youth Programme
has been a new area for Council and its success is a result of
support from local communities, parents and schools for the
programme to develop and continue and future funding.
Community Development
Programme
Our successful application for government funding to run a
Community Development programme commenced at the end
of 2010. A community development advisor was appointed to
work with the community to achieve an overall project aim to
‘enable people living and working in Hurunui to live a “whole
life” in the district; to strengthen the wellbeing of families and
promote a strong sense of community belonging, encouraging
people to be involved in local activities and support volunteer
services’. The programme has a set of outcomes and initiatives
for the community development advisor to deliver on. The
programme is intended to be finite and to conclude at the end
of June 2013.
Grants and Service Awards
We have 4 Service Awards which are presented annually. They
are:
1. Community Service Awards for those who have given
extended periods of exceptional volunteer service.
2. Secondary School Achievers Awards for promising
secondary students who will benefit from additional
financial assistance to undertake further study.
3. MainPower Hurunui Natural Environment Fund to
encourage and assist with voluntary work that benefits
the natural environment.
4. Hurunui Heritage Fund to encourage and assist with
voluntary work that protects, enhances, explains or
restores significant heritage values of the district.
96
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
We also act as an agent and disburse grants on behalf of 2
government funded initiatives:
• Creative Communities Scheme to increase participation
and diversity in the arts at the local level.
• SPARC to encourage junior sporting teams to
participate in sporting activities by assisting with travel
costs.
We also pay a contribution toward the:
• Canterbury Museum which is a legislative requirement.
We are represented on the Canterbury Museum
Board as we share a North Canterbury member with
Waimakariri District Council. We consistently send
the message that the museum must be run as cost
effectively as possible to minimise the rate burden on
our community but at the same time, get value for
money.
• The North Canterbury Sport and Recreation Trust
to recognise sporting excellence amongst our young
people.
Plans for the future
Library
We are planning to move the Cheviot community library from
the Cheviot Area School and position it in the Cheviot Service
Centre building on the main street. This will be more accessible
to all and parking will be available directly outside the building.
Library and Council services will be delivered from the one site.
The new hours and days it will be opening are being considered
by a working group comprising of Cheviot local people.
All library items will continue to be updated as appropriate to
meet the needs of the district. One of our challenges is to
keep up with technology and improvements while at the same
time, be mindful of the cost to the ratepayer and assessing the
value of any new service or product. Technology is an area that
continues to develop at a fast pace and customers are generally
receptive to these types of enhancements. Because of the fast
pace of change, it is difficult to accurately predict what will be
available in the near future, let alone the life of this plan.
within the Canterbury region to enable our customers to use
other libraries with a Hurunui library card and vice versa.
Youth Programme
We plan to continue to deliver the programme along similar
lines to the current format. Whereas we do not have plans to
change, incremental change will naturally occur in the ensuing
years as the youth influence the look of the programme.
Community Development
Programme
We plan to continue to deliver on the programme as anticipated
when we applied for funding. There are no plans to continue
the programme beyond 2013. The purpose of the programme
is to increase the communities’ capabilities so that the
programme is not actually required any longer. We committed
to the programme on that basis and have not intended for it to
continue beyond 2013.
Grants and Service Awards
Funding was agreed to in 2009 to support the North Canterbury
Sport and Recreation Trust to help fund a primary school
sport coaching programme for the 28 schools in the North
Canterbury area. This initiative commenced in 2009 and was
backed by SPARC for the first 3 years to get it up and running.
Hurunui will contribute to the programme from year 2012 to
enable the programme (and the expected long term benefits)
to continue.
Our levy to the Canterbury Museum for running costs is
$53,842 for the 2011/2012 year. This is set to increase over
the 10 year period to an estimated $110,213 for 2021/2022
year. The Museum intends to proceed with a redevelopment
project that has been signalled in their previous Annual Plans.
The redevelopment has been estimated at costing $63.7 million
and is scheduled to occur between 2013 and 2016. The levy
which will be imposed on our Council for the proposed capital
development, in addition to the operational levy Council pays,
has been budgeted at; $50,000 for 2013/2014; $100,000 for
2014/2015; and $50,000 for 2015/2016. We have no ability to
decline paying this fund once the Museum’s Plan and budget is
approved by the Canterbury Museum Board.
A review of our library hours is undertaken from time to time
to check whether we are open to the public at the best times
for most people. As an example the Hanmer Springs Library
increased its opening hours in 2009.
We work with other libraries to enhance the services offered
to our district and to make efficiencies where possible. For
example, we have shared agreements with some other libraries
97
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Funding
Library
Operational Costs:
• Library user charges (overdue fines, book reserves etc).
• The libraries in Amberley and Hanmer Springs are
located on reserves, therefore, the net operational
costs are funded through the surplus from the Hanmer
Springs Thermal Reserve.
• The libraries in Culverden, Hawarden and Cheviot are
not located on reserves and as such, the funding of the
operational costs for these is made from an allocation
from the Council’s treasury surplus. Therefore, there is
no rating input to operate the libraries.
Capital Costs:
• Significant Capital Expenditure on land and building may
be funded from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve
surplus, Council reserves or loans according to the
Council’s Internal Financing Policy.
• If the Capital Expenditure caters for future growth, then
the portion of the expenditure that relates to growth
may be funded via Development Contributions.
• The construction of the Hurunui Memorial Library was
funded from two loans as per the Council’s Internal
Financing Policy. The first loan represented the majority
of the cost. The repayments of principal and interest for
the majority of the loan are funded through development
contributions. The second loan of $260,000 has been
paid by the Amberley Ward ratepayers since 2004 at
$16.00 per rating unit. This has been used to fund the
interest and principal repayments.
Youth Programme
Operational Costs:
• The Youth Programme is run via the Library service and
funded through the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve
surplus
Community Development
Programme
Operational Costs:
Grants and Service Awards
Operational Costs:
• Uniform Annual General Charge
Council Owned Assets
Library
• Hurunui Memorial Library, Amberley
• Hanmer Springs Service Centre/Library
• Waiau Hall (which houses the community library)
• Cheviot Service Centre (soon to include the community
library)
• Computers, hardware and software
• Books, CDs, Videos etc
Youth Programme
• Vehicle
• Programme tools (computers, cameras, projector,
games etc)
Community Development
Programme
• Not applicable
Grants and Service Awards
• Not applicable
Maintenance and Operating Implications
Library
Apart from the initial alterations to the Cheviot Service Centre
to accommodate the library, there is no real change planned
for upcoming maintenance and operating costs, which includes
routine repairs and keeping buildings in good condition.
Library resources (books, videos etc) are purchased through an
annual budget provision. Donated or locally fundraised items
are either vested in the Council or ownership is held by the
donor as agreed.
Some of the library computers and software are owned and
supported through a government funded programme (called the
Aotearoa People’s Network). Maintenance and operating costs
are through them.
• Funded through a grant from the Department of
Internal Affairs
98
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Youth Programme
The Council plans to support the programme by providing
funds to pay a youth coordinator and running costs for a vehicle.
There is no provision for a replacement vehicle or to replace
programme tools as the programme was not initially intended
to progress beyond 3 years. It is intended that any replacement
items needed would be paid for through fundraising.
Community Development
Programme
The programme’s main resource is the community development
advisor. There are no maintenance and operating implications as
this is fully funded and supported by the Department of Internal
Affairs.
Grants and Service Awards
Council acts as an agent in administering and distributing
grants on behalf of 2 government funded initiatives (SPARC and
Creative Communities). Both organisations provide assistance
to manage the schemes by setting the criteria for funding
distribution. Council staff administer the other grants and
awards internally.
Assumptions and Risks
Library
It is assumed that the Cheviot community library will move into
the Cheviot Service Centre. We are planning to run the new
Cheviot library/service centre at the same cost as it is to run
the service centre and library staffing now.
We are not planning to move any other libraries and assume
they will continue to operate in their current buildings and
locations. However, we do need to be mindful that at any stage
the schools could opt to discontinue their association with the
Council and choose to quit the community libraries from their
schools. We do not have contingency plans if this was to be the
case, but it is unlikely.
The smaller volunteer run libraries are only likely to continue
as long as there are people willing to take on this responsibility
on a volunteer basis. The cost of transferring these libraries to
the District library network and staffing them is likely to be cost
prohibitive.
The libraries have computers and internet services supplied
through the national APNK programme at no cost to us. We
cannot guarantee that this will be available to NZ’s libraries
for ever and at some point, we may need to carry this cost or
reconsider ongoing free internet usage.
Youth Programme
It is assumed that the Youth Programme will continue throughout
the life of the long term plan and be funded via profits from the
Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve. If this method of funding was
no longer available, (for example, if the profits were less than
anticipated and there was less to spend), the programme would
be funded through general rates instead. It is also assumed that
there will be on going alternative funding opportunities to apply
for grants to support the programme and thereby reduce the
reliance on the thermal reserve profits or general rates. In the
event there is no funding available, and the community is not
prepared to fund it, the programme would cease to continue.
Community Development
Programme
It is assumed that the Community Development Programme will
cease once the government funding finishes in June 2013. In the
event the community and the Council consider the programme
worth continuing beyond 2013, the cost would likely to be met
via general rates.
Grants and Service Awards
It is assumed that the grants and service awards currently
provided for will continue. Some external funding is received
toward these and should this cease to be available, Council will
need to reconsider its position regarding the on-going financial
support of its grants.
Shared Services
Library
We operate our community library service in conjunction with
school libraries in three district area schools (Amuri, Cheviot
and Hurunui). Our new library management programme was
a shared purchase with several other libraries throughout New
Zealand. This has a shared helpdesk and IT support.
Grants and Service Awards
The Mainpower Hurunui Natural Environment Fund is a joint
collaboration between Mainpower, which donates $4,000
towards it, and we match it with another $4,000 each year.
Under legislation, Hurunui, Waimakariri and Selwyn District
Council’s along with Christchurch City Council contribute to
the cost of running the Canterbury Museum. The Museum is
overseen by a Board, of which we share a membership role with
Waimakariri Council.
99
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Goals and Performance Measures
Community Outcomes
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place where our traditional rural values and heritage make Hurunui unique
Goals
Provide community services
that are valued by people in
the District
How we will achieve our
Goals
Run a youth programme that
meets the needs of our local
youth*
Run the Community
Development Programme
with specific outcomes
Undertake a residents
satisfaction survey
Reward and recognise
outstanding contribution
from people in the District
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
Youth events attendances
reach no less than the
minimum desired
The projects short term
outcomes will be achieved
Satisfaction with library
customers is maintained or
continues to improve
Awards and funds are
dispersed according to the
criteria annually
Attendance numbers have
been documented for each
event, they have not been
analysed over the year
The programme is behind
schedule due to staffing gaps
but we aim to catch up by
Dec 2012
Satisfaction levels with those
who use the current library
service is 96% by those who
use the service, and 84% if we
count those who do not use
the library
All awards were distributed
and most funds dispersed.
A small sum of funds was
transferred to the next
year from the Creative
Communities fund.
√ √ √ √
√
√
√
√ √ √ √
*We have found that a successful event held for youth has a good attendance. It can be difficult to measure what a ‘good’ attendance is. For
each event, we estimate how many attendees there need to be to make it worthwhile. This is not necessarily based on cost and depends very
much on the type of event. Some events (eg: dances) can have up to 100 attendees, whereas others (eg: photography) might only cater for 10.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
100
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Community Services - Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates 111,231 125,256 183,171 245,584 207,940 164,669 171,323 178,239 186,694 193,770 202,051
Targeted Rates 1,322,703 659,430 690,448 690,512 712,141 750,247 759,789 804,281 830,932 859,808 899,290
Other Income 152,809 171,950 94,828 97,715 100,814 104,133 107,094 110,119 113,604 117,429 121,273
Internal Interest Received 1,577 282 772 1,441 1,924 2,381 3,167 4,256 5,678 7,210 8,191
Development Contributions 40,698 37,854 38,777 40,624 30,798 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Operating Revenue 1,629,018 994,772 1,007,996 1,075,878 1,053,617 1,021,430 1,041,373 1,096,896 1,136,908 1,178,217 1,230,804
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 481,512 559,940 494,474 509,529 525,687 542,996 558,434 574,209 592,381 612,326 632,368
Direct Operating Expenditure 317,643 340,680 394,078 459,864 429,735 395,907 406,697 420,157 437,672 451,487 468,077
Internal Interest Paid 181,808 139,671 140,484 137,711 144,326 175,475 171,652 169,787 166,044 165,085 156,667
Council Overheads Expenditure 443,281 502,662 513,161 529,880 537,137 550,357 562,698 574,570 594,306 605,220 620,842
Depreciation 118,136 109,842 109,842 112,344 112,444 112,444 114,121 114,121 114,121 116,611 116,611
Total Operating Expenditure 1,542,380 1,652,796 1,652,039 1,749,328 1,749,329 1,777,179 1,813,602 1,852,844 1,904,523 1,950,729 1,994,565
Operating Surplus (Deficit) 86,638 (658,024) (644,043) (673,451) (695,712) (755,749) (772,229) (755,948) (767,615) (772,512) (763,761)
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Library 92,654 65,000 67,548 69,797 72,196 74,796 77,643 80,789 84,234 88,082 92,131
Total Capital Expenditure 92,654 65,000 67,548 69,797 72,196 74,796 77,643 80,789 84,234 88,082 92,131
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 0 658,024 644,043 673,451 695,712 755,749 772,229 755,948 767,615 772,512 763,761
Capital Expenditure 92,654 65,000 67,548 69,797 72,196 74,796 77,643 80,789 84,234 88,082 92,131
Transfer to General Council Reserves 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953 72,953
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 956,180 162,794 184,904 176,509 172,428 132,823 136,712 171,372 182,237 203,973 236,812
1,121,787 958,771 969,448 992,710 1,013,288 1,036,320 1,059,536 1,081,062 1,107,038 1,137,520 1,165,656
Funded by
Operating Surplus 86,638 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Transfer from Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve 824,359 770,644 792,057 810,569 828,649 849,081 867,773 886,153 908,684 932,827 956,914
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 118,136 109,842 109,842 112,344 112,444 112,444 114,121 114,121 114,121 116,611 116,611
Transfer from General Council Reserves 92,654 78,285 67,548 69,797 72,196 74,796 77,643 80,789 84,234 88,082 92,131
1,121,787 958,771 969,448 992,710 1,013,288 1,036,320 1,059,536 1,081,062 1,107,038 1,137,520 1,165,656
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
101
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Activity 2: Property
Overview
The Property activity includes the Council’s:
• Buildings (housing, medical centres, and halls)
• Public toilets
• Swimming pools
• Township maintenance (street cleaning, grass mowing,
and township maintenance)
Current Situation
Buildings
We own and maintain a variety of buildings as shown below:
• Some commercial premises that are leased to small
businesses
• 34 housing units for the elderly – 12 in Amberley, 13 in
Cheviot, 4 in Hanmer Springs and 5 in Waikari
• 3 residential houses – 1 in Leithfield Beach, 1 in Cheviot
and 1 in Hanmer Springs.
• 5 water and sewerage depots
• 4 Council service centres / libraries
• 5 closed landfills
• 5 transfer stations
• 4 medical centres - Cheviot, Hanmer Springs, Rotherham
and Waikari
• 2 doctors houses - Cheviot and Rotherham
• 14 halls throughout the District
Public Toilets
Throughout the district, there are:
• 14 toilet blocks located on reserves
• 16 district public toilets sited either on reserves or
Council freehold property
• 2 privately owned toilets which we contribute to the
maintenance of
All of the district toilets have been built or renovated within the
last 10 years so are in a very good condition. The toilets are
cleaned mainly via contracted services.
Swimming Pools
Our most well-known pool complex is the Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa. This complex is not included in this
section and has a chapter of its own under the same name.
This section refers to our other public swimming pools located
in Amberley and Rotherham. Both pools only operate during
the summer months. The Amberley swimming pool is staffed
and operates as a public swimming pool. It is covered, but
not heated and is reliant on the sun to heat the water. The
Rotherham swimming pool is not covered or heated either and
is managed by the local swimming club and school, and they
determine who uses the pool. Only the Amberley swimming
pool has paid life guards and staff.
Township Maintenance
Ratepayers in each of the wards pay an amenity rate to fund
the general maintenance of their townships. Managing the
township maintenance this way seems to be popular by locals
as this enables people to have a say on where their rates are
spent. Ward and community type committees are very active in
the District with regard to planning and maintaining their areas.
We employ some gardeners and maintenance staff, but contract
out most township work to contractors for the likes of grass
mowing and general maintenance work.
Plans for the future
Buildings
A toilet expansion is planned for the Amberley Council Office
in 2012/13. The toilet block inside the building, beside Council
Chambers is the original toilet block built over 30 years ago and
is inadequate to meet the needs of public meetings nowadays.
The cost estimated to extend and update these toilets is
$45,000.
For some years now, it has been planned to move the Amberley
Transfer Station from its current site due to the resource
conditions expiring. A new location is nearing confirmation and
the move will occur in the 2012/13 year. The cost of building
a new station has been carried over and into the long term
budget from earlier years.
The Cheviot medical centre is outdated and $1 million has been
factored into the 2016/17 budget to either upgrade the existing
facility or to build a new medical centre. A full project scope
will be done before any building takes place to ensure that what
is built does meet the needs of the community into the future.
The $1 million has been based on the recent medical centre
built in Rotherham. Inflation has been added to the million for
the 2016/17 year.
A major upgrade of the Hanmer Springs sport stadium is planned
for 2015/16 at a budgeted cost of $1 million. This is an estimate
102
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
only at this stage. $30,000 of that fund will be advanced to the
2012/13 year to undertake a feasibility study before the upgrade
is done.
Also in Hanmer Springs, it is planned to extend the community
hall which has been found inadequate for the use it gets.
$194,000 has been set in the 2014/15 budget with a further
$10,000 to be spent in 2012/13 to repair the hall stage.
With all of the above capital expenditure planned, although
these figures are mainly estimates until further scoping is done,
we consider these amounts to be maximum amounts and of
primary importance, is what local communities consider to be
affordable.
Public Toilets
An upgrade of the old toilet block in Hanmer Springs is planned
for 2012/13 at a cost of $30,000.
A budget provision of $90,000 has been identified in 2017/18
to build a new toilet block in Rotherham. There are no public
toilets currently there. However, before committing to this
expenditure, the need for public toilets in Rotherham will be
reviewed again when the next long term plan is developed in
2015.
Swimming Pools
The Amberley swimming pool is reaching the end of its useful
life and it is estimated that it will last another 7 years or so.
This pool has been the subject of much discussion in the past,
with a community desire to have a recreational swimming pool
facility that is heated, covered and can operate all year round. It
has been argued that this type of facility would attract a more
patrons to the pool from throughout the district and other
areas. The existing facility is being maintained in the meantime,
but the Amberley Ward Committee has been investigating
options to either replace or remediate the current pool.
$3 million had been budgeted in the previous long term plan,
but this provision has been removed until the Ward Committee
is able to recommend their preferred course of action and the
cost involved. The original $3 million was proposed to have
been funded 3 equal ways; Amberley Amenities Rate, Council
general rate and community fundraising. No fundraising has
yet taken place. Before a budget is identified and put to the
public to consider, more information is being sought. Therefore,
while there is no current budget identified at this stage, we are
prepared to provide for this once we have more information to
provide the community with first. We are planning to consult
with the public once we have more information and facts to
communicate so that people can make a considered opinion.
Township Maintenance
Various township maintenance plans are to occur over the
next few years and this is shown in more detail in the Township
Profile section earlier in this document.
Our main aim is to continue to maintain the existing local
facilities to a suitable standard depending on their use. The
demand for local facilities and maintenance plans is assessed
by taking into account residential, tourism and business growth
patterns, facility usage patterns, surveys and submissions.
Funding
Buildings
Rented Properties Operational Costs:
• Rents are intended to be affordable, but consideration
to the local market is given. In most cases, the rental
covers all operational costs.
• Any shortfall to be met from a local amenity rate (in
the case of medical centres or local amenities), or from
the District Rate on Capital Value (for pensioner and
residential housing).
Rented Properties Capital Costs:
• Any portion of expenditure relating to growth may
be funded from future lots or units of demand within
the ward or community rating area via development
contributions.
Medical Centres Operational Costs:
• 100% user charges with any shortfall funded by a medical
centre rate within the relevant ward or community
rating area.
Medical Centres Capital Costs:
• Loan funded by a medical centre rate within the relevant
ward or community rating area.
• If the District should contribute (in the past, there has
been a $150,000 contribution made to each community)
then the amount of the contribution is subtracted from
the loan.
• Any portion of expenditure relating to growth may
be funded from future lots or units of demand within
the ward or community rating area via development
contributions.
103
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Public Toilets
Toilets Provided on Tourist Routes:
• 100% District Rate or use of surpluses from the Hanmer
Springs Thermal Reserve.
Ward or Community Rating Area Toilets:
• Included in Township Maintenance is 100% local amenity
rate on the local ward or community rating area.
• If the Council decides to apply some of the surplus
from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve, the amount
of the contribution is subtracted from the District Rate.
• If any of the Capital Expenditure caters for future
growth, then that portion of the expenditure that
relates to growth may be funded from future lots via
Development Contributions and loans.
Swimming Pools
Operational Costs:
• 100% Local Amenity Rate.
Capital Costs:
• This depends on who will use the pool. If mainly the
local ward, then loan funded within the relevant ward
or rating area. If use is also expected to be district wide,
a portion may be decided to be funded via the District
Rate. Community fundraising may also be expected.
Township Maintenance
Operational and Capital Costs:
• 100% local amenity rate.
Council Owned Assets
Buildings
• Commercial premises
• 34 pensioner housing units
• 3 residential houses
• 5 water and sewerage depots
• 4 Council service centres / libraries
• 5 closed landfills
• 5 transfer stations
• 4 medical centres
• 2 doctors houses
• 14 halls
Public Toilets
• 14 public toilet blocks
• 16 district public toilets
Swimming Pools
• 2 public swimming pools (excluding Hanmer Springs
Thermal Pools and Spa)
Township Maintenance
• Not applicable
Maintenance and Operating Implications
Buildings
A property review is undertaken every several years to assess
the state of the property portfolio and to enable a suitable
maintenance programme to be put in place. Generally, all
properties are maintained to a level that keeps them functional.
Maintenance and upkeep is undertaken by contractors.
Public Toilets
The maintenance of these facilities, including cleaning and
replenishing of supplies is contracted out.
Swimming Pools
Both swimming pools are aged pools and maintained to a basic
level to keep them operational and safe. Both pools, particularly
the Amberley swimming pool, have regular maintenance and
repair costs to keep them functional. Most work on the
Amberley pool is done by staff, but contractors are used for
specialist jobs (such as plumbing).
Township Maintenance
We intend to retain ownership of the properties and facilities as
outlined in this section. The local Ward Committees and Boards
have the delegated responsibility to authorise improvements in
their particular Ward through the use of amenity rating. For
physical works, we employ some gardeners and cleaners (mostly
part time), however most work in this activity area is done by
contractors. Many of the District’s halls are managed by the
local Reserve Committee or Hall Committee.
104
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Assumptions and Risks
Buildings
It is assumed that we will continue to own the buildings we
currently have, and we are not planning on increasing our stock.
There is some risk in this, such as:
• We only provide pensioner housing in Amberley,
Cheviot, Hanmer Springs and Waikari. This may
inadvertently have social and cultural impacts upon the
age demographics in local communities as the elderly
population becomes concentrated in certain areas
only. This may result in higher demands on some local
services and facilities. Demand for pensioner housing in
some parts of the District at times is greater than our
supply. This could result in some older people leaving
the District when we are in fact keen for residents of all
ages to be able to live in the community of their choice.
Township Maintenance
It is assumed that the current facilities as described in this
section will continue to be needed by the local communities.
It is also assumed that the communities expect us to maintain
the facilities and amenities at the lowest cost possible. As the
population in the District changes, there are possible issues for
rate payers when having to fund facilities to match residents’ and
visitors’ expectations. Given the rural nature of the district, and
consequential small population, the costs can pose challenges.
• The Hurunui District has an aging population that is
expected to increase for the next several years. This
is expected to place additional demand for low cost
housing options for aging and retired people, as well
as retirement homes and villages. We believe that this
demand is best met by the private sector.
We have assumed that the community will continue to support
the need for us to build medical centres and keep them
relevant to the needs of modern medicine to attract medical
professionals to our District.
Public Toilets
We intend to continue to own, control and manage public
toilets throughout the district and replace them or build more
as required and can be properly justified. Discussion does take
place from time to time on the funding model for public toilets,
and whether or not the public should directly pay to use them.
Free use has been assumed for this long term plan.
Swimming Pools
Aside from routine maintenance and repairs, there is no budget
put aside to replace or significantly upgrade the two existing
swimming pools. There is a risk that the cost of doing so will
be greater than the community is prepared to pay. In the event
that the pools do fail and are not replaced, the local community
could be disadvantaged by not having this service at its disposal.
It is assumed that there is significant public support to either
replace or upgrade any pools before committing to the cost
involved.
105
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Goals and Performance Measures
Community Outcomes
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place where our traditional rural values and heritage make Hurunui unique
Goals
To provide and maintain
buildings to support activities
and recreational needs for local
communities
To maintain townships so they
are neat and tidy
How we will achieve our
Goals
Maintain, upgrade or build
new medical centres
suitable for modern
medical procedures
Consult with the
community about the
future of the Amberley
swimming pool
Investigate complaints
about the standard of any
Council owned facilities
Undertake a residents
satisfaction survey
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
Build a new medical
centre (or significantly
upgrade the existing one)
Decide on the course of
action to be taken (build
or upgrade or abandon)
depending on community
views
All complaints are
followed up within 48
hours
Resident satisfaction
over attractiveness
and neatness of their
townships is maintained
or improved
The Cheviot medical centre
requires a rebuild or upgrade
but identified as inadequate
for the future
The current swimming pool
in Amberley is expected
to last for another five or
so years before it will no
longer be usable. The Ward
Committee is considering
where to from here. There
is no financial provision for
a new or upgraded pool at
this stage
Complaints have been
recorded in variable ways
up until now. We have a
customer service request
programme to log all
complaints and show when
they have been actioned
90% of residents considered
their townships to be well
kept and 85% said they were
attractive
√
√
√
√ √ √ √
√
√
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
106
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Property - Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates * 5,056 (45,358) (48,498) (52,863) (54,846) (56,270) (57,400) (59,202) (60,511) (62,646) (64,922)
Targeted Rates 167,259 535,296 544,235 559,364 576,635 577,339 641,446 645,308 667,497 681,234 687,458
Other Income 398,690 400,800 413,345 425,930 439,437 453,906 466,812 479,998 495,188 511,862 528,615
Development Contributions 92,691 60,911 63,460 65,489 67,573 74,640 76,814 79,761 83,219 87,003 70,694
Total Operating Revenue 663,696 951,649 972,542 997,921 1,028,799 1,049,614 1,127,671 1,145,865 1,185,394 1,217,453 1,221,846
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 141,524 143,127 147,607 152,101 156,924 162,091 166,700 171,409 176,833 182,787 188,770
Direct Operating Expenditure 793,641 756,820 728,428 747,323 787,895 790,847 820,904 848,284 871,794 900,126 934,203
Internal Interest Paid 115,490 156,772 150,187 141,812 132,642 122,612 180,222 169,595 157,942 145,145 131,091
Council Overheads Expenditure 151,854 114,233 116,946 121,232 122,518 125,543 128,272 131,046 136,017 137,683 141,156
Depreciation 170,037 222,270 224,071 280,936 305,541 308,155 336,171 337,952 339,809 357,573 359,604
Total Operating Expenditure 1,372,546 1,393,222 1,367,238 1,443,403 1,505,520 1,509,249 1,632,268 1,658,287 1,682,395 1,723,314 1,754,825
Operating Surplus (Deficit) (708,850) (441,573) (394,696) (445,482) (476,721) (459,635) (504,597) (512,422) (497,002) (505,861) (532,979)
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Rental Property 20,000 0 31,176 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Public Toilets 0 0 0 0 0 103,563 0 0 0 0 0
Medical Centres 0 0 0 0 0 1,150,700 0 0 0 0 0
Halls 15,000 25,000 2,078 206,170 2,221 2,301 2,389 2,486 2,592 2,710 2,835
Pools 0 2,000 2,078 2,148 2,221 2,301 2,389 2,486 2,592 2,710 2,835
Township Maintenance 11,637 88,500 26,500 20,939 20,548 21,288 34,043 21,779 255,940 25,069 26,222
Total Capital Expenditure 46,637 115,500 61,832 229,256 24,991 1,280,154 38,821 26,751 261,124 30,490 31,892
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 708,850 441,573 394,696 445,482 476,721 459,635 504,597 512,422 497,002 505,861 532,979
Capital Expenditure 46,637 115,500 61,832 229,256 24,991 1,280,154 38,821 26,751 261,124 30,490 31,892
Transfer to Special Funds 70,040 46,842 48,609 50,378 51,941 54,008 55,527 57,492 59,967 62,769 51,242
Transfer to General Council Reserves 72,060 81,825 70,805 86,710 88,621 77,878 96,163 97,945 99,910 105,020 107,305
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 96,275 97,719 121,146 130,750 141,353 157,247 146,300 158,477 171,627 185,796 195,231
993,862 783,459 697,089 942,577 783,627 2,028,921 841,408 853,086 1,089,629 889,936 918,648
Funded by
Transfer from Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve 355,401 395,953 365,540 377,741 398,142 400,218 411,160 433,147 433,624 447,155 473,019
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 170,037 222,270 224,071 280,936 305,541 308,155 336,171 337,952 339,809 357,573 359,604
Transfer from General Council Reserves 0 0 22,585 0 0 88,786 0 0 0 0 0
Transfer from Special Funds 36,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 432,424 165,236 84,892 283,900 79,944 1,231,762 94,077 81,987 316,196 85,208 86,026
993,862 783,459 697,089 942,577 783,627 2,028,921 841,408 853,086 1,089,629 889,936 918,648
* Surpluses from Other Property and Residential Housing is used to offset the District Wide Rates
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
107
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Activity 3: Reserves
Overview
The Reserves activity includes the Council’s:
• Parks and Reserves
• Cemeteries
Current Situation
Parks & Reserves
There are currently 160 parks, reserves and recreation areas
in our district. This includes the Hanmer Springs Thermal
Reserve, now known as the ‘Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and
Spa’. This section does not discuss the pools and spa as this
is a significant activity on its own right. Please refer to the
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa section of this plan. The
reserves discussed in this section cover the 29 parks (picnic
areas/playgrounds), 10 camping grounds and 146 developed and
undeveloped reserves and plantation areas in the district. The
reserve portfolio now includes approximately 6.0 hectares of
the Queen Mary Hospital Historic Reserve in Hanmer Springs
(formerly owned by the Canterbury District Health Board).
Our reserves are highly regarded by those who use and
benefit from them. Council’s committee structure includes
several Reserve and Ward Committees which are delegated
responsibilities to ensure reserves are maintained and useful
for people to enjoy. The committees’ memberships include
volunteers and Councillors. The work of all of these groups is
sincerely appreciated by Council.
In 2011, The Council approved a smokefree strategy in
conjunction with Smokefree Canterbury. Our starting point is
to encourage no smoking around children’s playgrounds.
Cemeteries
There are 9 open cemetery reserves throughout our district
located at Balcairn, Cheviot (Homeview), Culverden, Glenmark,
Hanmer Springs, Horsley Down, Rotherham, Waiau, and Waikari.
We also own the Jed Cemetery Reserve in Gore Bay, Cheviot,
which is open only to ashes interments of family members
previously buried there.
Each of the cemeteries has more than enough vacant plots to
last for at least the next 10 years. Of the 9 cemeteries, Balcairn
Cemetery is used the most frequently with approximately 22
plots sold on average each year. In contrast, our least frequently
used cemetery is Rotherham, with an average of 2 plots sold
each year.
Whereas we own the cemetery reserves, we do not employ
staff to dig graves or maintain the cemetery grounds. Instead,
we contract the services of sextons, gardeners and trades
people. Cemetery plots are sold by Council staff. Anyone is
able to purchase a plot or to be buried in the cemeteries – they
are not only for Hurunui district residents.
Plans for the future
Parks & Reserves
We have had a comprehensive District Reserve Management
Plan since 2008. The Plan is being reviewed to update the
Governance and Management responsibilities and to identify
future development plans for each of the reserves. The current
plan identifies capital projects for some of the reserves but
these are to be removed. Instead capital projects will be
identified through the Long Term Plan process. Each ward is
being allocated money form the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools
and Spa surplus, known as the ‘contestable fund’ to pay for the
capital projects.
The Queen Mary Hospital Historic Reserve Management Plan is
a new plan confirmed in late 2011 and approved by the Minister
of Conservation. That plan sets out the overall management goal
for the reserve and is supported by policies in the plan. It can be
found on our website: www.hurunui.govt.nz and use the search
to find the Queen Mary Hospital Historic Reserve Management
Plan. The plan includes a landscape plan for the reserve and
conservation management plans for each of the three historic
buildings on the site. We will be seeking expressions of interest
for the use of the buildings in 2012. Before we confirm or
agree to any proposals for the use of these buildings, public
consultation will be undertaken first to make sure any proposal
has the support of the wider community.
we will be progressing our Smokefree strategy to include all
Council awned reserves. The approach we are taking is to
encourage non smoking in public outdoor areas, but not to
regulate.
Cemeteries
There is a budget provision to purchase land beside the Balcairn
cemetery when it becomes available to future proof our most
popular cemetery. $120,000 has been put aside for 2013/14 to
do this although there is no immediate concern that we will run
out of space for some years.
Most of our cemeteries have many years remaining before they
will run out of space. It is predicted that the demand for plots
within the district’s cemeteries will increase gradually over
the next 50 years, due to the increasing age of the population
within the district. There is generally an increasing trend away
from cemetery burials as people are moving towards cremation
108
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
services, but this has not impacted on the sales of plots within
the Hurunui.
Apart from the purchase of land, there are no major plans for
any of the cemeteries other than to keep them maintained to a
good standard and make sure they look tidy and attractive.
Funding
Parks & Reserves
Operational Costs:
• Amenity Reserves are 100% local amenity rates on
the ward or community rating in which the reserve is
located.
• District Reserves are 100% District Rate and/or
Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserves surpluses.
• Camping Grounds are 100% user charge with any
shortfall met by a local amenity rate in the ward or
community rating area. Four of the ten Camping
grounds are managed by a lessee, Council receives a
portion of the annual turnover for these camps as a
rental.
• If long term funding is required, it can be catered for
under the Council’s Internal Financing Policy. The
monies needed to meet the loan costs under the Internal
Financing Policy should be treated as operational
expenditure.
Capital Costs:
• District Reserves are funded100% by the District Rate
and / or the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve surpluses.
• Amenity Reserves are funded100% by the local amenity
rate on the ward or community rating area within
which the reserve in question is located.
• If any of the capital expenditure caters for future
growth, then that portion of the expenditure that
relates to growth maybe funded from future lots or
units of demand via development contributions.
• Contestable Funding is provided each year from the
surpluses from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve to
each Ward or Rating area that may be used for meeting
development costs on amenity reserves.
Cemeteries
Operational Costs:
• Interment costs and purchase of plots are charged as
user charges. Any shortfall in operational costs will
be charged as a District Rate and/or Hanmer Springs
Thermal Reserves surpluses
Capital Costs:
• If the Council decides to apply some of the surplus
from the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve, the amount
oft he contribution is subtracted fromt he District Rate,
otherwise the total is met via the District Rate.
Council Owned Assets
Parks & Reserves
• 160 parks and reserves
Cemeteries
• 9 open cemetery reserves at Balcairn, Cheviot
(Homeview), Culverden, Glenmark, Hanmer Springs,
Horsley Down, Rotherham, Waiau, and Waikari.
• Jed Cemetery Reserve in Gore Bay.
Maintenances and Operating Implications
Parks & Reserves
We act as an administering body for a large number of parks
and reserves in the District. The parks and reserves are either
owned by Council or vested in Council to administer and
maintain. Those that are vested are owned by the Crown. We
have given our Reserve Committees delegations to run the day
to day maintenance and development of most of the reserves.
Lawn mowing and heavy maintenance is largely undertaken by
contractors in the main, but we do employ some gardeners.
Cemeteries
General maintenance and upkeep such as grass mowing,
weed spraying, rubbish removal, fencing, grave topping, digging
and landscaping, is undertaken by contractors. Generally, all
cemeteries within the district are well maintained.
Resident satisfaction surveys have confirmed consistent high
levels of satisfaction with our cemeteries.
Assumptions and Risks
Parks & Reserves
It is assumed that the district’s communities will continue to
support the preservation of the district’s reserves and parks
through the Reserve Committees currently in place. It is also
assumed that the historic buildings on the Queen Mary Hospital
Historic Reserve will be leased to external parties for commercial
use. If this does not occur, we will continue to keep the buildings
in good condition but we do not plan to do any upgrades or
developments funded by the ratepayer.
109
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Cemeteries
The biggest risk to our reserves is natural weather and
environmental conditions. In our recent past, the floods of 2008
caused severe damage in some of the reserves and dramatically
altered the landscape of some of them. We have not included
additional funding in this long term plan to restore reserves in
the event they are severely damaged in future.
Plans for our cemeteries are based on the assumption that our
nine cemeteries will continue to meet the needs of our aging (and
at times, growing) population for many years to come. There is
always a risk that a natural disaster could severely damage any
of the cemeteries, such as an earthquake or flooding. This has
not been the case to date, but if it did, alternative sites (or site)
may need to be identified.
Goals and Performance Measures
Community Outcomes
• A desirable and safe place to live
• A place where our traditional rural values and heritage make Hurunui unique
Goals
To provide parks and reserves
for people to enjoy
Our cemeteries meet the
needs of our communities
How we will achieve our
Goals
Involve local communities
in the planning and
development of their
reserves
Manage the Queen Mary
Historic Hospital Reserve in
a manner consistent with its
Management Plan
Undertake a residents
satisfaction survey
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
Reserve and / or Ward
Committees spend their
annual budgets on projects
identified for that year
Lease the historic buildings
on the Reserve accordance
with the Plan or keep it
in good condition, if no
suitable proposals are
found
No less than 90% of
residents who have visited
a cemetery are satisfied
The allocated funding
has not yet been spent,
but committees have the
delegation to spend on
identified reserve projects
The buildings are currently
mothballed
93% of those who had
visited a District cemetery
were satisfied with the
standard
√ √ √ √
√
√
√
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
Community volunteers working at the Rutherford Reserve Playground
110
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Reserves - Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
Targeted Rates 0 249,929 252,106 261,932 260,397 268,997 277,251 284,507 293,537 304,087 313,407
Other Income 177,002 183,520 192,403 199,929 206,168 212,449 218,052 223,776 230,371 237,609 244,882
Internal Interest Received 94,727 34,968 35,025 39,522 44,162 45,789 49,815 50,142 53,059 52,252 55,255
Development Contributions 183,851 139,917 145,389 149,825 155,127 159,596 165,450 170,345 168,138 176,543 161,402
Total Operating Revenue 455,580 608,334 624,923 651,208 665,853 686,832 710,568 728,770 745,105 770,491 774,946
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 149,800 173,816 179,256 184,714 190,572 196,847 202,443 208,162 214,750 221,980 229,246
Direct Operating Expenditure 718,671 856,405 853,710 844,947 860,465 917,195 947,768 966,565 992,754 1,027,666 1,054,996
Internal Interest Paid 872 743 2,523 2,335 2,121 34,349 34,010 34,437 33,351 55,675 56,383
Council Overheads Expenditure 359,406 380,926 389,597 401,478 407,153 416,557 425,070 433,739 447,250 454,232 464,945
Depreciation 62,801 65,839 65,839 66,828 66,828 66,828 67,166 67,166 67,166 68,241 68,241
Total Operating Expenditure 1,291,550 1,477,730 1,490,926 1,500,303 1,527,140 1,631,776 1,676,458 1,710,069 1,755,270 1,827,794 1,873,811
Operating Surplus (Deficit) (835,970) (869,395) (866,003) (849,095) (861,286) (944,944) (965,890) (981,299) (1,010,165) (1,057,304) (1,098,865)
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
District Reserves 71,646 71,646 74,455 116,933 1,230,277 82,443 85,581 89,049 92,846 97,087 101,551
Cemeteries 5,265 5,000 129,900 5,369 5,554 5,754 5,973 6,215 6,480 6,776 7,087
Amberley Reserves 18,172 20,000 83,136 10,738 11,107 11,507 23,890 37,287 277,711 13,551 14,174
Amuri Reserves 8,424 8,500 8,833 9,127 9,441 15,534 10,153 10,565 11,015 11,518 19,135
Hanmer Springs Reserves 12,324 110,000 10,392 10,738 1,088,486 11,507 131,395 12,429 12,959 13,551 14,174
Total Capital Expenditure 115,831 260,146 306,716 152,906 2,344,865 126,745 256,992 155,544 401,011 142,483 156,121
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 835,970 869,395 866,003 849,095 861,286 944,944 965,890 981,299 1,010,165 1,057,304 1,098,865
Capital Expenditure 115,831 260,146 306,716 152,906 2,344,865 126,745 256,992 155,544 401,011 142,483 156,121
Transfer to General Council Reserves 0 27 27 28 28 28 29 29 29 30 30
Transfer to Special Funds 271,774 152,423 182,749 186,742 196,810 178,366 180,727 191,014 195,237 178,221 165,056
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 0 34,844 38,139 1,015 4,257 44,318 48,128 51,541 293,877 33,079 38,134
1,223,575 1,316,835 1,393,634 1,189,785 3,407,246 1,294,401 1,451,766 1,379,427 1,900,319 1,411,116 1,458,206
Funded by
Transfer from Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve 797,386 961,569 984,438 972,980 992,462 1,057,462 1,083,103 1,105,737 1,138,585 1,167,392 1,195,536
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 62,801 65,839 65,839 66,828 66,828 66,828 67,166 67,166 67,166 68,241 68,241
Transfer from General Council Reserves 7,154 5,000 129,900 5,369 5,554 5,754 5,973 6,215 6,480 6,776 7,087
Transfer from Special Funds 71,646 140,646 83,807 86,598 1,738,963 92,799 203,837 100,235 342,786 109,283 114,308
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 284,588 143,781 129,649 58,011 603,439 71,558 91,688 100,074 345,303 59,424 73,035
1,223,575 1,316,835 1,393,634 1,189,785 3,407,246 1,294,401 1,451,766 1,379,427 1,900,319 1,411,116 1,458,206
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
111
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Environment and Safety
Overview
Environment and Safety covers the following 4 activity areas
described below:
Activity 1:
Emergency Services (civil defence and rural fire)
Activity 2: Resource Management (administering the District
Plan, resource consents, township planning, policy and bylaw
development)
Activity 3: Compliance and Regulatory Functions (building
controls, public health and liquor licencing, and animal control)
Activity 4: Waste Minimisation (refuse, recycling, transfer
stations, and litter bin collection)
Our Aim
To protect people, animals, and the environment from natural
disaster, disease and hazards.
Why is the Council Involved?
The Council is involved with the activities within the Environment
and Safety group to provide for the wellbeing of its people. All
of the activities within this group are to do with ensuring our
communities, including our environment, are protected from
certain harm to preserve what we have and leave it in good
condition for future generations. We want to help make our
District a desirable place through managing adverse effects of
activities and conditions through our policies, bylaws and plans.
These activities also contribute to the long term achievement of
our community outcomes.
Community Outcomes
The Community Services and Facilities described in this section,
primarily contribute to two of our community outcomes:
1. A desirable and safe place to live:
• We have attractive well designed townships
• Communities have access to adequate health and
emergency services and systems and resources
are available to meet civil defence emergencies
• Risks to public health are identified and
appropriately managed
2. A place that demonstrates environmental responsibility:
• We protect our environment while preserving
people’s property rights
• We minimise solid waste to the fullest extent,
and manage the rest in a sustainable way
Major Projects Planned
Project
New generator for the
Amberley Office used as
an emergency operation
centre in a civil defence
emergency
Tsunami remote trigger to
activate warning systems in
place in beach settlements
Tanker compliance survey $99,000
Year Planned
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015+
$50,000
$25,980
Purchase and install digital $30,000 $32,214 $33,321
radios to replace defunct
analogue radio system
Tanker replacements $15,000 $99,963
Waiau fire depot $93,528
Waiau smoke chaser $40,000
Engineer assessments on
earthquake prone buildings
Significant Negative Effects
$23,000 $23,720 $24,442
The main intention of this group of activities is to mitigate
negative effects on the District and its environment. In the
main, our actual activities do not cause any significant negative
effects. The negative effects that this group of activities is aimed
at negating or minimising includes:
• Unclean and dangerous food handling can have
significant detrimental effects on the public through
sickness, therefore it is important we follow up
complaints involving food premises promptly to prevent
further spread of the disease. Similarly with water, as
infection and illness can spread quickly via drinking
water in particular.
• We have a key role to reduce negative effects caused
through sickness and alcohol abuse through the
regulation of alcohol outlets (such as restaurants and
retailers) and limiting the number of hours alcohol is
for sale.
• Unruly dogs and animals pose dangerous risks to people
and stock. There have been several cases of extreme dog
attacks in recent years within New Zealand which has
112
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
raised people’s awareness of the potentially dangerous
nature of dogs in particular and as a result, there is less
tolerance to roaming animals or dog attacks. This has
caused a demand for a higher level of service from us
to respond quickly to complaints and to take measures
to ensure compliance.
• Standards in the District Plan and legislative acts, such
as the Resource Management Act attempt to minimise
potential negative impacts on the environment.
• Unruly fires have obvious negative impacts and can lead
to loss of life and property. Fire controls and having
trained fire teams in the District are essential.
• Waste and recycling activities have the potential
to cause significant negative effects to people and
the environment and we are serious about our
duty to reduce and minimise those possible effects.
Contractors carrying rubbish and recycling are required
to have vehicles which meet stringent conditions to
avoid contamination. Landfills (operational and nonoperational)
are monitored to ensure any leachates are
within acceptable levels. Health and safety standards
are essential and a requirement of contracts pertaining
to the collection of recycling and rubbish, and the
management of the transfer stations.
Emergency Management
In an emergency, particularly a civil defence emergency, we will
continue to deliver services as long as it is safe and practical
to continue to do so. Many of the activities within this group
will be required in an emergency, depending on the problem.
Public health concerns are often of paramount importance in
certain disasters particularly when there issues with water and
sewerage disposal. In a civil defence situation, we will activate
our emergency operation centre and manage the response
and recovery with other agencies required (such as police, fire
and ambulance). Following an earthquake, building services are
necessary to check the safety of buildings. The fire service is an
essential service in most situations, as well as in the case of a
fire emergency.
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this group of activities is shown on the
next page.
113
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Environment and Safety - Group Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
District Wide Rates 1,920,698 2,144,156 2,247,608 2,325,111 2,352,458 2,444,188 2,516,215 2,588,731 2,679,636 2,766,418 2,859,066
Targeted Rates 1,088,424 1,045,916 1,063,984 1,099,887 1,136,308 1,175,819 1,212,908 1,251,021 1,294,370 1,339,184 1,385,649
Other Income 1,274,743 1,290,300 1,330,686 1,371,202 1,414,685 1,461,265 1,502,812 1,545,263 1,594,166 1,647,842 1,701,777
Internal Interest Received 2,490 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Operating Revenue 4,286,355 4,480,372 4,642,278 4,796,200 4,903,451 5,081,272 5,231,935 5,385,015 5,568,172 5,753,444 5,946,492
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 1,217,398 1,294,409 1,334,924 1,375,568 1,419,190 1,465,918 1,507,598 1,550,184 1,599,242 1,653,090 1,707,196
Direct Operating Expenditure 2,303,507 2,378,330 2,465,147 2,558,270 2,573,064 2,682,700 2,733,353 2,836,911 2,899,508 3,025,233 3,095,234
Internal Interest Paid 11,476 8,089 8,221 9,591 10,577 11,374 12,039 12,459 12,584 12,520 12,172
Council Overheads Expenditure 694,939 717,137 742,428 776,148 796,465 826,621 853,715 881,038 921,757 948,389 983,590
Depreciation 107,506 107,238 111,108 113,914 115,060 116,287 118,205 119,323 120,612 123,458 124,880
Total Operating Expenditure 4,334,826 4,505,202 4,661,829 4,833,491 4,914,357 5,102,900 5,224,910 5,399,915 5,553,704 5,762,690 5,923,072
Operating Surplus (Deficit) (48,471) (24,831) (19,551) (37,292) (10,906) (21,628) 7,025 (14,900) 14,468 (9,246) 23,420
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Emergency Services 107,406 234,000 119,508 59,059 133,284 103,563 137,368 0 0 33,878 0
Resource Management & Planning 25,695 0 25,980 26,845 0 28,768 29,863 0 32,398 33,878 0
Compliance & Regulatory Functions 0 0 51,960 26,845 0 57,535 29,863 0 64,795 33,878 0
Waste Management 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Capital Expenditure 133,101 234,000 197,448 112,749 133,284 189,866 197,093 0 97,193 101,633 0
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 48,471 24,831 19,551 37,292 10,906 21,628 0 14,900 0 9,246 0
Capital Expenditure 133,101 234,000 197,448 112,749 133,284 189,866 197,093 0 97,193 101,633 0
Transfer to General Council Reserves 107,506 107,238 111,108 113,914 115,060 116,287 118,205 119,323 120,612 123,458 124,880
Transfer to Special Funds 0 22,000 22,689 23,379 24,121 24,915 25,623 26,347 27,181 28,096 29,016
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 6,554 15,372 0 0 0 0 (5,787) (1,726) 877 4,802 8,912
295,632 403,441 350,796 287,334 283,370 352,696 335,134 158,844 245,863 267,235 162,807
Funded by
Operating Surplus 0 0 0 0 0 0 7,025 0 14,468 0 23,420
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 107,506 107,238 111,108 113,914 115,060 116,287 118,205 119,323 120,612 123,458 124,880
General Council Reserves 149,949 234,000 197,448 112,749 133,284 189,866 197,093 0 97,193 101,633 0
Transfer from Special Funds 35,435 45,000 23,344 47,069 24,036 37,373 12,812 39,521 13,591 42,144 14,508
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 0 17,203 18,895 13,602 10,990 9,171 0 0 0 0 0
292,890 403,441 350,796 287,334 283,370 352,696 335,134 158,844 245,863 267,235 162,807
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
114
Activity 1: Emergency Services
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Overview
The Emergency Services activity includes the Council’s:
• Civil Defence
• Rural Fire
Current Situation
Civil Defence
In the Hurunui District, there are now nine Sector Posts
(Cheviot, Culverden, Hawarden, Waiau, Mt Lyford, Hanmer
Springs, Motunau Beach, Glenmark and Amberley), and a District
Headquarters at Amberley Office. Over 70 local volunteers from
diverse backgrounds are involved in these centres. Volunteers
are generally local people who receive training so they know
what to do should a disaster or emergency situation arise.
To strengthen our ability to manage in a disaster, key
relationships have been established with our neighbouring
District Councils (Waimakariri and Kaikoura), and those within
the greater Canterbury Region, as well as the Ministry of Civil
Defence Emergency Management (MCDEM), critical emergency
service partners and support agencies from both Government
and non-Government organisations (such as Red Cross, St
Johns Ambulance, Ministry of Social Development, Canterbury
District Health Board).
The Hurunui District has 106 kilometres of coastline. With
heightened public awareness about the risk of tsunamis
worldwide, a locally activated warning system is in place
at Amberley Beach and Leithfield Beach. No other beach
Rural Fire
We maintain a District Fire Plan which prescribes how we will
meet our fire management responsibilities. Our Emergency
Management Officer is appointed as the Principal Rural Fire
Officer who manages rural fire on behalf of the Council. We
have five Volunteer Rural Fire Force parties in the District
based in Waikari, Waiau, Conway Flat, Motunau Beach and Greta
Valley. Collectively these fire parties provide approximately
80 volunteers including 10 Rural Fire Officers and a Deputy
Principal Rural Fire Officer. Each rural fire party has a minimum
of one fire tanker and a portable pump. We provide tankers
to the New Zealand Fire Service brigades located in Amberley,
Waipara, Hanmer Springs and Cheviot. We are responsible for
providing the public with information and warnings regarding fire
hazard conditions. This includes placing fire bans during periods
of extreme fire risk, and bylaws to carry out fire prevention and
control measures.
Plans for the future
Civil Defence
Severe flooding in 2008 caused widespread damage within
the Hurunui District and tested our civil defence capabilities.
This confirmed that further Sector Posts and more volunteers
within the District would be beneficial. We intend to continue
increasing our capacity to deal more effectively with a civil
defence emergency when the time arrives. Subject to voluntary
community participation, we will seek to establish additional
Sector Posts in Leithfield, Waipara, Motunau Beach, Scargill-
Omihi area, Gore Bay, Conway Flat, Rotherham, and Waikari.
Funding has been available to fully automate the warning systems
at Amberley Beach and Leithfield Beach so that they do not
need to be manually activated.
We will continue to maintain an organisational structure of
suitably trained and competent people, including volunteers,
to manage civil defence emergencies. Recruitment drives for
civil defence volunteers are essential to maintain the numbers
of personnel needed in a civil defence emergency. Training is
delivered locally by our Emergency Management Officer and
regionally through the Canterbury CDEM Group for staff and
community volunteers.
Rural Fire
General upgrading of all rural fire equipment and depots will
continue to ensure that all Volunteer Rural Fire Force parties
have the physical resources needed to fight fires. Investment in
regional fire retardant depots will enhance our fire response
capability. Investment in national research projects will educate
people in the District on passive measures to help reduce the
incidence of wild fires.
Volunteers are crucial to this activity and recruitment drives
must be on-going to sustain required numbers for each
Volunteer Rural Fire Force established in our district. Numbers
of volunteers have been dwindling over the past years which is
of real concern. Full training is provided to volunteers to ensure
they are able to carry out their duties safely.
We will continue to promote, encourage and carry out
appropriate fire prevention and control measures in the
interests of public safety. This includes maintaining a written
Fire Plan, observing and assessing fire weather conditions and
other fire hazard conditions, and removing or reducing hazards
which may trigger unwanted vegetation wild fires.
Also being considered is a wider fire fighting agency to cover
the Canterbury region. This is in its early considerations with
115
www.hurunui.govt.nz
the intended outcome to enhance the region’s ability to share
resources and work together rather than each district have
its own fire teams. We will do our bit to ensure that careful
consideration is given to how this will work in the field and
whether we will be better off under this system. We will also
be concerned that the proposed model can be operated at an
affordable price.
Funding
Civil Defence
Operational Costs:
• 100% District Rate after taking into account the small
central government contribution via an annual grant
Capital Costs:
• Funded over the life of the asset and met through the
District Rate
Rural Fire
Operational Costs:
• Fighting fires – the property owner pays. In some
instances there may be a portion of the fire fighting
costs that may not be able to be recovered. Such costs
will need to be recovered in line with ‘other costs’.
• Other costs – after taking government grants into
account, 80% from ratepayers in the Rural Fire
Authority area and 20% from ratepayers outside the
Rural Fire Authority area. Both will be collected by way
of a Targeted Rate known as the Rural Fire Rate.
Capital Costs:
• Funded over the life of the asset and met through the
targeted rate.
Council Assets
Civil Defence
• Not applicable
Rural Fire
• Fire equipment and depots throughout the District
Maintenance and Operating Implications
Civil Defence
We will continue to manage and operate our civil defence
emergency management functions from our Emergency
Operations Centre at Amberley Office.
Rural Fire
We intend to continue to manage and operate our fire response
functions as currently in place while a possible Canterbury wide
fire fighting agency is considered.
Assumptions and Risks
Civil Defence
Planning and preparing for an emergency situation that may not
happen requires making assumptions. Civil Defence Emergency
Management planning is based on the assumption that a serious
disaster will occur, such as an earthquake. The Hurunui District
contains several fault lines that are said to be overdue to move. A
significant part of the Hurunui District is coastal, and therefore
at risk from tsunamis. Other major risks include flooding, wild
fires and the impacts of adverse weather conditions. Good
planning and preparation is crucial, therefore we have taken our
role in civil defence emergency management very seriously.
Rural Fire
Our District is prone to extreme drought conditions during
the summer months and it is then that callouts for fire services
are particularly high. It is assumed that this trend will continue
and that our fire services will continue to be frequently called
out. Of significant risk to our rural community is the constant
need to recruit, train and retain volunteers to be available when
there are fires. A major risk is the issue of health and safety.
Obviously, fighting fires is a dangerous activity and it is essential
that volunteers are fully trained to prevent injury or loss of life
to themselves and others. Fire plans and appropriate resources
are critical to mitigate these risks.
Shared Services
Rural Fire
Districts usually build up their fire fighting resources to meet
normal demands, but from time to time, local resources are
inadequate. There is a general commitment to assist others
when fighting larger fires. We bring in fire crews from outside
the District to fight large fires when necessary or use private
sector resources.
116
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Community Outcomes
Goals and Performance Measures
1. A desirable and safe place to live
2. A place that demonstrates environmental responsibility
Goals
To be prepared for
emergency situations which
have adverse implications for
the District
How we will achieve our
Goals
Ensure there are sufficient
resources
Performance Measures Current Situation 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15+
Educate the public on how
to prepare themselves for
an emergency
Staff and volunteers are
trained to deal with an
emergency
A new emergency planning
guide was delivered to every
house in the District
Staff training was delayed
due to the earthquakes
in Canterbury, but many
received on the job practice.
Fire crews received training
every month.
√ √ √ √
√ √ √ √
Financial Summary
A financial summary for this activity is shown on the next page.
117
www.hurunui.govt.nz
Emergency Services - Activity Financial Summary
Annual Plan Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020 2020/2021 2021/2022
Operating Statement
Operating Revenue
General Rates 159,516 156,046 160,658 166,125 170,351 175,760 180,583 185,498 192,131 197,468 203,757
Targeted Rates 263,546 274,088 285,051 296,453 308,312 320,644 333,470 346,809 360,681 375,108 390,112
Other Income 2,422 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Operating Revenue 425,484 430,134 445,710 462,578 478,662 496,404 514,053 532,307 552,812 572,576 593,870
Operating Expenditure
Employee Benefits 168,769 105,720 109,029 112,349 115,911 119,728 123,132 126,610 130,617 135,015 139,434
Direct Operating Expenditure 182,347 177,900 183,468 183,741 189,568 195,809 201,377 207,065 213,618 220,811 228,038
Internal Interest Paid 837 6,974 8,221 9,591 10,577 11,374 12,039 12,459 12,584 12,520 12,172
Council Overheads Expenditure 97,166 99,764 103,038 107,999 109,951 113,790 117,235 120,724 126,651 129,251 133,715
Depreciation 51,178 56,978 60,848 62,500 63,646 64,873 66,057 67,175 68,464 70,177 71,599
Total Operating Expenditure 500,297 447,336 464,605 476,180 489,653 505,575 519,839 534,033 551,934 567,774 584,958
Operating Surplus (Deficit) (74,813) (17,203) (18,895) (13,602) (10,990) (9,171) (5,787) (1,726) 877 4,802 8,912
Capital Statement
Capital Expenditure
Emergency Services 107,406 234,000 119,508 59,059 133,284 103,563 137,368 0 0 33,878 0
Total Capital Expenditure 107,406 234,000 119,508 59,059 133,284 103,563 137,368 0 0 33,878 0
Funds Required
Operating Deficit 74,813 17,203 18,895 13,602 10,990 9,171 5,787 1,726 0 0 0
Capital Expenditure 107,406 234,000 119,508 59,059 133,284 103,563 137,368 0 0 33,878 0
Transfer to General Council Reserves 51,178 56,978 60,848 62,500 63,646 64,873 66,057 67,175 68,464 70,177 71,599
Repayment of Internal Loans from Operating Income 578 0 0 0 0 0 (5,787) (1,726) 877 4,802 8,912
233,975 308,181 199,251 135,161 207,920 177,607 203,424 67,175 69,341 108,857 80,510
Funded by
Operating Surplus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 877 4,802 8,912
Non Cash Expenditure - Depreciation 51,178 56,978 60,848 62,500 63,646 64,873 66,057 67,175 68,464 70,177 71,599
General Council Reserves 107,406 234,000 119,508 59,059 133,284 103,563 137,368 0 0 33,878 0
Capital Expenditure funded through Internal Loans 0 17,203 18,895 13,602 10,990 9,171 0 0 0 0 0
158,584 308,181 199,251 135,161 207,920 177,607 203,424 67,175 69,341 108,857 80,510
H:\Long Term Plan Workings\Hurunui District Council LTP Budgets 2012-2022 - Post Submissions.xls 31/05/2012 9:34 a.m.
118
Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Activity 2: Resource Management
Overview
Plans for the future
The Resource Management activity includes the various
functions of Resource Management, such as administering the
District Plan, resource consents, township planning, policy and
bylaw development.
Current Situation
Resource Management
Our District Plan has been in place since 2003. This plan
identifies key resource management issues for the District and
our objectives, policies and methods for addressing each of those
issues. The District Plan is a legal document which affects the dayto-day
lives of everybody in the Hurunui District. The Plan is a
requirement of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The
purpose of the RMA is the sustainable management of natural
and physical resources while avoiding, remedying or mitigating
adverse environmental effects and providing for the wellbeing of
communities. The Plan’s framework provides objectives, policies
and methods to manage the use and development of natural and
physical resources to meet the purpose of the RMA. The current
District Plan has not been frozen in time since 2003. We have
processed 31changes to parts of the Plan then, responding to
particular issues such as frost control fans, quarrying and mining,
urban and rural subdivision standards. We are also required to
review the Plan every 10 years.
To achieve the objectives and policies set out in the District Plan,
we set rules and standards which any developments must meet.
We process a number of resource consent applications from
applicants who want to do things that do not comply with the
land use provisions of the plan or who want to subdivide their
property. Two thirds of resource consents processed relate to
subdivision consents. We grant about 98% of resource consent
applications without public notification within 20 working days
of the application been received. The remaining 2% of consents
require notification for a variety of reasons, including situations
where potentially affected parties have not given their written
conse
