North Canterbury News: April 29, 2021
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Kaikoura to boost roads, tourism<br />
By DAVID HILL<br />
Roadingand tourismare set to<br />
receiveaboostasKaikoura<br />
looks to the future.<br />
The KaikouraDistrict<br />
Councilproposesspending<br />
$4.7million over the nextsix<br />
years to upgrade the district’s<br />
roading network,while<br />
Destination Kaikoura is set to<br />
receiveacash injection from<br />
thisyear’s <strong>2021</strong>/31 Long Term<br />
Plan(LTP).<br />
Councillorsapproved the<br />
draft plan at last week’s<br />
councilmeeting, ready to be<br />
sendtoAuditNew Zealand.<br />
‘‘Weunderinvested in our<br />
roadrenewals and resealing<br />
prequake, so we want to<br />
significantly increase our<br />
investment to bring us up to<br />
where we should be with our<br />
level of service,’’ chief<br />
executiveWill Doughty says.<br />
Urban footpathswill receive<br />
muchneeded maintenance,<br />
withanextra $100,000ayear<br />
proposed to be spent from next<br />
yearbecauseofunderinvestment,<br />
he says.<br />
‘‘Once we address the<br />
infrastructure profile, things<br />
are looking prettygood for the<br />
nextwee while.’’<br />
The $38m earthquake<br />
rebuild, withcentral governmentsupport,<br />
has left the<br />
districtinastrong position, he<br />
says. ‘‘We now consider<br />
ourselves financially<br />
sustainable in the shortterm,<br />
Destination ... Kiwis have been rediscovering Kaikoura as apopular destination.<br />
which is adifferent storyto<br />
what we werelooking at 18<br />
monthsortwo years<br />
back, which is very<br />
good news.<br />
‘‘One of the things<br />
is all councils are<br />
havingtoset their<br />
LTP in the context of<br />
some big reforms for<br />
three waters,the<br />
Resource<br />
Management Act and<br />
the future of local<br />
government.<br />
‘‘So we’veset the plan as best<br />
we can in the knowledgethat<br />
there’s somebig things on the<br />
Will Doughty<br />
horizon that we don’t know the<br />
ins and outs of.’’<br />
The councilis<br />
proposing an average<br />
rates rise of 5.2<br />
percent for this year<br />
and then an average<br />
annualrise of 3.2%<br />
for the next nine<br />
years.<br />
The draft LTP<br />
consultation<br />
document will go<br />
back to the council<br />
nextmonth for final approval<br />
before going outfor public<br />
consultation in June andfinal<br />
adoption by the end of July.<br />
Better, stronger ... The $38m earthquake rebuild, with central government support, has left the<br />
district in astrong position<br />
EXPERIENCE KAIKOURA<br />
<strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>April</strong> <strong>29</strong>, <strong>2021</strong><br />
PHOTOS: DESTINATION KAIKOURA<br />
‘‘It means we will missthe<br />
statutory deadline of June 30,<br />
but we signalledthat early on<br />
and we are finding thatother<br />
councils are in the same boat,’’<br />
Mr Doughty says.<br />
The council has imposeda<br />
cap of $15m on external<br />
borrowing, so while the<br />
district’s debt is set to climb to<br />
just under $10m in 2026,itwill<br />
leave ‘‘some head room for<br />
future unknowns’’.<br />
The district wasfacing<br />
challenges following Covid19<br />
border restrictions, which saw<br />
the council boost funding to<br />
DestinationKaikoura from<br />
$180,000 ayear to $225,000 last<br />
year. Councillors proposeto<br />
continue the extrafundingfor<br />
the next 10 years.<br />
‘‘We’verecognised the work<br />
DestinationKaikoura has done<br />
in redirectingits effortsto<br />
domestic tourism, whichhas<br />
helped to fillsomeofthe gap,’’<br />
Mr Doughty says.<br />
‘‘Now we needtolook at the<br />
Australian market and to<br />
ensure we are wellplaced<br />
when theborder opensup.’’<br />
Waste is alsoonthe agenda,<br />
as the council considers the<br />
closureofthe Kaikoura landfill<br />
in 2024.<br />
The council will be looking<br />
to either join with the other<br />
<strong>Canterbury</strong>councils at the<br />
Kate Valley Landfillorlook at<br />
options further north,Mr<br />
Doughtysays.<br />
Following community<br />
consultation, the council is<br />
introducing kerbside rubbish<br />
collection in the township on a<br />
fortnightly basis.<br />
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