The Council approved the formation of a regional three-waters council-controlled organisation (CCO) as part of the Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms.
Public minutes of the Kōrau Tōtōpū | Long-term Plan, Finance, and Performance Committee
“The decision for Wellington City to be part of a new regional water entity is a significant step toward addressing the decades-long underinvestment in our water infrastructure,” says Mayor Whanau.
“Getting better value-for-money and the ability to spread the cost of infrastructure over time were front of mind for Councillors and the community as we made this decision.
“As we continue to work on the shape of this new regional water entity, I will be advocating for the rights and interests of our residents to be strongly represented,” adds Mayor Whanau.
The regional CCO was the preferred option put to public consultation between 20 March and 21 April and had the support of 72 percent of submissions.
The new organisation will own and operate public drinking water, wastewater and stormwater assets and will have access to increased borrowing to meet the investment needed across the network.
Wellington City Council is now awaiting the decision of Upper Hutt, Hutt City, Porirua City and Greater Wellington Regional councils. Should they agree to the regional CCO model, councils will work together to finalise a joint Water Services Delivery Plan ready to be submitted to the Department of Internal Affairs no later than 3 September 2025.
Other decisions
The Council also made major decisions around its amendment to the 2024-34 Long-term Plan and the upcoming Annual Plan.
To manage the city’s insurance and investment risks the Council had consulted on three options.
Councillors agreed to proceed with the preferred option, increasing borrowing capacity by reducing capital spending, and creating a small investment fund of around $68 million.
Over a third of submissions backed this approach, the largest section of responses.
“After valuable public consultation and several iterations, we’re working towards a Long-Term Plan amendment that strikes a balance between financial sustainability and making essential investments that will benefit our city,” says Mayor Whanau.
“We have successfully retained crucial funding for transformative projects such as the Courtenay Place revitalisation and social housing improvements. We’re also keeping community facilities such as Begonia House and Khandallah Pool open.”
Councillor Rebecca Matthews, Chair of the Long-Term Plan, Finance, and Performance Committee, says the Long-Term Plan amendment has been updated to reflect the diverse voices of Wellingtonians and was a commitment to the city’s future.
“Cutting expenditure is always difficult, but due to public support for most of the options and the amendments from the committee, we’ve arrived at a sustainable financial plan,” says Cr Matthews.
As part of the decision, spending will be adjusted to several Capital projects.
- The Paneke Pōneke Bike Network will be pushed out over 20 years rather than the initial 10 years planned, reducing the budget from $115.2m to $66.9m.
- City Streets projects (bus, bike and pedestrian improvements in the central city and on key arterial routes) will be rescaled and rephased, saving $130.6m.
- Low cost, low risk transport projects will be rescaled and rephased, saving $67.8m.
- Budgets not currently allocated within the Te Ngākau civic square redevelopment will be removed, saving $89.4m.
- The Savannah upgrade at Wellington Zoo will be rephased, saving $1.2m.
- Unallocated funding for venue upgrades would be removed, saving $13.2m.
- Funding for the Community facilities plan, Te Awe Māpara, will be reduced, saving $10m.
- Upgrades to suburban town centres and The Bond Store (home to the Wellington Museum) will be rephased.
The Council also confirmed it will increase the budget by $2.9m to do the minimum work possible to keep the Begonia House in operation.
It will also offer the Karori Event Centre back to the Karori Community Hall Trust to remediate the building and complete the fitout, with Council contributing $1.9m towards the work.
If negotiations with the Trust are not completed within three months, the Council will proceed with an option to sell the site.
The Khandallah pool will remain operational, after a decision to proceed with remediation at a cost of $7.5m.
The Council also approved the introduction of a $1-an-hour fee for the use of central city motorcycle bays, with a daily cap of $6.
The charge will be implemented Monday through Fridays between the hours of 8am and 8pm.
Anticipated annual revenue from the charge is included in the 2025/26 budget.
The previous decision to introduce motorcycle parking fees were a part of Wellington's 2024-2034 Long-term Plan.
It has not been decided when the new fees will come into effect.
Annual Plan
During the meeting, the Council also addressed aspects of the 2025/26 Annual Plan, containing a provisional rates increase of 12%, (including the 1.4% sludge levy)
Further work is to be done on a new rates differential before the Rating Policy is updated in relation to short-term accommodation providers.
The Council also decided to proceed with moves to jointly manage a new public reserve on Motu Kairangi Miramar Penninsula called Mātai Moana.
Thursday’s deliberations were the final stage for developing the 2024-34 LTP amendment and 2025/26 Annual Plan and their respective budgets.
A final review will be conducted by Audit NZ and then formal adoption by Council will take place at the end of June.