For 2026/27, planned operational spending (including interest) is forecast to be $56.4 million higher than what was included in the LTP. The main reasons for this increase are:

• $22.6 million in software development costs moved from capital to operational spending, to better reflect software as a service expense.
• An $18.2 million increase in staff salaries and wages, due to contract settlements, living wage changes, and shifting some contractor and consultant roles into permanent staff positions.
• An additional $16 million in grants, mainly for the Air Force Museum of New Zealand ($5 million) and the Ōtautahi Christchurch organics processing facility ($15 million). The capital grant for the organics facility replaces the $15 million previously included in the capital programme and offsets organics processing costs. These increases are partly reduced by lower funding for Venues Ōtautahi ($3.2 million) and ChristchurchNZ, as we bring its urban development function in-house ($1.8 million).
• $9.4 million in additional inflation, reflecting higher-than-expected inflation for 2025/26.
• A $10.6 million reduction in insurance premiums, achieved through direct engagement with insurance brokers.

Our spending is primarily funded through rates, after accounting for other sources of revenue.

You can find more information about these proposed changes to our spending from page 8 in the Draft Annual Plan.

Our capital spending is the money we invest in physical infrastructure projects. This includes roading and three waters improvements, new community facilities such as libraries and recreation and sport centres, and upgrades to parks and reserves.

We fund these projects through a mix of rates and borrowing, subsidies and grants, and development contributions. Because future generations will also benefit from these assets, we use borrowing to spread some of the cost over 30 years.

This Draft Annual Plan reflects our priorities for the capital programme:

• Maintaining and renewing our water supply, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
• Maintaining and improving our roads and footpaths.
• Enhancing our parks and riverbanks.
• Building and renewing community facilities.
• Adapting to climate change.

We have reviewed the capital programme to ensure the work is deliverable. This helps us avoid charging ratepayers for work we may not deliver in that year.

In this Draft Annual Plan, the proposed adjustments reduce the 2026/27 capital programme to $598.9 million, which is $86.7 million lower than the amount forecast in the Long Term Plan 2024–2034.

This approach balances affordability and deliverability, lowering the rates increase by 0.7% and reducing borrowing requirements, while continuing to invest in essential infrastructure and community facilities.

By the time we adopt the Annual Plan in June, we will have a more accurate understanding of what the Council can practically deliver in 2026/27.

Adjusting the timing of capital spending does not necessarily mean a project is slowing down or being delayed. Many projects span several years, and the exact timing of construction can be uncertain when we first set the budgets. Reviewing the capital programme as part of the Annual Plan helps ensure we remain focused on what can be realistically delivered in a cost‑effective way in the upcoming financial year.

Our reprioritised capital programme budget for 2026/27 includes changes in the following areas.

Community facilities

• Adjusting the timing of budgets for several projects to better match when payments will be made. This includes:
  • Restoration of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers ($5 million moved from 2026/27 to 2029/30).
  • Relocation of the Carrs Reserve Kart Club ($4 million moved from 2026/27 to 2028/29).
  • Asset renewals at Taiora QEII Recreation and Sport Centre ($5 million moved from 2026/27 to 2027/28).
  • Kerbside monitoring ($2.2 million moved from 2026/27 to 2028/29).
  • Corporate investments ($2.5 million moved from 2026/27 to 2028/29).

• Transferring $15 million for the Ōtautahi Christchurch organics processing facility from the capital programme to a capital grant, as the plant will not be owned by Christchurch City Council. The grant reduces how much we will have to pay for using the facility, which in turn reduces the cost to the ratepayer.

Three waters

• Reprioritising $18.9 million for the Wastewater Treatment Plant programme to support the Activated Sludge project, which will replace the fire-damaged trickling filters.
• Adjusting the timing of $9 million for wastewater renewals in the northeast to coordinate with other work in the area.
• Adjusting the timing of the $12.9 million budget for water supply pump station renewals – Wrights Road, Moorhouse Avenue, Averill Street and Kerrs Road – to reflect when the projects will be delivered and payments made.
• Bringing forward $2.2 million for the Grassmere wet-weather wastewater storage facility to align with the wider development in the area.
• Adding $6.1 million in additional budget for reactive wastewater and water supply renewals.
• Adjusting the timing of $10.7 million for the surface flooding reduction programme to align with the agreed priorities and staging of the project.

Transport

• Transferring budget from the chipseal reseals programme ($7 million) to the asphalt reseals ($3.5 million) and road rehabilitation ($3.5 million) programmes to better match the type of the work required and what can be delivered within each of the programmes.
• Adjusting the timing of budgets for a number of major cycleway projects – Northern Line ($2 million), Nor’West Arc ($1.9 million), South Express ($2.7 million) and Heathcote Expressway ($2 million) – to reflect when these projects will be delivered and when payments will be made.
• Shifting $4.3 million of the Pages Road bridge renewal budget to align with the estimated construction timeline and expected payments schedule.

You can find more information about the schedule of proposed changes to our capital programme from page 62 in the Draft Annual Plan.

See them from page 92 of the Draft Annual Plan

Click Here to find out more about our proposed revenue changes