WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL NEWS RELEASE

6 June 2018

Wellington to proceed with 10-Year Plan

Wellington City Council’s 10-Year Plan is ready for adoption, after the Mayor and Councillors passed the proposed plan at today’s deliberation session.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester says the plan reaffirms the Council’s commitment to delivering for Wellingtonians.

“The 10-Year Plan gives us the mandate to move ahead on our plans for resilience, housing, transport, a sustainable economy and the creative and cultural sector,” he says.

Wellingtonians will welcome the news that the city’s rates increase, which was originally proposed at 4.5 percent, has come down to an average increase of 3.8 percent a year over the 10 years.

The Mayor says officers have worked hard to trim the fat and find alternative avenues of funding, despite cost increases around insurance.

“For example, the New Zealand Transport Agency has increased its cap on funding, which means a net gain for us of about $2 million a year,” says the Mayor.

The Long-Term and Annual Plan Committee on Wednesday agreed the council should adopt the Long-Term Annual Plan following a consultation process that attracted more than 2000 public submissions.

The 10-Year Plan has strong public support - 72 percent of 2066 submissions agreed with the Council’s vision for Wellington.

The city’s future was also strongly represented with 19-30-year-olds making up 25 percent of submitters, despite being just 19 percent of the city’s population. Nearly 50 percent of submitters were aged 40 or under.

The plan involves investing $2.31 billion in capital projects to ensure Wellington remains safe, inclusive, creative, sustainable and future focused. Key projects are:

• $280m will be spent on on improving key transport corridors, wastewater and water infrastructure.
• $118.5m to protect the water supply, including building 22 community water stations across Wellington.
• Building Wellington’s largest reservoir, holding 35 million litres of water, under Omāroro Park in Mt Cook.
• Further investing in social and affordable housing.
• $122m to partner with NZ Transport Agency and Greater Wellington Regional Council to transform Wellington’s transport infrastructure.
• Our plans include light rail from the CBD to southern and eastern suburbs, prioritisation for walking and cycling, and removing arterial routes from city streets.
• Reinforcing the Culture Capital with $16m budgeted for major cultural events such as WOW, Wellington on a Plate, the New Zealand Festival and Matariki.
• $111m for cultural venues to ensure their ongoing future and enhance their accessibility for artists.

The 10-Year Plan will be adopted at the full Council meeting on June 27.

ENDS

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