The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has today made decisions on its draft Annual Plan 2025–26, following public consultation between 31 March and 2 May this year.

Regional Council Chair Hinewai Ormsby acknowledges the contributions of the 99 people and groups who made formal submissions, as well as those who provided feedback via social media.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their views through submissions. Your feedback reinforced that affordability is what matters most to our communities.”

The Regional Council has made some tough decisions and trade-offs to reduce costs across some services, she says. “We’ve cut the average rates increase to 9.9 percent — a significant reduction from the 18.3 percent originally forecast for 2025–26. (Please note - this excludes the new targeted rate for the Mangarau Stream for some Hastings district ratepayers).”

This plan is about more than the next year, says Chair Ormbsy, it’s about building long-term resilience for our region.

“We’re preparing for the bigger conversations around future investments needed to strengthen our flood defences, and water supply resilience and support erosion control. We will engage with our community on these key priorities, with a focus on building a stronger future for Hawke’s Bay.”

Key decisions from consultation topics:

Mangarau Stream flood resilience

Regional Council will collect a new targeted rate over three years for flood resilience work for Mangarau Stream in Havelock North, following Cyclone Gabrielle. This will impact about 27,000 ratepayers in the Hastings district. We are collecting this rate to secure Crown funding as part of a regional recovery package and will pass the money collected on to Hastings District Council (HDC). HDC is responsible for the management of streams in Havelock North and are undertaking the work.

Passenger transport funding

Following public feedback, Regional Council will adjust the way the passenger transport service is rated. Regional Council provides the bus service, goBay and the Total Mobility scheme which provides essential services for people with permanent disabilities. The new model better reflects who has access to these services and standardises a large proportion of the amount paid by households.

Upper Tukituki flood control scheme

To ensure a more equitable distribution of costs among those who benefit from the scheme’s protection, Regional Council will introduce a revised rating method for the Upper Tukituki Flood Control Scheme.

The Regional Council also undertook consultation on the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan 2025-2035. The Regional Transport Committee are meeting on 6 June 2025 to deliberate on proposed changes.

The Regional Council will formally adopt the Annual Plan 2025–26 and Regional Public Transport Plan 2025-2035 at the Council meeting on 25 June 2025.

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