Reviewing our capital works programme
What is the capital programme?
Our capital programme sets out projects that we plan to deliver across the District over the coming year. These are a combination of new projects plus upgrades or renewals of current assets.
What's changed?
The 2021-31 Long-term Plan allocated $56.4 million to our capital programme in 2023-24. Due to unprecedented global increases in the cost of materials, supply chain shortages, inflation, and increased interest costs, the costs to deliver these same projects are significantly more. This means we have had to rethink what we can deliver.
What have we done?
We have reset capital project budgets to reflect the current environment and have prioritised projects to ensure our capital works programme is both realistic and affordable. We are proposing an adjusted capital programme budget of $58.2 million. This budget includes new projects, such as the East Urban Lands development.
Council understands the importance of investing in our District, however, we must be prudent with what we do and what it costs. We know that our ratepayers and residents are also facing cost of living issues.
What’s slowing down for 2023-24?
Slowing down some capital projects means we can manage our debt levels, reducing our interest costs and the impact on rates. We are still planning to complete these capital projects at a later stage, and this will be a focus for our upcoming 2024-34 Long-term Plan.
Projects that we plan to reprioritise or slow down in the year from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 are as follows:
- Motutere Campground drinking water upgrade – further work needs to be done before we can start delivering this project but it remains important and work on it is continuing.
- Erosion control – Some of the options Council has trialled to manage erosion have not proven particularly effective and so will be reduced. We will work with the community and partners to look at new options to manage lakeshore erosion, particularly in the southern lake area.
- Broadlands Road Landfill gas flare – Council was investigating a gas flare to manage methane, but given the landfill’s consent expires in 2027 we need certainty around whether consent will be renewed before we spend money on this project.
- Kinloch and Hatepe reservoirs – land for these is still being acquired, so timing is uncertain.
- Two Mile Bay carpark extension – this projects relates to an area outside Anchorage Resort and will be undertaken later in conjunction with wastewater and stormwater upgrades.
- Tūrangi Recreation and Activity Centre – the project will not get to the construction stage this year as planned, but work to understand what is best for Turangi will continue.
