Today at Council – Tuesday 4 August

Published on 04 August 2026

Today’s meeting of the Waitaki District Council opened with a moments silence, a video tribute and then individual tributes from the Mayor, Councillors and the Chief Executive to former Councillor Jim Hopkins who passed away last week.

Council considered the adoption of a Commercial Strategy for the organisation that would give the council tools and approaches to support an improved financial position going forward. After debate Council referred the strategy back to the Strategy and Advocacy Committee for further refinement before returning to full Council for a future adoption.

Council approved the Risk Appetite Statement, setting Council’s appetite for risk across Finance, Commercial and Investment, People and Safety, Service Delivery, Legislative and Regulatory Compliance, Reputation and Relationships, Environment and Data and Systems.

All Councils will shortly be required to work together on Regional Spatial Plans as part of the RMA reforms currently going through Parliament.

Council approved the next steps in this and also approved the appointment of Ahuriri Ward Councillor Brent Cowles, alongside Corriedale Ward Councillor Sven Thelning, to the Waitaha Canterbury Regional Spatial Plan Committee and the funding mechanism for this work.

This is a part of developing a spatial plan to meet the Government’s Planning Bill, due to become law later in 2026.

The public will be consulted on the Draft Waitaki Coastal Hazards and Resilience Strategy, and the Draft Statement of Proposal. This is part of ensuring Council has a clear consistent plan to manage decisions around the coast including how this impacts roads, reserves, wastewater infrastructure and other community assets as they relate to coastal erosion, flooding and sea-level rise along Waitaki’s 70km of coastline.

Council also approved the Private Sewer Laterals in Road Reserve Policy. This recommendation from the Assets and Infrastructure Committee provides a clear, consistent, and transparent framework for officers to assess and approve works on private sewer laterals within the road reserve where there is a clear infrastructure, cost, or efficiency benefit to Council.

There will be an Extraordinary Meeting of Council on Friday 7 August from 2pm to consider the Head Start Proposal.