Yesterday at Council – 31 March 2026

Published on 01 April 2026

Community proposal, Council Controlled Organisations and Consultations on the agenda.

At today’s meeting of the Waitaki District Council, the Mayor and Councillors made the following decisions and directions regarding issues on the agenda. The agenda can be found on Council’s website now and a recording of the meeting is available at the Waitaki District Council YouTube channel.

Hampden Car Park Proposal

Following public form submissions from community members and a representative of the Waihemo Community Board, Council approved leasing some Council land to the Hampden Community Energy Society Inc. to construct a community carpark. The car park will provide for parking in connection with the Hampden School, addressing concerns around safety raised by the community.

Hampden Community Energy has proposed to meet most of the costs. The Waihemo Community Board has also approved $15,000 + GST from the Hampden Amenity Rate Account as a community contribution towards the cost of constructing the car park.

Reports from Council Controlled Organisations

Council received the 6-monthly reports from Omarama Airfield, Whitestone Contracting Ltd and Tourism Waitaki, and the Draft Statement of Intentions for the 2026-27 year.

These are available on Council’s website as part of this meeting’s agenda.

Annual Plan Consultation

The Mayor and Councillors deferred a decision to consult and/or engage on the 2026-2027 Annual Plan until a planned Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on April 14 2026.

This is to allow further discussion and development of the Annual Plan and the communications required for this.

Class 4 Gambling Venues and TAB Venues Policy Review and Consultation

Council approved a consultation on its Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venues Policy, to take place later in 2026. This consultation was deferred from 2025 as it would have clashed with the election period for the Council.

Fees and Charges for the Network Waitaki Event Centre

The Mayor and Councillors approved the fees and charges for the soon to be opening Network Waitaki Event Centre. These set out Community and Commercial charges for the facility, the difference between these being whether users are on-charging for whatever event they are hosting in the Event Centre.

ENDS

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