Environmental Regulation and Protection | Ngā mahi tiakina me ngā whakaritenga taiao

Submissions have now closed, hearings have concluded and Council deliberations were held on 22-23 May 2024.

We are Canterbury’s environmental regulator. We are responsible for managing natural resources including air, soil, water and land.

The work within this core service includes:

  • Providing consents
  • Ensuring compliance
  • Responding to environmental harm events
  • Pest management
  • Protecting indigenous biodiversity
  • And a lot more.

We work closely with mana whenua and key communities and landowners in this space.

What were we asking you to consider?

Council has developed areas of work that would or would not be included in the next Long-Term Plan depending on which option is chosen.

All the options presented include increasing our budget for this work compared with the current year (2023/24) to address increasing complexity, our communities’ expectations, the impacts of climate change and to reflect national direction.

  • Option 1 - $139.4m
  • Option 2 (Council's preferred option) - $134.9m
  • Option 3 - $131.5m

The main areas where the Council considered different options are protecting and enhancing indigenous biodiversity and supporting our communities to take local action.

Option 1 increases our investment in these areas and so would see more on-the-ground work across the region.

Option 3 reduces investment compared to our current level, and we believe that this option will lessen our ability to influence biodiversity outcomes and increase the time it will take to see positive changes.

Council prefers Option 2, which reduces the level of investment in catchment-based biodiversity programmes across the region and community grant funding but includes new funding from a proposed targeted rate for biodiversity protection and enhancement in the Christchurch and Banks Peninsula area.

Submissions have now closed, hearings have concluded and Council deliberations were held on 22-23 May 2024.

We are Canterbury’s environmental regulator. We are responsible for managing natural resources including air, soil, water and land.

The work within this core service includes:

  • Providing consents
  • Ensuring compliance
  • Responding to environmental harm events
  • Pest management
  • Protecting indigenous biodiversity
  • And a lot more.

We work closely with mana whenua and key communities and landowners in this space.

What were we asking you to consider?

Council has developed areas of work that would or would not be included in the next Long-Term Plan depending on which option is chosen.

All the options presented include increasing our budget for this work compared with the current year (2023/24) to address increasing complexity, our communities’ expectations, the impacts of climate change and to reflect national direction.

  • Option 1 - $139.4m
  • Option 2 (Council's preferred option) - $134.9m
  • Option 3 - $131.5m

The main areas where the Council considered different options are protecting and enhancing indigenous biodiversity and supporting our communities to take local action.

Option 1 increases our investment in these areas and so would see more on-the-ground work across the region.

Option 3 reduces investment compared to our current level, and we believe that this option will lessen our ability to influence biodiversity outcomes and increase the time it will take to see positive changes.

Council prefers Option 2, which reduces the level of investment in catchment-based biodiversity programmes across the region and community grant funding but includes new funding from a proposed targeted rate for biodiversity protection and enhancement in the Christchurch and Banks Peninsula area.

  • What work would be done?

    There is a lot of work involved within the Environmental Regulation and Protection core service. We've outlined the areas of work below, and how the work would change depending on the option selected.

    Regulatory framework

    Notify a Regional Policy Statement in December 2024 and regional integrated plan by 2028 (bringing together the Land and Water Regional Plan, the Regional Coastal Environment Plan, and the Air Regional Plan into a single regulatory plan). Review the Canterbury Biodiversity Strategy.

    • There is no difference between options in this area of work.

    Authorisations (consenting)

    Achieve sustainable consents delivery to ensure we meet future demands within statutory timeframes.

    • There is no difference between options in this area of work.

    Compliance

    Lift our compliance service.

    • Options alter the timing of when this is carried out.

    Incident response

    Respond to events where environmental harm is occurring.

    • There is no difference between options in this area of work.

    Pest management

    Work with communities to protect and manage pests.

    • There is no difference between options in this area of work.

    Indigenous biodiversity and mahinga kai

    Work with communities to protect priority habitats and support biodiversity outcomes on Environment Canterbury-owned land. Deliver key programmes in partnership with ngā Papatipu Rūnanga, city and district councils, government agencies and others. Land ecology and pest monitoring work. Accelerate indigenous biodiversity outcomes in priority habitats.

    • Options increase or decrease the funding to this work respectively. The proposed Christchurch and Banks Peninsula biodiversity targeted rate is not included in Options 1 and 3.

    Data, information and advice

    Collect and share high quality data, information and advice on the Canterbury environment. Environmental reporting and science investigations.

    • Option 1 increases investment, Option 3 delays work.

    Local action support

    Support and fund community projects and action plans.

    • Options 2 and 3 decrease the investment in this work to respective levels.

  • What will it cost?


  • How will this work impact my rates?


    Sample property location
    Option 1
    rates
    Option 2
    rates
    Option 3
    rates
    $820k
    Christchurch urban
    $310.54

    		 $298.90
    		 $281.94
    $620k
    Waimakariri urban
    $223.55

    		 $211.12
    		 $205.56
    $4.76m
    Ashburton rural
    $2,107.01

    		 $1,997.80
    		 $1,948.89
    $405k
    Timaru rural
    - Pleasant Point
    $180.38

    		 $170.05
    		 $165.42
    $1.9m
    Hurunui rural
    $812.75

    		 $773.42
    		 $755.78


    This is the impact for Environmental Regulation and Protection.

  • Climate actions

    With a changing climate, our ecosystems, biodiversity and freshwater resources are at risk from more frequent droughts, floods, pests and invasive species and wildfire.

    We are focused on addressing these risks and achieving our climate change outcomes through implementing nature-based solutions, enabling habitat shift in the future and removing carbon from the atmosphere. These are all a co-benefit to providing this core service.

    Other climate changes related actions we are also looking to take include:

    • Working with others to develop a connected network of climate-resilient ecosystems across Canterbury from the mountains to the sea
    • Leading collective efforts in climate-smart pest management to respond to climate risks
    • Enhancing carbon removal and promoting forest management processes which reduce climate risks.

    We also play a key role in implementing Government direction on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processing.

    These actions are included in all the options for this core service.

Page last updated: 24 May 2024, 12:14 PM