Guiding our mahi for years to come

Date: 26 Jun 2026

Deputations

The Council received a deputation from Dr Peter Trolove, on behalf of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers and supported by Paul Hodgson, in relation to Plan Change 8 and its potential impacts on freshwater in Canterbury.

Council received his deputation and agreed to provide a reply to his concerns as soon as practically possible.

Annual Plan 2026/27: Delivery, affordability and readiness

Council today adopted the Annual Plan 2026/27, which has confirmed continued investment in essential service while limiting the overall rates revenue increase to 2.4 per cent.

The Annual Plan sets out Environment Canterbury’s priorities for the year ahead, including:

• Protecting and enhancing natural resources
• Supporting safe and reliable transport
• Strengthening resilience to climate change and natural hazards
• Maintaining strong partnerships with mana whenua, local authorities and communities.

Read more about today’s decision here.

Plan Change 8

Today, Council voted to publicly notify Plan Change 8 to the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan and consequential changes to two other water-related regional plans.

The proposed plan change aims to amend regional water planning rules to reduce barriers to infrastructure and environmental projects and provide a pathway for changes to how existing water consents are used, except for water bottling, which would not be permitted as a change of use.

It also supports wetland construction for nutrient management, flood prevention, habitat creation and other benefits.

The plan change will be open for submissions from 4 July until 4 August 2026 inclusive. Visit the PC8 page for information on how to make a submission and where to send/bring it.

Landholding Strategy

Councillors adopted a new Landholdings Strategy to guide the management of approximately 31,500 hectares of council-administered land.

The strategy is intended to support improved decision-making across flood protection, river management, biodiversity, climate resilience and partnerships with mana whenua.