Council's 10-year plan findings take a deep dive into what is at stake for Buller’s community

A final report showcasing a deep dive into the sentiment of the Buller community is being published this week.

The report includes an analysis of 13 relevant reports published from 2018-2023, along with a review of feedback collected during workshops with the community. The reports provide a detailed analysis of 332 survey responses as well as the 170 pieces of feedback council received in the quick polls.

The report outlines the new approach, methods and reasoning behind council's engagement with its community to create the 2024-2034 Long-Term Plan. It breaks the findings down into the three elements of Council’s engagement that are covered in the document.

Mayor Jamie Cleine says: “We opted for a multi-data source approach to help inform elected members and staff developing the next 10-year plan.

The report is well worth reading because when combined, the different sources of feedback give a comprehensive overview of factors influencing our community and shines a light on regional nuances.”

The report starts off by presenting the collective sentiment of the Buller community, as expressed during the engagement phase. It includes an in-depth analysis of the perspectives of various communities within Buller, showcasing the regional nuances and diverse viewpoints. It then dives into the findings of each recent survey and provides a thorough analysis of the insights from the feedback survey and the quick polls.

Mr Cleine says: “It is quite a comprehensive report with a lot of detail which can make interpreting it a challenge.  To help with that we have published some key insights on our website which can be used to identify what parts of the report warrant a deeper read.”

Councillors and staff will read the report and take the feedback into the public workshop on Wednesday 6 December, where Councillors will discuss the proposed budget for the 2024-2034 LTP.

Mr Cleine says: “The engagement feedback puts us in a good position to start this process and take our community on the journey as we develop this plan over the coming four months.

It is going to be a demanding Long-Term Plan with some tough decisions to be made and the challenge will be to align what the community desires with what is affordable.”

You can stay up to date and see Buller’s next 10-year plan taking shape by signing up to our e-newsletter. Council will keep issuing news articles, publish updates in local publications, publish information on its Facebook and LinkedIn pages and keep its website up to date.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Buller Mayor
Jamie Cleine
Jamie.Cleine@bdc.govt.nz

Further information:

For a deeper dive into what the community has told us, you can read the thought-provoking details in the report. A snapshot of the key findings (page 6 – 10) from the feedback survey is included below. The survey results were used as the primary data source for the key findings due to the larger sample size. The quick polls generally mirrored these survey results. 

Community Outcomes

Table 1 shows survey respondents' average importance ratings on various community outcomes on a scale from 1 (very unimportant) to 5 (very important). The data is broken down by location to showcase regional differences across Buller.

Table 1: How important are the following community outcomes to you? average - 1 = very unimportant, 5 = very important

Social wellbeing - The insights show that the community places a high importance on social well-being, rating it as very important for building vibrant, healthy, and connected communities. It has an average importance score of 4.2 out of 5 across the survey. The top social well-being priorities mentioned are:

• Safe and healthy families/communities.
• Community connectivity.
• Community development and inclusivity.
• Improved health services.

Respondents from Karamea/Little Wanganui and Northern Buller place the greatest importance on social outcomes, rating them 4.4 and 4.5 out of 5, respectively. Westport also ranks it highly at 4.0. Key projects mentioned to improve social well-being include better health services, youth programs, affordable housing, community events, and spaces for social connection.

Affordability - Affordability is rated as a significant community outcome, with an average score of 4.2 out of 5 in the survey. The top affordability priorities mentioned are:

• Focus on core services.
• Concerns about the cost of living.
• Affordable lifestyle.

Westport residents rate affordability as most important at 4.1 out of 5. Suggested priorities and projects include improving infrastructure maintenance, addressing substandard housing, limiting rate increases, and supporting those with their own water systems.

Environment - The environment is rated as an important outcome with an average score of 4.1 out of 5. The top environmental priorities raised are:

• Sustainable environmental management.
• Environmental protection and biodiversity.
• Climate change adaptation.

Karamea/Little Wanganui rates the environment as most important at 4.4 out of 5. All other areas rate it between 3.8 to 4.0. Priorities and projects include wetland restoration, sustainable land use, waste reduction, environmental education, and climate adaptation planning.

Prosperity - Prosperity is rated as an important outcome, with an average score of 4.1 out of 5 in the community survey. The top prosperity-related priorities raised are:

• Economic sustainability.
• Economic development.
• Road infrastructure.

Northern Buller and Karamea/Little Wanganui rate prosperity as most important at 4.5 and 4.1, respectively. Suggested priorities and projects include encouraging private investment, supporting tourism, addressing rising business costs, maintaining freight infrastructure, and economic diversification beyond mining.

Culture - Culture is rated as the least important community outcome on average, scoring 3.7 out of 5 across the survey. Karamea/Little Wanganui residents rate culture as most important at 3.9 out of 5. Reefton/Inangahua rate it lowest at 2.7. Suggested priorities/projects include heritage preservation, funding community facilities, youth programs, public art, and cultural celebrations.

Priorities and projects

The community was asked to prioritise Council services for budget allocation on a scale of 1 to 12, with 1 being the highest priority. Table 2 shows the average ranking respondents gave each element, indicating its relative priority level from the community's perspective. 

Table 2: How would you prioritise the following Council services for budget allocation?

The top three priority areas for budget allocation are:

1. Roading and transport, with an average ranking of 3.9 out of 12. This area includes roads, footpaths, public transport, parking, and road safety. It emphasizes connectivity needs.
2. Community services ranked 4.5 out of 12. This encompasses health services, community events/groups, emergency management, economic development and other services impacting residents.
3. Infrastructure resilience also ranked at 4.5 out of 12. This focuses on enhancing resilience against flooding, natural disasters, climate change impacts and robust infrastructure systems.

The emphasis on community services, resilient infrastructure, and roads indicates an overarching focus on systems and initiatives that enable transportation, quality of life, and the capacity to withstand environmental shocks regarding budget allocation.

The priorities reflect the community's desire for council to focus efforts and resources on core infrastructure, amenities, and services that enable transportation, resilient systems, and quality of life for residents. The community's feedback indicates clear direction for allocating attention and budgets to the highest priority needs underpinning social, economic, and environmental well-being.

What matters to different parts of Buller?

Below are the key findings related to location, highlighting the specific priorities and concerns of different areas within the Buller region.

Westport

• Affordability and social well-being were the most important outcomes. Environment and prosperity outcomes also hold importance. While still valued, cultural outcomes received the least emphasis.
• Residents strongly prefer to prioritise 3 Waters, underlining its importance over other areas. Infrastructure resilience and infrastructure planning are also key areas for budget allocation, emphasising sustainable infrastructure and essential services.

Karamea/Little Wanganui

• Karamea/Little Wanganui strongly emphasise affordability and prosperity, with these areas topping their list of priorities. Social well-being and environmental considerations are also given high importance. Cultural outcomes are not the primary focus.
• The Karamea/Little Wanganui community has identified roading and transport as their foremost budgetary concern, followed by community services and infrastructure resilience, indicating a focus on transport infrastructure, community support, and resilient systems.

Northern Buller

• Northern Buller strongly emphasises social well-being and the environment, with these areas topping their list of priorities. Affordability, prosperity, and cultural outcomes are also given high importance.
• The community has identified roading and transport as their foremost budgetary concern, followed by community services and refuse and recycling. These priorities indicate a focus on transport, community welfare, and the importance of waste management services within the region.

Punakaiki/Charleston

• Punakaiki/Charleston strongly emphasises social well-being, environment, and prosperity, with these areas topping their list of priorities. Affordability considerations are also given high importance. Cultural outcomes are not the primary focus.
• For Punakaiki/Charleston, the highest priority is infrastructure resilience. This is closely followed by 3 Waters and infrastructure planning, showing a critical concern for water-related services and infrastructure planning. Community Services also ranks highly, illustrating the importance of social infrastructure to the residents. 

Reefton/Inangahua

• Environmental and social well-being outcomes are ranked as the most important. Affordability and prosperity outcomes are close behind. Cultural outcomes are considered the least important.
• The community has identified roading and transport, and infrastructure resilience as their foremost budgetary concern, followed by community services. This indicates a focus on transport infrastructure, community support, and resilient systems.