What are the key challenges facing our long-term planning?

In developing our Long-term Plan Wellington is facing significant and sometimes unique challenges.

Infrastructure

There is a need to continue to increase the level of investment in infrastructure as an underpinning enabler of city outcomes, particularly environmental and climate outcomes. This relates to the need to improve the condition of our three waters infrastructure and deliver the upgrade to our transport network envisioned through Let’s Get Wellington Moving.

Housing and Urban Development

Our city is growing, and we need to plan for it, housing affordability is also being stretched as the city grows. Council needs to contribute through a range of housing interventions including our enabling role through Spatial and District Planning work but also through provision of sustainable and quality social housing and ensuring the availability of infrastructure in place for a growing city.

Resilience

As a result of the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake there is significant earthquake strengthening work needed across the city, including in Council venues and facilities, and additional direct costs such as the pop-up libraries to respond to the closure of the Central Library. Wellington also faces on-going resilience challenges that other cities do not, such as increasing costs of insurance for our assets. There is also the challenge of building a socially, culturally and economically resilient city that can cope with unexpected events such as Covid.

Environment

A key challenge is to respond to climate change in line with the Council’s declaration of climate emergency and adoption of its Te Atakura: First to Zero. In addition, the city has ambitions around the natural environment and waste minimisation that requires Council investment.