Water's the priority, to the tune of $400m, not Napier's buildings

The Napier Civic Building - the council's head office and council chambers, vacated in 2017. Photo / File

In Hastings off-road parking costs triple, Napier gets a huge investment in water infrastructure, and a regional council rate rise of 19.5 per cent is coming.

Hawke's Bay councils have approved their long-term plans, and most of the more contentious issues have been kept after consultation.

The biggest single investment is from Napier City Council, which has agreed to spend $400 million over the next 10 years on its water infrastructure.

Its 2021-31 long-term plan has been prepared in the shadow of the Government's Three Waters reforms, and has been calculated on the basis that the council, and not the Government, will undertake the work.

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise said the council would fast-track water projects to ensure new regulatory standards for drinking water are met within five years.

The city will use chlorine to keep the network safe but will work towards a chlorine-free network.

There will be an average 8 per cent rates increase in Napier, with the council also resolving to keep the Faraday Centre open and give more money and budget $12.5m to develop Ahuriri Regional Park.

There is little indication of when the council will have a new headquarters.

The council has committed to getting the public library back into the buildings it left in late 2017 after learning the buildings did not come up to scratch in earthquake-risk ratings.

It's also decided to demolish the adjoining Civic Buildings, for which it unsuccessfully sought money from the Government's "shovel-ready" funding.

It's now considering options for a Civic Precinct, including possible use of the current site, and possibilities for the wider "footprint" in the block bounded by Hastings, Vautier, Dalton and Station Sts, also occupied by Ministry of Social Development agencies which are moving into a new building on the northeastern corner of Kennedy and Wellesley Rds.

The council hopes to have proposals ready for some public consultation by the end of the year.

New Regional Council chair Rick Barker said the LTP adoption reinforces the council's commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change. Photo / NZME

The focus of Hawke's Bay Regional Council's LTP adopted yesterday is environmental work, but perhaps the most contentious element is the size of its rates rise.

New council chairman Rick Barker said the adoption triggers the start of a new work programme and "reinforces the commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change".

He said the region has "a legacy of issues" where the environment has had too little investment for too long and the community has let them know it is an urgent priority.

The regional council will invest an extra $10.5m on the services it delivers to the Hawke's Bay region and $14.7m on infrastructure and capital projects in 2021-22.

It also approved a trial of the on-demand public transport plan in Hastings.

There is an overall rate increase of 19.5 per cent for the 2021-22 year, which includes last year's 8.5 per cent increase that was deferred because of Covid-19 and this year's 11 per cent increase.

Hastings District Council adopted its LTP on June 24.

Off-road parking costs rise to $1.50 an hour and on-road parking doubles to $2 an hour.

The upgrade of rural roads is another main focus, with the council increasing funding from $6 million to $11m over six years.

There is a rates increase of 6.9 per cent for the 2021/22 year, 6.4 per cent in 2022/23, 5.7 per cent in 2023/24 and 5.8 per cent in 2024/25 then between 3 and 4 per cent a year between 2025/26 and 2030/31.