Rotorua: Consultation open on draft annual plan, Local Water Done Well delivery options

The Rotorua Night Market and how to pay for the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme are among items up for consultation. Composite photo / NZME

Rotorua Lakes Council’s draft annual plan and future water service delivery options are up for consultation on its new feedback website.

Participate, or Whakapuakina Mai, replaced the council’s Let’s Talk or Korero Mai page, and is aimed to improve public engagement opportunities.

The first items for consultation are its draft Annual Plan 2025/2026 and how water services should be delivered under Local Water Done Well, both open until May 5.

Annual plan feedback is sought on issues including how the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme should be funded and whether changes should be made to the Rotorua Night Market, such as location and frequency.

The draft Annual Plan includes:

• an average general rates increase of 7.95%
• a capital works programme of $145m
• borrowing of $41 million

Rotorua's council is consulting on water service delivery options. Photo / Laura Smith

Local Water Done Well, the coalition Government’s plan to address New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges, replaced the previous Government’s Three Waters Reform.

Councils need to submit water services delivery plans for review by September 3, and consultation focuses on the “how” of delivery.

Council infrastructure and environment group manager Stavros Michael previously said the plan needed to identify the present level of services, meet quality standards, be financially sustainable and support housing growth and urban development.

The preferred option was in-house delivery until mid-2028 when it would switch to a CCO delivery, either by itself or with other councils.

This option would enable a higher borrowing limit for water services and balance sheet capacity for other council services.

It would undertake a detailed study of a joint-council option with a decision on which way it will go in late 2026 or early 2027.

The second option was to continue in-house delivery and not investigate a CCO.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist since 2019.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.