20/07/2026
Have your say!
Residents will be asked which things they consider most important when considering how Canterbury councils could be organised in the future.
On 5 May, the Government announced the Head Start Pathway, giving councils until 9 August to submit voluntary proposals for local government amalgamation within their region.
Since then, we have been exploring a wide range of options for the re-organisation of local government, using an evidence-based approach.
This work has included discussions with other councils, the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, mana whenua, communities and stakeholders.
Three key organising principles have been identified via this process to help assess potential local government arrangements.
The principles are:
- How we work, live and grow
- How water and rivers flow
- Scale, capability and capacity
The following options based on these principles were presented to the elected Council yesterday:
- Christchurch alone – a Christchurch unitary authority within existing district boundaries, adding regional functions to today's council.
- Greater metro area – Christchurch plus the connected urban towns of Selwyn and - Waimakariri (Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Rolleston, Lincoln).
- Christchurch plus Selwyn -– the city joined with the whole of Selwyn District, keeping Selwyn intact.
- Christchurch plus Selwyn and Waimakariri -– the city joined with the whole of both districts, keeping both intact
- All of Canterbury – a single unitary authority across the region, same footprint as Environment Canterbury today.
A public survey will open later this week until Sunday 26 July. More information on Christchurch City Council’s response to the Government’s direction is available at ccc.govt.nz/headstartpathway.
