Horizons Regional Council

Horizons Regional Council At Horizons Regional Council we work to make our region a great place to live, work and play. We're here to share information relevant to our work.

Our region extends over 22,200km2 - from Ruapehu in the north and Horowhenua in the south, to Whanganui in the west and Tararua in the east. It’s a landscape as vast and varied as the nearly 250,000 people who call it home. Horizons' responsibilities include ensuring sustainable use of our region’s natural resources, leading regional land transport planning, contracting passenger transport service

s and coordinating our region's response to natural disasters. This social media page is coordinated and moderated by the friendly team at Horizons Region Council. We will do our best to respond to your queries, comments and (constructive) feedback. Our channels are monitored during normal business hours and we endeavour to respond to all enquiries within one business day. If you require an immediate response, please contact us on toll-free number 0508 800 800. For more information about what we do and how we can help, visit www.horizons.govt.nz

See our social media guidelines here:

https://www.horizons.govt.nz/about-our-region-and-council/terms-conditions

🤯 It's the Moutoa Floodgates 🤯Now that we've got your attention, we've got two important pieces of news to share.🤑 On 30...
12/06/2026

🤯 It's the Moutoa Floodgates 🤯

Now that we've got your attention, we've got two important pieces of news to share.

🤑 On 30 June your councillors will be signing off the Annual Plan (aka the thing which confirms the rates for the coming years). Last month, councillors made decisions which put us on track for some new work, such as increased possum control, funding for Ashhurst school bus services, as well as inflation, depreciation and legislated changes to KiwiSaver contributions. We'll be live streaming the meeting on 30 June, so tune in via our page to see the rubber stamping take place*.

🔭 Your councillors are after feedback on their draft strategic framework for the 2027-37 Long-term Plan. The framework is the lens councillors look through when deciding what goes into the plan. The framework includes a vision, strategic priorities and community outcomes. Each informs the other, making sure the Long-term Plan is cohesive and aligned to deliver what the community wants and needs from Horizons. We'll put a link in the comments to where you can find out more about the Long-term Plan and draft strategic framework.

📸 Photo taken earlier this year during a flood event. Yes, we know, we used a classic bait-and-switch to get you to read about stuff like the Annual Plan and Long-term Plan.

*Can't promise anyone will actually have a rubber stamp 🤷‍♂️

📢 Exciting news! We're expanding our air quality monitoring network.This week, we'll be installing air quality sensors t...
07/06/2026

📢 Exciting news! We're expanding our air quality monitoring network.

This week, we'll be installing air quality sensors throughout Palmerston North. If you're in the city, you may start noticing small white sensors with solar panels appearing on lamp posts around the city. These devices measure tiny airborne particles (particulate matter) to help us better understand air quality patterns across the city.

🙈 These sensors don’t record video, audio, or any personal information; your privacy is fully protected.
🙉 They are quiet, unobtrusive, and have no lights or screens.
💩 They don’t detect the particulate matter which may be present in your farts – even the really smelly ones.
🗓️ Sensors will be in place until October 2026 or so.
👷We’ll only visit sensors to install, remove, or fix them if needed.
👍 There are no specific air quality concerns in the areas where sensors are placed. We've picked the installation locations simply to give us good coverage of the city.

This project is part of our work with the Air Quality Collective to build a clearer picture of air quality across the Horizons Region and identify any areas that may need closer attention in the future.

⬇️ Put any questions you may have in the comments, and we’ll do our best to answer them.

04/06/2026

Ever heard us talk about ‘poles’ and not sure what we’re on about? 🤷

Or maybe you've ordered poles from us before and pondered about the journey they took to get to your property? 🤔

Since pole season has just kicked off, we thought it was the perfect time to share a bit more of the behind the scenes process. 👀

Sara, one of our Land Management Advisors (LMA), explains the journey our poles take, from growing up in our nurseries, all the way to being planted on-farm. 🌳

Poles are a key erosion prevention measure, helping keep soil on hills and out of waterways to protect your valuable land and improve water quality for everyone. As such, they form a big part of our Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) programme. 💧🪏

➡️ If you’re interested in learning a bit more about poles, including which varieties best suit the needs of your land and who to get in touch with to order some, check out our website here: https://www.horizons.govt.nz/managing-natural-resources/land

If you’re heading to Foxton Beach today, you’ll notice we have a team here with a lot of equipment - but don’t panic! We...
02/06/2026

If you’re heading to Foxton Beach today, you’ll notice we have a team here with a lot of equipment - but don’t panic! We’re just running our annual marine oil spill exercise. 🌊

In case you didn’t know, part of our responsibility as a regional council involves responding to marine oil spills in our rohe. To do that effectively, we’ve got to make sure our crew is up to speed on how to work the equipment and what to do if an oil spill were to happen. ⚓️

Today, we’re practising to respond to a fishing vessel that’s run aground along the coast and has leaked oil into the surf. 🚢

Our team are practising with the equipment, deploying it into the water and conducting aerial reconnaissance of the area to see where the oil would have spread. We’ve also got a team of civil defence trained staff running a mock emergency operations centre on site, to fully simulate how a response like this would be run.

It might look like an overreaction, but making the scenario as realistic as possible means our team is as prepared as they can be for when a similar incident happens for real. 👍

02/06/2026

PLANTING DAY OPPORTUNITY | Get involved!

Are you free this Saturday and want to make a difference for your community? This is your chance! See details below 👇

If you haven't already - check out our Connecting Conservation newsletter that comes out four times a year 🌳 Here you wi...
28/05/2026

If you haven't already - check out our Connecting Conservation newsletter that comes out four times a year 🌳

Here you will find:

🧭 Inspiring stories from the field

🛠️ Practical resources to support your mahi

📅 Upcoming events to get involved in

💰 Funding opportunities currently open for applications

➡️ To read our May edition head to https://bit.ly/4afRSoW

25/05/2026

Watch a live stream of the next Regional Council meeting from 9:30am, Tuesday 26 May, on our page.

Notable items on the agenda include confirmation of the budget for the 2026/27 Annual Plan, River Management Capital Projects for the coming year, and Horizons' annual greenhouse gas emissions and emission reduction update.

If you’re unable to watch the live stream, you can watch a full recording any time straight after the meeting on this page, or on our website the following day.

Any past videos are also uploaded and can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/6192962

➡️ Go to https://bit.ly/49os5up to read the agenda and supporting documents in full.

Address

11 Victoria Avenue
Palmerston North
4410

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+64508800800

Website

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