Whau Local Board

In 2025/2026 we plan to invest $24 million in capital spend to renew and develop our assets (resources we own). We also plan to invest $22.5 million to maintain and operate these assets and deliver local activities (operating spend).

These amounts include $3.4 million extra operating spend and $3.6 million extra capital spend as part of the council's 'fairer funding for local boards' model as set out in the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 (10-year budget).

However, we might need to use some of these extra funds to cover unavoidable increases to the costs of existing services.

Key areas of spend for 2025/2026

Areas of spend	Planned capital spend	Planned operating spend
Community services	$24 million	$20 million
Environmental services	Does not apply	$200,000
Planning services	Does not apply	$1.1 million
Governance	Does not apply	$1.2 million
Total	$24 million	$22.5 million

What we propose for the Whau Local Board area in 2025/2026

In the 2025/2026 financial year, we plan to:

• provide funding to restore service levels that were cut in recent years for things like:
  • library opening hours
  • community programmes
  • community grants
• increase service levels in our parks and town centres including progressing Te Hono project in Avondale
• plan for a future aquatic and recreation centre in Whau, and provide public access to school pools until the centre opens
• work with local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) through arts events and 'beautification' projects to improve the appearance of town centres and make them more vibrant and welcoming
• continue to support volunteers, the community and businesses to take part in environmental and ecological initiatives around:
  • the Manukau Harbour foreshore
  • the Whau River and the smaller rivers and streams that run into it
  • our urban ngahere (forests)
• encourage more people to get involved with the community and improve their skills at community hubs and houses, and with established community partners
• make progress on a new community hub development in Fruitvale
• help our community become more:
  • aware of climate change
  • aware of how to prepare for an emergency
  • resilient to climate emergencies
• look into providing a space where young people can connect, including a youth coordinator to support and promote 'for youth by youth' events
• provide options for healthy, active lifestyles through recreation in parks and open spaces, with a focus on our ethnically diverse communities, women and girls.

You should know

The information on this page is an edited version of the proposed Annual Plan 2025/2026.

For more information, see section 1.21 of the Annual Plan Supporting Information Document [PDF 7.7MB].