Ashburton councillors will weigh up eight amalgamation scenarios for the district on Wednesday as the Government's reform deadline ticks down.

The Canterbury Mayoral Forum is set to meet on Friday to continue its discussion on exploring a regional approach to developing a proposal.

Councils have just two months remaining to put forward options for mergers under the Government's Head Start process.

Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan said councillors will be considering a report on the region's options, alongside the results of an online survey about the reform process that had 371 responses.

The council will need to decide on its favoured options, which include rural Selwyn, south Canterbury, rural Waimakariri and Hurunui.

Joining with Christchurch is not mentioned in any of the scenarios, but the report alludes to the formation of a Greater Christchurch Council.

McMillan said community feedback indicated that views on reform were mixed, but it was clear residents wanted to maintain a strong local voice and representation, and reliable core services.

“We’ll consider the eight merger options on Wednesday and which ones could be progressed, and if we will further engage with the community.

“At a Canterbury level, mayors are still all talking about what is the best approach for the region and the Canterbury Mayoral Forum will meet again soon.”

Ashburton’s options in the report include:

• Ashburton District Unitary – single unitary authority covering the existing Ashburton district
• Mid Canterbury Unitary – single unitary authority covering Ashburton and Selwyn districts
• Rangitata south to Rakaia north – single unitary authority covering Ashburton district, Rangitata south (including Geraldine) and Rakaia north
• Rangitata south to rural Selwyn - single unitary authority covering Ashburton district, Rangitata south (including Geraldine) and rural Selwyn (excluding Rolleston, Lincoln, Tai Tapu etc)
• Southern/Mid Canterbury – single unitary authority covering Ashburton District, Waimate District, Mackenzie District, Timaru District
• Waitaki to Ashburton – single unitary authority covering Ashburton District, Timaru District, Waimate District, Mackenzie District and Waitaki District
• Provincial Mid-North Canterbury – single unitary authority covering Ashburton District, Hurunui District, rural areas of both the Waimakariri and Selwyn Districts
• Provincial Canterbury (excluding Greater Christchurch) – single unitary authority covering Ashburton District, Timaru District, Waimate District, Mackenzie District, Kaikoura District, Hurunui District, Rural parts of Waimakariri and Selwyn Districts.

The report delves into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each option and grades them for ‘Headstart Eligibility Criteria Alignment’.

Three options – the catchment based arrangement (Rangitata South to Rural Selwyn), Southern-Mid Canterbury Unitary, and Provincial Mid-North Canterbury Unitary all graded 4.5 out of 5.

The Mid Canterbury Unitary (Ashburton and Selwyn) graded 4.

The Selwyn District opened its survey last week that has had over 4600 responses.

Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon, alongside Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger and Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon, met with Local Government Minister Simon Watts to discuss the reforms last week.

Gliddon said her key takeaway from the meeting was “while structures are important, the focus must remain on outcomes for our communities”.

“Any proposal needs to demonstrate not only how councils will be organised, but how residents will be better served, how local voices will be heard, and how communities can continue to thrive into the future.”

Selwyn officials also held talks with the Ashburton District Council.

Further north, Waimakariri is consulting it community on three options.

Its option A is a Waimakariri as a Unitary Council, which it concedes is “not currently an option under the proposed framework”.

Its other options are a North Canterbury Unitary Council with either or both Hurunui and Kaikōura districts, or a Greater Christchurch Unitary Council - joining Christchurch and potentially Selwyn.

By Jonathan Leask