December will bring some big discussions and decisions that will set the new direction for Selwyn District.

Mayor Lydia Gliddon acknowledged the new council faces some difficult conversations that will shape the next annual plan and flow into the long-term plan.

Gliddon won the mayoralty by a landslide victory with a promise to trim back its rate rises.

The council is now taking deep dives into council business, which will conclude with briefings on specific projects and an initial look at the draft annual plan budget.

A lot of it will be more directive than decision making, Gliddon said.

The project specific and budget briefings will be for councillors “to give direction to staff” ahead of workshopping the draft annual plan early next year.

“It’s not saying a yes or a no, but providing our feedback on what we would like to see happen.”

The long-term plan forecast a 13.3% rate increase, something the new council is intent on lowering.

Staff have already signalled there is a potential 11% of savings to made.

READ MORE: Council staff find up to $18m of savings

There are also some big capital projects in the works - decisions made by the former council - that the new-look council wants to examine in detail before they proceed.

At the recent infrastructure and property councillor briefing session, councilors were informed on the capital projects including the new district park and the Leeston medical centre and library building.

The planned new $28.5m district park in Rolleston is in the design phase, with the plans to be made public in early 2026.

The councillors will discuss the plans at a briefing in December.

Following public consultation on the master plans and final design, the parks construction is slated to start in early 2027.

The council bought the 99 hectare block of land on the northern side of Rolleston, east of SH1, for around $8.3m in 2016.

Around 35 hectares is planned to be developed in phase 1 for an estimated $28.5m.

Of that, $24.9m (87%) will be funded from development contributions and the other $3.7m (13%) will be loan funded and repaid from the reserve targeted rate.

Head of asset management Murray England estimated the operational costs for the park would be around $590,000, including the interest on the loan.

He told the councillors the new park is “critical for meeting demands for our sports and recreation”.

A report will also come before the council in December on the Leeston medical centre and library building.

England said the report will cover “what we do next”, and will include background information, condition assessment, and potential options.

The library part of the building was closed in March after it was found to have substantial water ingress issues in the roof area.

The medical centre remains in operation but requires remediation work on health and safety issues, including needing earthquake strengthening, touted as a possible $1.9m fix up.

The project is intrinsically linked to Whata Rau, the proposed new $16m multi-purpose Leeston community facility.

In 2021 it was an $8.9m project with construction originally scheduled to start in 2023 at Lesston Park.

As the project progressed, increased construction costs and inflation pushed up the project costs and then land remediation issues were also discovered that needed to be fixed.

Following further consultation in 2024, due to the cost escalations, the council agreed to push ahead with plans to build Whata Rau with a new project construction budget of $16.1m.

Work on the new Malvern Recreation Facility in Darfield is also scheduled to start in 2026/27 with the plans and costs likely to be further scrutinised by the new council.

Gliddon has previously stated they will go through the budgets line by line and are planning to consult the public on the 2026/27 annual plan.

By Jonathan Leask