Govt's amalgamation plans 'causing quite a lot of chaos' - Selwyn councillors

The government's truncated timeframe for councils to decide on amalgamation plans is bewildering and ridiculous, Selwyn District councillors say.

The Selwyn District Council reduced nine amalgamation options on the table to three at a meeting on Wednesday.

In May, the government gave councils three months to decide how they want local government reorganised or risk having a new structure imposed from Wellington.

Councils have until 9 August to submit amalgamation proposals.

Selwyn District councillors have decided to investigate three options: Selwyn becoming a standalone unitary authority; an amalgamation between Selwyn and Ashburton; and a Greater Christchurch amalgamation between Selwyn, Christchurch and Waimakariri, that could also include Hurunui and Kaikoura.

Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon said the three-month deadline had been significantly challenging.

"If we had the two years we had originally anticipated we would actually end up in quite a different space because we would have an understanding of the RMA reform, what functions we were going to be left with after that is complete, we would have more detailed analysis and potentially some stronger collaboration on potential options," she said.

Gliddon said the district needed to be a part of a proposal, rather than risk its fate being determined by others.

"If we're not at the table we're on the menu and I'm not sure our community wants us to be on the menu. I think that we should be the maker and shaper of our own future."

Gliddon believed Selwyn should not be divided up.

"I don't think that severing off our urban area from our rural is going to give us any positive outcomes. Our community has told us they want Selwyn to remain whole," she said.

Other councillors also hit out at the government over the short timeframe to come up with the amalgamation plans.

"This is an utterly ridiculous process," councillor Sophie McInnes said.

"My biggest lens that I put over most of this is the regional functions and whether we see any of these options actually lasting more than five years. There is way too much information that we don't have to know that which is why it's so ridiculous."

Councillor Denise Carrick said the situation was bewildering.

"There needs to be some pushback at the government, I feel it's an unmandated directive that's causing quite a lot of chaos and a lot of work for people," she said.

Most councillors supported investigating the option of Selwyn becoming a standalone unitary authority and the option of an amalgamation between Selwyn and Ashburton.

The three options will be put to residents for consultation.

Wednesday's decision followed a survey of Selwyn residents which received 6900 responses.

The results showed 46 percent of people wanted the district council to explore both amalgamation with neighbouring councils and becoming a Selwyn-based unitary authority, and about a third wanted to only explore Selwyn becoming a unitary authority.