February update: Mayoral Forum

The Canterbury Mayoral Forum met at the Commodore Hotel in Christchurch on 20 February 2026 to discuss regional priorities, central government reforms, infrastructure planning, climate adaptation, and strategic planning for Canterbury.

Meeting documents

Download: Board Pack for Canterbury Mayoral Forum 20 February 2026 (PDF 27MB)
Download: Canterbury Mayoral Forum unconfirmed draft minutes 20 February 2026 (PDF 655KB)

These documents provide detailed information on discussions, decisions, and regional initiatives.

Key agenda items and discussions

The Canterbury Mayoral Forum submissions to central government legislative reforms affecting local government:

A discussion with Sir Brian Roche, Public Service Commissioner on a range of central government matters of particular interest to local government, including:

Canterbury Mayoral Forum Plan 2026–2028

Confirming the draft vision, priorities and actions for the Mayoral Forum Plan for Canterbury for the 2026-2028 triennium.

The full draft plan will be bought to the May Mayoral Forum meeting for adoption. It will then be available on the Canterbury Mayoral Forum website.

Regional spatial planning and Canterbury Water Management Strategy

An update on the preparatory work that is underway to enable Canterbury to be ready to meet proposed statutory obligations and time frames for preparation of a regional spatial plan as required under the draft Planning Bill.

The forum also received an update on the October to December 2025 region wide work underway to implement the Canterbury Water Management Strategy, noting the progress on establishment of local leadership groups and potential options for the future focus for the groups.

Climate adaptation and emissions reduction planning

A progress report on the implementation of the Canterbury Climate Partnership Plan, noting work on a regional natural and climate hazards inventory, options for tools to assist councils to support climate adaptation and resilience planning and a report on Emissions Reduction -transition risks and opportunities.

Regional energy strategy and infrastructure planning

An update on the Regional Energy workstream including the draft Regional Energy Strategic Framework, and the targeted engagement that has been undertaken with stakeholders, mana whenua and community groups

The forum also received a presentation from Infrastructure New Zealand and Simpson Grierson on their “Connecting Canterbury: Strengthening Infrastructure for Growth” White Paper.

Key discussion points included:

Canterbury’s growing economy presents opportunities and challenges for infrastructure in the region, which was the impetus for the paper.
Discussion noted the suggested move from project by project of working to a more integrated approach to infrastructure with coordinated actions.
An example provided in the White Paper was the opportunity to work together on replacing and future-proofing bridges and culverts across Canterbury.
It was agreed that this is a worthwhile piece of work that sets up a good platform, and we need to work together to progress the ideas included in the Paper.

Regional deal preparation with central government

An update on preparatory work for a future regional deal with central government, with terms of reference for a Governance and Working Group to oversee and progress this work.