Almost all residents that took part in the Annual Residents’ Survey for Ashburton District Council perceive that the district is about the same or better as a place to live than it was three years ago.

Although Council’s provision and maintenance of recreation and leisure activities and facilities, opportunities for grants and funding, community events, social services and economic development continue to be very strong areas of performance, satisfaction levels around the roading network decreased significantly.

Council’s overall performance dipped by eight points to 66 per cent in 2022 compared to 74 per cent in 2021.

Chief Executive Hamish Riach said it was disappointing to see a drop in overall satisfaction.

“But we can see a clear link between how people feel about roads and our overall performance, and we’re committed to addressing the issue of our battered and ageing roading network.

“Council has allocated $1.7 million from the forestry reserve to a work programme which will allow us to rehabilitate key roads, rather than trying to hold poor sections of pavement together with short term repairs.”

Satisfaction with sealed roads decreased 14 points to 24 per cent satisfaction and unsealed roads by seven points to 46 per cent over the past year. “Too many potholes” was stated as a main concern of those surveyed.

“Not only is our roading network the fifth largest in New Zealand, but it is heavily used. When you add the increasing frequency of extreme weather events into the mix, it leaves us with a hefty challenge,” Mr Riach said.

The issue isn’t just confined to the Ashburton District.

“Adverse weather events are badly affecting roading networks right across the country. Water is the enemy of roads and having some of the wettest months on record is certainly taking its toll.”

According to Key Research, who produced the Residents’ Survey, councils across New Zealand have seen overall satisfaction levels trend downward over the last year.

Satisfaction with the Ashburton council’s building services and council staff also dipped.

Mr Riach said those drops were likely related to the current building boom, with staff struggling to meet timeframes for consents, and council’s mandates around Covid-19 and vaccination.

Overall, residents were most satisfied with the public library service, cemeteries, and Ashburton Domain, with a significant increase noted in satisfaction with playgrounds.

Satisfaction with rubbish and recycling has improved with more than eight in 10 residents (85%) satisfied.

The 2021/22 Annual Residents' Survey was conducted on a representative cross-section of the community and was carried out in four stages throughout the year, both online and in hard copy. The sample size of the survey was 871 people across the the district with a margin of error of +/- 3.32%.

The Annual Residents' Survey can be viewed on our website Annual Residents' Survey | Ashburton DC