Ōrākei Local Board adopts three-year plan focused on water quality
Last Updated on August 10, 2026
Ōrākei Local Board has formally adopted its 2023 local board plan, a three-year document that sets out priorities including improving water quality, investigating a targeted rate, and continuing to work closely with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
The plan was confirmed by Auckland Council, which covers the East Auckland area including Ōrākei, Remuera, Meadowbank, St Heliers and Mission Bay. Local board plans are reviewed every three years and guide decisions on local spending, priorities and advocacy to the wider council over that period.
Water quality as a priority
Board chair Scott Milne said the plan reflects what the local community has told the board matters most. Improving the quality of local waterways and beaches features prominently, an issue that has repeatedly come up for residents in a board area with a long coastline stretching from Hobson Bay to St Heliers and Achilles Point.
The council material does not detail specific projects tied to the water quality commitment at this stage, but it is listed as one of the plan’s core features alongside the targeted rate investigation and the partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
Related: Understanding Auckland’s Water Rates: A Local Perspective
Targeted rate under investigation
One of the more concrete steps flagged in the plan is an investigation into a targeted rate. Targeted rates are charges applied to a specific group of ratepayers, often within a defined area, to fund particular projects or services that wouldn’t otherwise be covered by general council funding.
The plan commits the board only to investigating this option rather than adopting it outright, meaning any decision to introduce a targeted rate in the Ōrākei area would require further consultation and a separate decision-making process before ratepayers would see any change to their bills.
Continued partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
The adopted plan also commits the local board to continuing its close working relationship with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, the mana whenua group with historical and ongoing ties to the area. The council material frames this as an existing commitment being carried forward rather than a new initiative.
With the plan now adopted, it will guide the Ōrākei Local Board’s priorities and funding decisions over the coming three years, shaping how it allocates its local budget and what it pushes for in discussions with the wider Auckland Council.
Source: Auckland Council.
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