The annual Wellington Residents Monitoring Survey results are in and while there are many positives, there is some room for improvement, says Wellington City Council.
In February 2023, Council gathered feedback from residents through its annual residents survey. More than 2,000 people responded, covering a wide range of topics from city perceptions to satisfaction with facilities and services, and views on governance.
Results were fairly stable between 2022 and 2023, with 79% saying Wellington is a great place to live, work and play, and there are high levels of satisfaction with facilities (pools, recreation centres, community facilities), open and green spaces (parks, waterfront, and the Botanic Gardens), arts and culture events and opportunities in the city, and some key services like kerbside rubbish and recycling.
Governance perceptions, including Council decision-making processes, opportunities to participate in decision making, and decisions being made in the best interest of Wellington have seen a slight improvement since 2022.
The survey is an important resource in helping to make better and informed decisions based on what residents are saying, says Mayor Tory Whanau.
“While the responses show the Council has areas to improve on, it’s great to see four out of five Wellingtonians surveyed agree the capital is a great place to live, work and play,” she said.
“Pōneke has faced numerous challenges over recent years, but we’re starting to see signs of recovery with consumer spending up, tourism bouncing back, business confidence growing, and there’s a lot of development activity around the city.
“There are also very high levels of satisfaction across our facilities and for work in the arts and culture space, as well as improved perceptions around the recognition and visibility of Māori culture and te Reo in the city, and better communication and engagement levels.
“There are still some poor results including a decreased sense of pride in our city, and safety concerns in the CBD at night. These are concerns we need to focus on and have set as priorities in our upcoming Long-term Plan. That includes revitalising our city, fixing infrastructure, and ensuring our communities feel safe and connected.”
The Mayor said major projects that will also help to contribute positively to the city’s future include Te Matapihi Central Library, the Town Hall, a new sludge minimisation plant, the cycle lane network, and the Omāroro water reservoir.
Since the survey was completed earlier in the year, tourism spending in Wellington is up 40%, 231,000 people attended the nine matches at Sky Stadium for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and more than 65,000 have already been to an event at Tākina.
Read the full survey report here.
