As part of the Annual Plan 2026/27, Council has carefully reviewed its Fees and Charges, resulting in increases across some areas.
Fees are reviewed annually to ensure transparency and fairness, so those who use services contribute an appropriate share, rather than the cost falling back on rates.
While savings have been found where possible, increasing costs, including inflation, fuel, materials and staffing, mean some adjustments are needed to keep services running at satisfactory levels.
These changes are about balancing affordability with maintaining the services our community relies on.
What’s changing
The following user-pays services have increases in fees:
- Transfer Station (waste disposal) fees
- Wai o Rua – Stratford Aquatic Centre
- Venue hire
- Select Dog Ownership applications - new one-off fee of $45
Transfer Station
The cost of managing waste continues to rise, including transport, processing, landfill charges and compliance requirements. Because of this our fees need to better reflect the true cost of disposal. These increases also bring us up to standard with the rest of the region’s waste disposal costs.
Recycling remains free, which means the cheapest trip to the Transfer Station is a well-sorted one.
Separating your recyclables, green waste and scrap metal can help keep your costs down and reduce what goes to landfill.
For most people, small loads, like a single bag or wheelie bin, will remain relatively low cost, with higher charges applying to larger loads.
Wai o Rua - Stratford Aquatic Centre
Running a modern, year-round indoor aquatic facility is resource heavy. Costs such as energy, chemicals, maintenance and staffing have all increased.
We’ve worked to keep price changes as low as possible, while ensuring the facility remains safe, wellmaintained and open for the community.
Price increases for casual entry range from .50c to $2 more, and Wai o Rua Swim School term costs goes up by $10 for the term ($1 per week), with varying increases across other pool services.
Options like concession cards and family passes continue to offer the best value for our regular users.
Venue Hire
Much like the aquatic centre, the cost to run and maintain our community facilities continues to rise. We’ve made increases in the hire fee to reflect that, helping to keep our venues safe, well-maintained and available for community use for the long-term.
Find out more
These fee increases are about sharing costs fairly, responding to real-world price pressures, and keeping services running well, now and into the future.
The new schedule of fees and charges is available on our website Stratford.govt.nz/Fees and will come into effect on 1 July 2026..
