Table of Contents 1 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT ................................................................................................ 1 2 HOW WE VIEW THE DISTRICT......................................................................................... 1 3 OUR PEOPLE........................................................................................................................... 2 4 OUR COMMUNITY ................................................................................................................ 5 5 THE DYNAMICS OF OUR ECONOMY............................................................................. 11 6 THE VALUES PEOPLE PLACE ON OUR NATURAL RESOURCES........................... 18 7 THE QUALITY OF OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.................................................. 20 8 THE EFFECTS OF NATURAL PROCESSES ON OUR ACTIVITIES........................... 26 9 THE QUALITY OF OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT ......................................................... 29 10 THE VALUES THE COMMUNITY PLACES ON OUR HERITAGE ............................ 30 11 THE SOLID WASTE (RUBBISH) OUR COMMUNITY GENERATES ......................... 30 12 OUR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.......................................................................... 32 Introduction 1 Purpose of the Report 1.1 There are many elements that, combined, make Wanganui District what it is and shape its unique character. Our people, our businesses, our natural environment, our city and rural areas, our farmlands all help define who we are and provide us with opportunities to live, work and spend our spare time. 1.2 This report has been prepared to help us understand the condition of our District. It brings together information to provide a snapshot picture of how we are doing right now. From this report we can begin to see where we, as a community, are doing well and where things could be improved. 1.3 This report will be developed and produced regularly as a summary document for all the information collected about the state of our District. At the same time other more detailed reporting is likely to be happening, reflecting the specific legislative and other needs of the agencies involved in our community. 1.4 Ultimately all this state-of-the-District monitoring and reporting will assist decision- makers in the community to make informed decisions about our resources and to improve the well-being of our community and our environment. 2 How we view the District 2.1 Here is a diagram of the elements that contribute to our District’s well-being. These provide a framework for the information contained in this report. General Wellbeing Economic Social Environmental 1 The Social Elements of Our District 3 Our People 3.1 Understanding the people of Wanganui enables us to look critically at ourselves as a community. We get a measure of how healthy and vibrant the community is. Where we identify problems we can start to work toward change. 3.2 A healthy, vibrant community makes Wanganui socially attractive and a pleasant place to live in and visit. It also makes Wanganui attractive to others who might want to come and live here. If we can achieve feelings of confidence in the community, we can avoid the negative effects that can occur when confidence is low. Our demographics 3.3 Understanding changes and trends in our population allows us to see potential issues facing the community – health and housing standards, for example. It also gives us information about future resource needs, such as likely future housing or education pressures. A growing, youthful population needs more facilities like schools, hospitals and police. A declining population, or an ageing population, creates different resource pressures, such as specialised health care facilities and improved disability access into public areas. Most of us live in the City …. 3.4 Wanganui’s population is around 44,000. About 9% of people in the District live outside the Wanganui urban area. We are declining in numbers and our population is ageing …. 3.5 Wanganui District population has grown in the last 30 years, but at a relatively slow rate. This had slowed down to only 0.6% between 1991 and 1996. Between 1996 and 2001 the population declined by just under 4%. 3.6 Between 1996 and 2001 the largest growth (5%) was in the 40 years and over age group. The 0-19 years age group dropped by over 6% during this same period. The 20-39 years age group lost 15%. 3.7 Wanganui District has a higher percentage of people 50 years and older than the national average. In 1986, 27% of the Wanganui population was 50 years and older, compared with the national average of 24%. By 2001, 31% of the Wanganui population was in this age group, compared with 28% nationally. 3.8 The over-65 years age group made up just above 16% of the total Wanganui population in 2001. In the rest of New Zealand 12% of the population was 65 and over. 3.9 The under-five years age group has declined slightly over the past few years, at about 7% of the total population. This is the same as the national population. More of us are living alone …. 3.10 Households are changing in Wanganui, with more people living alone. In 1986, 22% of Wanganui households had a single occupant. By 1996 this group was nearly 26% of households and in 2001 it had risen to just under 28%. This compares with 23% of households nationally being single-occupant. This increase in people living alone may be related to the ageing population. 2 A higher proportion of the Wanganui population is Maori than in NZ generally…. 3.11 The percentage of Maori in the population is growing. In 1986, 15% of the Wanganui population was Maori. By 1996 18% were Maori, especially young Maori, and in 2001 almost 21% were Maori. This is higher than the national average. In 2001, Maori made up fewer than 15% of the total New Zealand population. Maori Population 25% 20% 21% 15% 18% 15% 10% 5% 0% 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 3.12 In 2001, 13% of Maori were under 5 years and almost 4% were 65 years or older. At the same time 5.5% of non-Maori were under 5 years and 19% were 65 years or over. The health of our people 3.13 The physical health of individuals is an indicator of the well-being of the community generally and can show where problems exist. Poor health can lead to reduced personal enjoyment of life. Health problems can also put significant economic pressures on the community. How healthy are we? 3.14 According to a report released in January 2000 by Good Health Wanganui and the Wanganui District Council, our area has hospital admission rates higher than the national average. In particular, we do not do well in rates of injuries (fractures, motor vehicle accidents, poisoning etc), cancers, asthma, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and osteoarthritis. We are below the national average, though, for heart disease admissions and slightly below for diabetes-related admissions. 3.15 Admissions to the Wanganui hospital have increased in recent years. Between 1996 and 1998, total Good Health Wanganui patients increased by 11%, with “in-patients” (those that stay longer than 24 hours) decreasing and day patients increasing. Emergency attendances increased by 10% over that time, with outpatients dropping slightly. 3.16 A higher proportion of Maori are admitted to the public hospital than their proportion of the total population. Almost 40% of all acute admissions for children aged 0 to 4 years are Maori. Maori have high admission rates for acute respiratory infections and other infectious diseases, asthma and conditions related to pregnancy and birth. Non-Maori have higher rates of cancer, heart disease, other circulatory disorders, blood diseases (e.g. anaemia) and chronic degenerative conditions. 3.17 The hospital waiting list dropped by nearly 22% between 1997 and 1998, to 1791 in 1998. 3 Our leisure and recreation activities 3.18 Active participation in leisure and recreation activities is an indicator of a community’s health. Active participation encourages communication between people from different cultures and backgrounds, improves how they feel about themselves and their community and generally improves their physical and mental well-being. So, how active are we? 3.19 Many team sports in the District report declining numbers of participants, although some individual sports numbers are increasing. Notable increases include golf club membership (up 9% between 2001 and 2002), tennis club membership (up 16% for the same period) and Masters Games participants (a 70% increase between 1993 and 2002). 3.20 Halberg Sports (sport opportunities for school children with disabilities) has experienced a 142% increase in participants between 2001 and 2002. There were 208 participants in 2002. 3.21 The use of swimming pools in the City has remained roughly the same between 1999 and 2002 (around 25,000 at Wanganui East and 145,000 at the Splash Centre). The Gonville pool has experienced maintenance difficulties since the 2000-01 season, which is reflected in attendance numbers. 3.22 Visitor numbers to the Sarjeant Art Gallery have steadily increased, with a 7% increase between 2001 and 2002. School and other learning visits to the Gallery have increased by 17% over the same time. While the Art Gallery has had more visitors, fewer people are attending performances at the Opera House (an 18% decline between 2001 and 2002). Theatre attendance is up at both Amdram and Repertory by a combined 31% (2001 to 2002). Numbers visiting Museum exhibitions have declined by 16% for the same period. 3.23 The Wanganui Arts Festival was held four times between 1998 and 2004. The 1998 festival included 16 events, with 5,220 people attending. In 2000, there were 27 events with 16,000 attendances. The number of events decreased to 22 in 2002 but attendance held at 14,192. In 2004 the number of events continued to decrease (19) but attendance increased with 16,151 people attending. 3.24 Between 2000 and 2002 the number of library books issued has declined slightly (2%), from 745,047 in 2000 to 732,731 in 2002. The number of cardholders has dropped by 4% over the same period.