The provision and maintenance of the open spaces in Ashburton district is currently delivered by an in-house team, which provides the full range of cemetery, parks and recreation, and public convenience services under the collective umbrella of “open space”.
A service delivery review is a process of determining whether the existing means for delivering a service remains the most efficient, effective and appropriate means for delivering that service. Section 17A of the Local Government Act 2002 requires that a service delivery review should periodically assess “the cost-effectiveness of current arrangements for meeting the needs of communities within its district or region for good quality local infrastructure, local public services and performance of regulatory functions”.
Our review considered the costs of providing open space activities of public conveniences, cemeteries and open space at present at a high level and has compared these costs with other territorial authorities who provide services via a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) or outsourced model. It considered the costs and benefits of each option and found that the current option of providing services in-house is the most cost effective option at present across all three areas of activity.
In addition this review considered current operating practices and compared these against best practice. This has enabled a range of business improvement projects to be identified including some areas of significant risk which need to be prioritised for implementation.
