Council tops resident satisfaction survey

Nelson City Council has once again come out on top, achieving the highest resident satisfaction score of 21 councils surveyed nationwide for the second consecutive year.

Council has been conducting a Residents’ Survey to better understand Nelson’s views of its services regularly since 1997. The survey provides an important snapshot of community sentiment, and the results are used to improve Council’s understanding of the community’s views and inform service delivery.

Key Research carries out the Residents’ Survey and also releases a Benchmarking Report, which compares city and district councils around the country that use the same survey methodology. This year, 21 councils were compared.

According to the 2024/25 Benchmarking Report, Nelson City Council’s overall resident satisfaction rate was 59%. The average satisfaction rate among the councils surveyed was 41%.

Nelson was ranked the top council overall for transport, most transport-related measures, and kerbside recycling collection, and scored above the benchmark average for engagement and consultation, three waters infrastructure, flood protection, and parks and recreation.

Mayor Nick Smith says having the Residents’ Survey at the first Council meeting was good intel to start the new term.

“Council’s job is to serve our 53,000 residents and this survey provides invaluable information on where we are doing well and where we need to improve. It also enables us to compare with previous results in Nelson and benchmark our performance against other councils.

“It is heartening to have an overall satisfaction rate of 59%, amongst our best ever. This was the top result in NZ and compares with an average of councils surveyed nationally of just 41%. This reflects widespread disgruntlement with councils, the difficult economic conditions and pressures over the cost of living.”

The Residents’ Survey showed overall dissatisfaction rates remained low at 15%, and most services measured either improved or held steady compared with last year. Key satisfaction rate highlights from the 2024/25 results include:

• Kerbside recycling collection: 84%
• Museums, heritage buildings and galleries (users): 80%
• Recycling services at the Nelson Waste Recovery Centre: 77% (up from 65%)
• Libraries (users): 76% (up from 70%)
• Parks and recreation: 74%

Chief Executive Nigel Philpott says steady survey results provide a positive platform for Council’s ongoing improvement work.

“Our teams are committed to delivering reliable, high-quality services, and it’s encouraging to see that reflected in this year’s survey. But we also know there is more to do.

“In the analysis of the satisfaction rates, levels of importance, and written comments, residents highlighted three waters, flood protection, and the natural environment among their areas of higher concern. This feedback gives us a clearer understanding of where the gaps are and will be invaluable as we look more deeply into customer experience through the Shaping Our Future programme.”

Areas such as Council’s climate change response and opportunities for community input were among the areas with the lowest satisfaction rates. While both saw an improvement on last year’s results, these are areas which are of importance to our community and these results will be considered by staff.

The full Residents’ Survey 2024/25 Results report is available here. The 2025/26 survey is currently underway.