The purpose of this plan is to provide a strategic and high level operational framework for the continued delivery of emergency management over the next ten years. It incorporates a Civil Defence Strategy, an Activity Management Plan and a Work Programme for the Emergency Management Unit. It also highlights the relationships that exist between Timaru District Council and our partner agencies in Emergency Management, as well as the valuable integration and commitment of community volunteers in delivering emergency response.This plan will provide direction to maintain sustainable levels of service in Emergency Management and acknowledges requirements for continuous improvement in relation to changes in current best practice for both Civil Defence and Local Government. These changes may result from lessons learned during and after emergency events, or at the direction of either the Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Joint Committee, Corporate direction from within Timaru District Council or from feedback and suggestions from CD volunteers or our communities themselves.

• Part 1 is the Civil Defence Strategy and covers the strategic direction and higher level operational arrangements that link what we deliver locally with our obligations outlined in the Canterbury CDEM Group Plan and as such is also defined by the four ‘R’s of emergency management; Reduction, Readiness, Response and Recovery.
• Part 2 is the Activity Management Plan and describes what activities are going to be undertaken to comply with the relevant legislation and provide a specific Level of Service (LoS) for their delivery It includes overall objectives, targets to be achieved, monitoring, evaluation and financial breakdown to achieve those targets.
• Part 3 is the Civil Defence Work Programme that is designed to deliver on those activities described in Part 2 and incorporates the objectives and targets from the Canterbury CDEM Group Plan. As such it becomes the one-stop-shop for CDEM delivery in our district.

Ideally there will be a correlation between the Long Term Plan (LTP) deliverables and those determined by the Canterbury CDEM Plan, identifying the gaps that do exist between mandated requirements for emergency response and the services that are currently being delivered from staffed and volunteer networks. As such it also provides an opportunity to review community (and legislative) requirements and structure the delivery according to the risk, the need and the available resource.As this plan is primarily a strategic framework it does not include lower level operational (day to day) activities unless significant funding is required for maintaining the mandated level of service, in which case the details are provided in Part 2 as part of the justification for additional funding. Action Points identified during the development of this plan are highlighted and are added to the Action Points from the CDEM Group Plan (if not already covered) in Appendix D.

Due to the confidential nature of community response, CD Team arrangements and contact details are not included in this document, but are detailed in Special Operating Procedures held by each CD Team and/or in the Timaru District Council offices. However, as determined by the CDEM Act 2002 and the LG Act 2002, this Plan is a public document.

The intention is to update this plan every three years as part of the Long Term Plan (LTP) process, at which time full public consultation occurs. Additional changes may be required as a result of changes in either legislation or the Canterbury CDEM Group Plan, at which time additional public consultation may occur if the change is considered significant.

Additional feedback is always welcomed from volunteers and partner agencies within the CDEM sector in a ‘business as usual’ sense, and is most likely to occur following event response or emergency exercising with partner agencies. These changes are also incorporated into both strategic and operational planning documents where appropriate.

Last updated: 24 Feb 2021