What do you need to do today?
Pay your rates, check your bin day, report a problem, or apply for a consent. Most things can be done here in a few minutes. We know you would rather not be here, so let us get it done.
Most-used services
Start here
The things people in Karston ask for most. Each opens plain-language steps, the forms you need, and what it costs.
Pay rates
View your rates, pay in full or by instalment, or apply for a rebate if you are on a low or fixed income.
Pay or view rates ›Rubbish & recycling
Find your collection day, see which bin goes out this week, and read the public-holiday changes.
Check your bin day ›Report a problem
Potholes, dead streetlights, dumped rubbish, water leaks. Drop a pin, and you get a reference number.
Report it now ›Building & consents
Apply for a building or resource consent, see current processing times, or open the property file.
Consents & property ›Libraries & pools
Opening hours, renew a book, and lane bookings at the Karston aquatic centre.
Hours & bookings ›Roads & closures
Current road closures, water notices, and what to do in a storm or flood. Updated as things change.
Current alerts ›
Council and community
Having your say, and what the council is working on
The decisions, plans and consultations behind the services. Important, but it can wait until after you have done what you came to do.
From the Mayor
A note on the year ahead
Mayor Raewyn Toll on the long-term plan, the roading backlog, and why rates are going up by less than the cost of doing nothing. A plain-language summary, four minutes to read.
Read the Mayor's message
Open for feedback
Three consultations open now
Your council
If you would rather talk to a person
The website handles most things, but the contact centre is open 24 hours for urgent faults, and the service centre is open weekdays if you would rather come in.
Rates and payments
Pay your rates
Pay in full or by instalment. You will need the valuation number from your rates notice. If money is tight, there is a rebate for people on a low or fixed income, and you can spread payments by direct debit.
Report a problem
Report a problem in your street
A pothole, a dead streetlight, dumped rubbish, a water leak. Tell us what and where, and you will get a reference number and an honest idea of how long it will take. No more reporting it and hearing nothing.
Tell us what you have spotted
Thanks, we have got it
A real person at the council will pick this up. Here is your reference and what happens next.
Your reference number
KDC-2026-04812
Keep this to follow up. We have texted it to you as well.
- Problem
- Pothole
- Location
- Outside 14 Riverbend Road
- Logged
- Today
What happens next
Received and loggedYour report is in our system with the reference above. You will get a text confirming it.Done just now
Assessed by a crewSomeone checks it on the ground and works out what is needed and how urgent it is.Usually within a few working days
Scheduled and fixedIt goes into the work programme. We text you when it is booked and again when it is done.Pothole repairs: 2 to 15 days
Did not get a text? Updates can take a few minutes. You can quote your reference number to the contact centre on 03 000 0000 any time, and they can tell you exactly where it is up to.
This is an illustrative demonstration. No report was actually sent and the reference number is generated for the demo.
Rubbish and recycling
Check your bin day
Enter your address to see your collection day and which bin goes out this week. Public holidays push every collection back by a day, so check here around a holiday rather than guessing.
Find your collection day
We could not match that address
It might be spelled differently in our records, or it could be a new street we have not added yet. Try one of the areas below, or call the contact centre on 03 000 0000 and we will tell you your day.
Pick your area:
Karston Central
Your collection day is WednesdayNext collection: this Wednesday, out by 7:00am.
Out this week
The bin marked with a gold ring is the one to put out this week alongside your weekly rubbish.
What goes in which bin
Karston runs a four-bin kerbside system. When in doubt, leave it out: one wrong item can send a whole truckload of recycling to landfill.
- Red lid, rubbish. Anything that is not recycling, garden waste or glass. Collected weekly.
- Yellow lid, recycling. Clean paper, cardboard, plastics 1, 2 and 5, tins and cans. Rinsed, no lids, no bags. Collected fortnightly.
- Green lid, garden. Grass, leaves, prunings and weeds. No soil, no plastic. Collected fortnightly, opposite week to recycling.
- Glass crate. Bottles and jars only, rinsed. Collected monthly, on your first collection day of the month.
Roads, closures and notices
Current alerts and closures
Live service notices for the district. When there is a storm, a flood or a burst main, this is where we post what is closed, what is safe, and what to do. The rest of the year it is quiet.
Boil water notice
Boil water notice for Marsh End
Routine testing found bacteria in the Marsh End water supply. As a precaution, everyone on the Marsh End supply should treat tap water as unsafe to drink until further notice. This affects Marsh End only. The rest of the district is unaffected.
What to do
Boil all water for drinking, food preparation, brushing teeth and making ice, and let it cool first. A rolling boil for one minute is enough. Boiled water can be kept covered in the fridge. Water is fine for showering, washing and the garden. We are flushing and re-testing the supply and will lift the notice here once two clear results come back, which we expect within a few days.
Free bottled water is available from the Marsh End hall, 8:00am to 6:00pm ›
Road closure
Oldcastle Bridge closed for urgent repairs
A routine inspection found cracking in a support beam on Oldcastle Bridge. We have closed it to all traffic while engineers assess it. Safety comes first, so we are not putting a reopening date on it until we know what the repair involves. We expect to know more within a week, and we will update this notice.
Getting around
Detour via the Pinebank Road crossing, which adds about 10 minutes. The detour is signposted. The Route 4 bus is running the detour and may be a few minutes late. Pedestrians and cyclists can still cross on the separate footbridge, which is unaffected.
Planned works coming up
Scheduled, non-urgent works. These are planned in advance, so you can expect them.
Marlow Road resurfacing, night of 2 July, 9:00pm to 5:00am. Detour via Eastfield Avenue. Access kept for residents. Bin collection is unaffected.
Building and consents
Building and resource consents
Apply for a consent, see how long it is taking us right now, track an application, or open the property file. This is the slowest, most paperwork-heavy part of the council, so we try to be honest about timeframes rather than optimistic.
Apply for a consent
You can start a building or resource consent online. Have your plans, the property's legal description and your producer statements ready. The statutory clock only starts once your application is accepted as complete, so getting it right first time is the fastest route.
- Check whether your work needs a building consent, a resource consent, or both. When in doubt, ask our duty planner first.
- Prepare your documents. Most delays come from missing or unclear plans.
- Lodge online and pay the deposit. You get a reference and can track progress.
- We check it is complete, then the 20 working day statutory clock starts. Requests for more information pause the clock.
Both open in the online consenting service. This is an illustrative demonstration.
Current processing times
How long consents are actually taking us this month, not the legal maximum. Updated weekly. The 20 working day figure is the statutory clock, which excludes any time we are waiting on you.
Building consent, minor (e.g. solid fuel heater, deck)11 working days
Building consent, new dwelling18 working days
Resource consent, land use24 working days
Code compliance certificate9 working days
LIM report (standard)8 working days
Illustrative figures for this demonstration. Statutory maximum for most consents is 20 working days.
Search the property and consents file
Look up consents, LIM history and property records by address or valuation number. The property file lives in our older property system, so it looks plainer than the rest of the site and opens in a separate window. We have not rebuilt it yet because the rates and reporting work came first.
Heads up: the property file is part of our legacy property system. It is functional but dated, search is by exact address or roll number, and it does not work well on small screens. We know. It is on the list.
| Property | Record | Lodged | Status |
|---|
Records 1 to 5Legacy system, opens in a new window in production
Libraries and pools
Libraries, pools and what is open
Opening hours, lane bookings and what is on. The library catalogue and pool bookings run on their own systems, which is why a couple of these links open in a new window.
Karston Library
Free to join. Borrow books, e-books and audiobooks, use the computers and wifi, and bring the kids to story time. The catalogue search opens in our library system.
Opening hours
- Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm. Thursday late until 8:00pm.
- Saturday, 10:00am to 4:00pm. Sunday, closed.
- Public holidays, closed. Check current alerts around a holiday.
Both open in the library catalogue system. Illustrative.
Karston Aquatic Centre
Indoor 25 metre pool, learners' pool and a spa. Lane bookings open two weeks ahead. Buy a single entry at the door, or a concession for regulars.
Pool hours
- Lap swimming, 6:00am to 8:00am and 5:00pm to 7:00pm on weekdays.
- Open swim, 8:00am to 5:00pm daily.
- Learn to swim runs in the learners' pool, term time, afternoons.
Opens in the bookings system. Illustrative.
Your council
The council, its decisions and how to have your say
Meetings, the long-term plan, consultations open now, and the people you elected. This is the part of the site that can wait until after you have paid your rates or reported that pothole.
From the Mayor
Mayor Raewyn Toll. A note on the year ahead, the roading backlog, and why this year's rates rise is smaller than the cost of doing nothing.
"I will be straight with you. We have a roading backlog that built up over a decade, and fixing it costs money. We have kept this year's rates increase to 4.6%, below what it would cost to stand still, by deferring the things that can wait and getting on with the things that cannot. The long-term plan sets out the trade-offs in plain language, and I would genuinely like to hear from you before we lock it in."
Raewyn Toll, Mayor of Karston. Illustrative message for this demonstration.
Open for your feedback
Consultations are how you shape what the council does. Each one tells you the issue, the options and the deadline. You can make a submission online.
Long-term plan: how should we prioritise roading?Closes 8 Jul
Draft play space at Riverbend ParkCloses 30 Jun
Proposed changes to the dog control bylawCloses 19 Jul
Council meetings
Council meetings are open to the public. Agendas go up a few days before, and minutes after. The next ordinary meeting is at 6:00pm on 24 June in the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre.
Contact us
How to reach the council
Most things can be done online, but we are here by phone any time for urgent faults, and in person on weekdays. If something is unsafe, please call rather than wait.
My account
My Karston account
One sign-in for rates, consents and bookings. We are building this in stages, so some things are here and some still send you to the right place or the phone. We would rather tell you that plainly than pretend.
Sign-in is not online yet
We have not finished building the single sign-in. For now, the things people most want an account for already work without one: you can pay rates with your valuation number, report a problem and track it by reference, and check your bin day, all without signing in.
To set up a direct debit, change your postal address, or apply for a rates rebate, the contact centre can do it with you in a few minutes. It is the honest way to do it until the account system is ready.
Call the contact centre, 03 000 0000In the meantime, do it without an account
Accessibility
Accessibility statement
This site is for everyone in Karston, including people who use a screen reader, who cannot use a mouse, who have low vision, or who find dense text hard. Accessibility here is not a nice-to-have. It is the law, and it is the whole point of a council that serves everyone.
What we aim for
We aim to meet, and on body text to exceed, the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. That means strong colour contrast, text you can resize and reflow, real labels on every form field, a working keyboard path through everything, and plain language wherever we can manage it.
What is built in
Built inSkip link and landmarks
A skip link to the main content, and proper header, navigation, main and footer regions so screen readers can jump around.
Built inStrong contrast
Body text exceeds the AA 4.5 to 1 ratio. We do not use pale grey on white for anything you need to read.
Built inKeyboard usable
Everything works without a mouse, with a clear focus outline so you can always see where you are, including the report map.
Built inLarge tap targets
Buttons and links are at least 48 pixels, sized for shaky hands and small phone screens, not just steady ones.
Built inReal labels and errors
Every field has a visible label, and when something is wrong we say what and how to fix it, in words, not just a red box.
Built inRespects reduced motion
If your device asks for less motion, the gentle fades are switched off. Nothing flashes, slides or auto-plays.
Listen and Translate
The Listen and Translate buttons above are an honest demonstration of the read-aloud and language tools a live council site provides. In production these use your browser's built-in tools and a translation service. We have kept the buttons real so you can see where they would sit, rather than hiding the feature.
Where we fall short
We are honest about the gaps. The legacy property and consents register has not been rebuilt yet, so it is harder to use on a phone and with a screen reader than the rest of the site. It is a priority. If any part of this site stops you doing what you came to do, please tell us and we will help you finish it another way and fix the page.
Illustrative accessibility statement for this Ripple concept. The Listen and Translate tools are mocked for the demonstration.
Reo / Languages
Languages and reading help
Karston is home to people from many places. Key information is available in several languages and in an Easy Read format, and we can arrange an interpreter for phone calls and in person.
Choose a language for this page
This is an illustrative demonstration. In production these switch the page content into the chosen language.
Need an interpreter?
We can arrange a phone or in-person interpreter at no cost to you. Call the contact centre, tell us your language, and we will connect one in.
Arrange an interpreterIllustrative language tools for this Ripple concept.