KIWI council chiefs are jetting thousands of miles to pick up tips from their counterparts in Basildon.

For the third time in a year, a New Zealander has been Basildon-bound to learn valuable lessons from the district's top administrators.

Stella Ford, group manager of strategy and policy for the city council in Manukau, near Auckland, New Zealand, is the latest visitor.

She started a three-day visit yesterday - following in the footsteps of Manukau City councillor Michael Williams, who was in town last week and director of finance Dave Foster, who visited last year.

Manukau, 11,500 miles away on New Zealand's north island, is the country's third biggest city with a population of 335,000 people - almost twice the number in Basildon.

Ms Ford is in charge of regeneration in Manukau, a city expected to enjoy significant growth over the next decade The trips are described as fact-finding missions and Ms Ford wants to learn about the the way Basildon handles finance, regeneration, crime and disorder.

Council spokesman Chris Johnson said: "Manukau City Council approached us directly regarding the visit. It chose Basildon, as we have expertise in areas it is interested in, such as regeneration and local partnership working."

Chief executive Bala Mahendran added: "We are delighted Ms Ford has travelled to learn more about our ways of delivering services to local residents. It is good to know other councils believe their residents can benefit from our ideas."

Ms Ford met Gerry Levell, head of business strategy, policy and performance, before hooking up with Basildon Renaissance Partnership officials. She is also due to spend time with executive director Mick Nice, and representatives from the district's crime and disorder reduction partnership.