Sandra Hazlehurst, Mayor of Hastings: Council is bringing forward $130 million of capital infrastructure upgrades, including water, roading, footpaths and city centre improvements.
Sandra Hazlehurst, Mayor of Hastings: Council is bringing forward $130 million of capital infrastructure upgrades, including water, roading, footpaths and city centre improvements.
It is great to see our lives begin to return to a new normal again after our successful fight against Covid-19. Our community is positive and united in its determination to rebuild our economy and wellbeing.
Challenging and uncertain times will be with us for some time yet; however, many in our business community, along with our community organisations are seeking every opportunity to re-stimulate our economy and support our community, not only in the short-term, but also with a long term vision of what our future could look like.
We are yet to understand the full impact of the pandemic; right now we do know there are 900 more of our Hastings people seeking financial assistance due to job losses compared to the same time last year.
Their plight is foremost in our minds and we are working really hard with all sectors of our community and government to keep our businesses trading, our people employed and finding ways to support everyone in need of work, into jobs.
Through the Mayor's Taskforce, made up of businesses and industry sector leaders, we are committed to our district's full recovery. We are excited by the number of great ideas and opportunities in front of us; we are literally running to keep up with them all.
In August we will be hosting an Employment Expo, which will include industries, the business community, EIT and the Ministry of Social Development to facilitate employment and training opportunities for our people.
International interest in Hawke's Bay as a film production location means Eastern Screen Alliance, our new regional film office, will position Hawke's Bay as a great place to attract film producers from all over the world.
Many film producing countries are facing challenges due to the impact of Covid-19. Their operations have all but closed down, whereas New Zealand is open for business and we would love the opportunity to bring the film industry to Hawke's Bay.
Our council is working with our HB Winegrowers by showcasing our fabulous wineries in Hastings city. We want to create a pop-up cellar door wine experience in our hospitality precinct. How amazing it will be for locals and visitors to come to a wine tasting destination in the heart of Hastings!
It is fantastic investors and businesses are continuing with projects that will develop and expand Hastings. These investments employ all those who work in our construction industry. Next week I am turning the sod on the $10 million expansion of Royston Hospital, which includes two more operating theatres and many other vital health services.
This is in addition to the $70m Westside Healthcare hospital being built on Canning Rd and Havelock North's new Ryman Healthcare development. We also hope to commence construction of our new Hastings Quest Hotel in the next few months.
Our events calendar is also filling up. Traditionally our winter months are much quieter, but we are seeing the arrival of a lot of new and exciting events. This month's Matariki Winter Solstice at the Waitangi Regional Park, Targa rally in Havelock North, the Good Vibes Winter Tour Concert at the Hastings Racecourse, Mark Hadlow's production, MAMIL at Toitoi – Hawke's Bay Arts and Events Centre and the Hawke's Bay Marathon just to name a few.
Central government's investment is aiding our recovery. The government is building 200 new homes in Hastings, investing $6m to improve State Highway 51 at Waipatu and funding a $3.5m upgrade of our footpaths and cycleways; these investments will create 220 jobs. The Government is also opening a new Ministry of Social Development call centre in our city centre next month bringing a further 70 jobs to Hastings.
To help with our Hastings recovery our council is bringing forward $130m of capital infrastructure upgrades, including water, roading, footpaths and city centre improvements. In addition, our council's Covid Relief Fund, through our business associations, we are investing $150,000 in our Business Association's to drive and promote Hastings city centre, Havelock North's and Flaxmere's central business districts to support our small businesses.
We are grateful that our region's largest employing industry, the horticulture sector, has successfully harvested 400,000 tonnes of apples this season of which 270,000 tonnes have left our shores for overseas markets. This has given our region's economy a much need boost and put us in a much stronger place than some regions to recover from the crisis.
Imagine a winery or cellar door experience as a pop-up in the Hastings CBD.
To support our accommodation and hospitality sectors, we are working hard to bring more events and conferences to our region. We are working with Hawke's Bay Tourism, to promote our region as a premiere wedding destination to increase the number of weddings held here from 400 last year to 1000 this year. There are also some high profile concert promoters eyeing up Hawke's Bay for their summer concert tours.
Our business community is incredibly optimistic. There are a lot of good people doing a lot of great work. Good people, great ideas and hard work will ensure we succeed. We will put Hastings and Hawke's Bay in the best possible position to restore and grow our economy.
The whole of our community has a part to play in our economic recovery and our community's sense of togetherness and wellbeing. We are excited about rebuilding our Hastings' future together.
