Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Tony Collins: Location of Whangarei District Council civic buildings vital for central city

By Tony Collins
Northern Advocate·
13 Mar, 2018 10:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Whangarei District Council's Forum North building in Rust Ave, Whangarei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The Whangarei District Council's Forum North building in Rust Ave, Whangarei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

At a recently very well-attended Business After 5 to celebrate the new ASB building on Rathbone St I was reminded of the importance of reputation and brand to all organisations and particularly those who aspire to provide a high-quality customer experience.

The buildings in which those organisations are located also impact on the perception of the organisations brand and reputation. So, whether people like it or not, the physical location that an organisation occupies is often reflective of that organisation's brand, and while cost always needs to be considered so does the organisation's reputation.

Which got me thinking about the current buildings occupied by the Whangarei District Council, the image they portray and how fit for purpose they actually are. I am not sure how many people visit the existing council buildings in Whangarei in the course of their everyday activities and I imagine as part of trying to be customer-focused the number may not be that great or possibly even decreasing as the organisation continues to explore how to make transacting with them easier.

This does not diminish however that after libraries, museums, town halls and the like, the building which houses local government serves as much more than just a place of business. It is an important civic space and should be seen so as part of our urban fabric.

If we want our local government to deliver efficient services and a high-quality customer experience then they must have the tools and resources to enable this to happen. This is not about creating a temple of mammon or massaging someone's ego but rather critically considering where and in what type of building the council should situated, how this will make them deliver better service to their communities and what secondary wider benefits could be exploited through any change.

The value of these secondary benefits should not be underestimated. For example, where the premises are located can not only inject a large number of people into that area through the organisation's workforce, it can also act as a magnate for other people who use that organisation's services to come in, transact with that organisation and then engage with other businesses in the vicinity.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the case of the council, it may be one of the few ways it can truly lead reinvigorating the CBD through its own actions and the demonstration of its belief that the CBD is still Whangarei's most important public realm.

■ Tony Collins is the Northland Chamber of Commerce's chief executive.

Discover more

Three options for multi-million dollar civic centre

12 Mar 06:00 PM

Retail spending in Northland $749m in Dec quarter

07 Mar 07:00 PM
Small Business

Timely reminder to innovators in Northland

07 Mar 12:00 AM

Chambers of Commerce surveys valuable tool

11 Apr 01:30 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Northern Advocate

Insulation rule changes could cut $15k from new build costs

Northern Advocate

Consumer NZ calls for action on 'shrinkflation' amid rising concerns

Northern Advocate

'It's security': Push for KiwiSaver access to aid young farmers


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Insulation rule changes could cut $15k from new build costs
Northern Advocate

Insulation rule changes could cut $15k from new build costs

Northland builders welcome changes to insulation rules, easing building costs.

13 Jul 04:00 AM
Consumer NZ calls for action on 'shrinkflation' amid rising concerns
Northern Advocate

Consumer NZ calls for action on 'shrinkflation' amid rising concerns

03 Jul 05:00 PM
'It's security': Push for KiwiSaver access to aid young farmers
Northern Advocate

'It's security': Push for KiwiSaver access to aid young farmers

27 Jun 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP