Mayor’s message

What a beautiful Hawke’s Bay summer we have been having, I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas and New Year break with friends and whānau.

It’s been great to see so many people out and about enjoying our district over the past month – after the events of last year we are back open for business.

Splash Planet has been very popular, we’re looking to have record numbers of visitors through this season enjoying all the fun features – new and old.

This month we are holding our annual Hawke’s Bay earthquake commemoration on Saturday, February 3, at 10.30 in the Hastings city mall. This is always a special occasion to remember and reflect on this day that changed the lives of many in 1931.

Also this month we will be marking one year on from Cyclone Gabrielle. Councils around the region will be holding their own commemorative activities, and in Hastings we will hold a public civic service on February 14, 11.30am at Civic Square in Hastings, which is open for all to attend.

This will be an opportunity to come together and acknowledge those who lost their lives, those who were otherwise impacted and the volunteers, agencies, businesses and first responders who have put in tireless mahi to support their community.

Looking ahead, 2024 is going to be calm and bright – we are making good progress with the Cyclone recovery, which will continue to be a big focus this year along with our other priorities including homes for our people, city centre revitalisation and overall economic wellbeing.

There’s no getting away from the fact the coming year brings very real financial constraints and we are going to need to work closely with our partners and community on our investment decisions.

What is certain is that we are not going to stop pursuing vision for making Heretaunga Hastings an even better place.

31 January 2024

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