Recovery plan

Our Hastings District is well placed to get through COVID-19 and come out the other side stronger than ever.

We are now developing our social and economic recovery plan to maximise opportunities for our community. This plan is focused on our ensuring our businesses are trading profitably and keeping people in employment. We are also working together with all Hawkes Bay's councils to develop a Regional Recovery Plan.

Equally important to our community's recovery is our Welfare Response Plan which we will continue to implement over the coming months.

The COVID-19 crisis has had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on our people. Hastings' full recovery will take some time, and I know we will look at the shape and future of our community in a very different way on the other side of this experience.

It will take the combined efforts of many people right across our community to get us through these challenging times, for us to emerge stronger as a district. It is the plans we are now developing along with key government agencies, our iwi, and our primary and business sectors that will lead us to a better place than we have ever been before. We must be open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and be brave enough to take advantage of opportunities when we see them. Everyone must play their part.

Our wealth comes from our fertile lands surrounding our Hastings city. The produce from our land will re-build our economy and from there our factories, manufacturing and construction sectors will strengthen our retail, hospitality and tourism sectors.

I am excited about our future. Let's support one another to help re-build our community.

He waka eke noa,

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst

• Moved to weekly payments for suppliers on March 17 to support business cash flows.
• Removed parking fees through Levels' 4 and 3. Developed payment options for rates to help individuals and businesses facing financial hardship.
• Partnered with Hawke's Bay councils to submit an application for $314m of funding for regional three waters projects.
• 63 Council staff and 7 Hastings Councillors have made over 4000 calls to date to our Hastings Whanau Pounamu including senior housing residents, rangitahi, and our over 65s to check they can access essential supplies.
• Supported the transition of 19 rough sleepers within Hastings to move to accommodation where they were provided with clothing, food, toiletries and access to medical support.
• Provided over 400 staff hours to H B Civil Defence Emergency Management (HB CDEM) to support the welfare response.
• Supporting Tihei Mauri Ora and Te Taiwhenua
• Heretaunga to supply food/care (hauora) packages to Hastings residents.
• Maintained essential services including wastewater, drinking water, rubbish collection, animal control and security monitoring.
• Supporting initiatives to stimulate spend with local business.
• Promoted and supported Heinz Watties to fill job opportunities essential for processing and supplying food to our supermarkets.

Our goal as we shape the recovery plan for our district is that Hastings remains a vibrant, cohesive, diverse, safe and well connected community, where every individual and whānau is supported equally. While our plan is set around our social, economic, cultural and physical environment, it will recognise and adapt to the changing and diverse needs of our community and our economy. Examples of work under way for our community and economy are given below.

Reconnecting and restoring our community

• One-off 'Rapid Relief Fund' of $100,000 established to support social services, community groups and organisations that are working on the ground responding to the needs of vulnerable families throughout Hastings District during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Revisiting Community Plans to ensure relevance during COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery.
• Support employment opportunities by working with the Ministry of Social Development, and developing the 'Mahi for Heretaunga' project.
• Partnering with iwi, Taiwhenua, Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Entity Partners and tangata whenua to identify and prioritise opportunities and projects that are aligned to the recovery phase and beyond.
• Ensuring that no one is missed or left behind in the development of recovery plans, including Maori, Pasifika, Pakeha and all ethnic minorities.
• Working with Kainga Ora to accelerate the delivery of affordable and public housing in Hastings.
• Leverage existing partnerships with Safer Hastings/Neighbourhood Support to deliver programmes linked to recovery, resilience and crime prevention.

Regenerating and reviving our economy

• Review of the 20/21 Annual Plan to soften rates impact while supporting the COVI D-19 response and recovery, and still delivering expected levels of service.
• Reactivating 28 capital works projects with a value of $16.1m from 28 April, stimulating spend and employment.
• Identifying 'shovel-ready' projects from the Long Term Plan that can be submitted for funding through various government initiatives including:
• $76.5m Hastings three waters projects as part of a regional application totalling $314m (expected to create up to 490 additional construction jobs).
• $12m of Hastings traffic safety, walking and cycling, and rural reading initiatives and improvements.
• $33m of additional projects not in the current annual plan but which could be activated immediately with PGF funding, and produce additional benefits through working closely with employers to support skills training and pathways to employment.