Mayors Message

What a wonderful summer we have had with our district and region well and truly back in business over the past couple of months!

Last month we celebrated Parks Week last month with open days at our stunning heritage buildings in our parks - Stoneycroft, Women's Rest, Keirunga Homestead & Cottage, Te Mākaramū (the former tea kiosk at Cornwall Park), Mackersey Family Pavilion, and Duart House.

Hundreds of people came along to visit the buildings, all of which apart from Stoneycroft are available for public bookings.

We also had thousands of people here enjoying a very successful Horse of the Year event at Tōmoana Showgrounds, Art Deco celebrations were back in full swing, Summer F.A.W.C! showcased our food and wine, and the Hawke’s Bay BMX Club did a fantastic job hosting the National BMX champs.

Attracting visitors back to our region is an important part of our Cyclone Recovery but there is still much to do. Our council is in the process of carefully considering the fiscal management of investment in new projects as we prepare our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan.

In the previous Long Term Plan, council had a strong focus on supporting growth activity – investing in infrastructure for residential housing, and industrial and commercial development, to provide homes for our people and employment opportunities.

A lot has been achieved, but post-Covid and Cyclone Gabrielle, the economic environment is now very different and unpredictable.

When we started to develop the 2024-2034 plan we asked members of the community to share their views and aspirations and what was important for our district as we look forward together.

Those that took part told us that basic services need to be the first focus, particularly roads and water. Getting the district back on its feet after the cyclone was another key theme.

Rates affordability has increasingly become a key concern for our community – balancing the aspirations and the ability of our community to pay for it.

We will be releasing our draft plan and calling for public input in late April.

I encourage you to read the plan and give us your feedback with Council required to finalise the plan before the end of the financial year on June 30. 

27 March 2024

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