northland chamber

LEADER COLUMN JUNE 2011
Having had the opportunity to attend the Northland Chamber of Commerce’s recent Business After 5 event where the Whangarei District Council provided an opportunity for local business to view the model of the proposed Hundertwasser Museum that is currently the subject of consultation, I was surprised by the high level of support from attendee’s for this project. My surprise comes from the fact that in general most Council projects seem to be met with resistance or indifference.

The museum is being promoted as part of a suite of projects that the Council see as reinvigorating the Town Basin and the Commercial Business District. Much of the work is already in the pipeline and is contracted to local businesses. As well as reinvigorating the inner city, it will provide a much needed boost for Whangarei’s construction industry. This is not the only sector that could benefit from these initiatives as there will be many opportunities for the creative, tourism and retail sectors, either from direct involvement or through spillover.

These various projects combine to provide one other major opportunity. That is the chance for Whangarei to positively enhance its reputation to the rest of New Zealand and to overseas visitors. Recent negative bad press has been justified as the economic and social statistics cannot and should not be ignored. However there are many reasons why many of us love to live here and by providing attractants that encourage visitors to come and spend time in Whangarei will give those people time to discover many of the unique and positive things our communities have to offer.

This is not to say that all will benefit. Many retailers in the CBD have had a difficult time over the last 2 years with a low demand from consumers and not a lot of support from other key inner city stakeholders. Logic would suggest that initially this work will concentrate consumer activity in close proximity to the planned projects. However with at least the proposed Hundertwasser and the Hihiaua Cultural Centre projects having the capability to act as major attractants for visitors, there is the potential for an increased demand for all business.

As always creating attractants and improving our physical environment will not by themselves be enough to change our reputation. If we fail to deliver a consistently high quality of service or product the nothing will change.