Stage 1 of Business Park gets the Green Light

Stage one of the Council’s Business Park initiative got the green light at Monday night’s ordinary Council meeting after councillors agreed to budget up to $3 million for water, stormwater and roading infrastructure, to be installed in the Waihi Road mixed use area in Hawera.

Located on the western side of Waihi Road, SH3 the area contains a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial properties and was identified in a 2019 Feasibility Study as the most suitable location for the development of a District Business Park.

Chief Executive, Waid Crockett, says installing the infrastructure will support existing properties in the area and lays the foundations for stage 1 of the Business Park development.

“It means we can provide the existing businesses and potential new businesses with the confidence they need when making decisions about where they might go and whether they expand. We are already working with an anchor business which has purchased land within the area identified for the Business Park. This is a new business to the district which intends to be operating on the site by October 2021 with a large hardware distribution warehouse.”

Mr Crockett says the Council’s Business Park investment is a strategic initiative designed to support the COVID-19 recovery and drive investment, resilience, jobs and economic growth in the district.

“The $3 million will initially be funded by the Council’s Long-Term Investment Fund and recovered over time through financial contributions from developers and other funding sources,” he says.

Subsequent funding of stages two and three of the Business Park will be included in the Council’s 2021-2031 Long Term Plan and budgeted over a number of years.