Our Thriving Future

“Our future is Thriving! Central Hawke’s Bay District Council firmly believe that the success of our district lies in the hands of the people, whanau, land owners and businesses of Central Hawke’s Bay. Now, we need your help, to make some tough decisions which will shape the future of our District over the next 10 years. Join the conversation and have your say!”Mayor Alex Walker

Three years ago, Council asked you to tell us what it would take to ensure that we, the Central Hawke’s Bay community, Thrive. Since then, we’ve been hard at work – planning, preparing and focusing on #DoingtheMahi to put these aspirations into practice, and solve the big issues that you told us were important to you. Together, we've been working on a plan for the years ahead, to ensure we have a thriving future that belongs to everyone. 

2020 has bought us unprecedented challenges. Not only has our rural community been forced to battle a severe drought, but along with the rest of the world we've hit with the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. So, we've had to make a pivot in our plan, to ensure that we get the right balance of investment, job creation, skills development and long-term thinking, with the shorter term needs of hard hit whanau and businesses.

We need to find a balance between the basics of #doingthemahi and the vision of #togetherwethrive. We need your help, to ensure Council get this balance right on your behalf, and keep the vision for our community on track.

At Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, we pride ourselves on our transparency, and in the fact that we truly listen to what it is that you, as a community, have to say. And we’ll always continue to do just that. What YOU want is still unquestionably important to us.

Now, it’s time to adjust and build our next steps, as we set the direction for the next 10 years in Central Hawke’s Bay. We’ve all got big goals for our district and now, together, we need to decide how we’re going to bring these plans to life.

In building Project Thrive, you’ve told us what your priorities are and there’s a lot you, the community, collectively want to achieve. Council has drilled down on these priorities to come up with 'The Great Eight' areas of opportunity for you, and for Council. Some of these areas focus on our infrastructure - drinking water, water management and roading for example; some on community wellness - like housing and facilities; and some on our changing environment - such as our open spaces, our district growth, and ways in which we can work toward a waste free CHB.

So, when thinking about Our Thriving Future and the direction of our investment for the next 10 years, we’ll be asking you to consider:

Of all the things you want to do, what’s most important to you, and at what cost?

We love to live, work and play in Central Hawke’s Bay. Our thriving future is bright and here’s our chance to decide how we want to get there, together. Challenge accepted, game on!