| Napier City Council Napier City Council
Napier City Council |
| Napier City Council Creating OPPORTUNITIES “Napier is an exciting, boutique city,” says the City Council’s Economic Development Manager, James Rowe. “Many places talk about their wonderful lifestyle, but in this case, it’s actually true.” Napier is a stunning coastal city world-renowned for its art deco architecture and boasts a buzzing café culture, numerous award-winning wineries, a cycle network, and breathtaking scenery. Located just 18 kilometres east of neighbouring Hastings, the two cities represent the largest urban area of the Hawke’s Bay region with a collective population of approximately 128,800 residents.
Napier City Council | “When you bring people to Napier, it’s easy for them to see what a great lifestyle we have here,” James says. “The value for money is exceptional compared to bigger cities. It’s green, it’s open, and it’s affordable. It may be a smaller city, but it has all the attractions of the large city. Hawke’s Bay is also renowned for its excellent schools.” With a wonderful climate, the region is also known for its produce – especially its vineyards. “Many of the great New Zealand wines come from about 10 minutes from where I’m sitting,” James adds. “Wine is a very, very big part of our local economy, and we also have outstanding restaurants here to compliment that, which helps drive tourism. Our main challenge is our geographic isolation; however, Napier has an excellent airport and seaport providing easy and multiple connections for travellers and trade alike.” Following a devastating earthquake in 1931, Napier was forced to rebuild – and the resulting art deco architecture was the “making” of the city, says James. Each February, visitors from around the world flock
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Napier City Council | to Napier’s annual Art Deco Weekend when locals and visitors alike turn back the clock and don 1930s attire. “There’s unbelievable buzz during the weekend,” James says. “It’s an event that literally needs to be seen to be believed.” The Napier City Council, in conjunction with their partners in Hastings, Wairoa, Central Hawke’s Bay, and the Regional Council, has recently began collaborating on developing a Regional Economic Development Strategy and a Business Attraction Strategy. James is excited that the Hawke’s Bay councils are now addressing economic development as a regional initiative rather than competing against one another to draw businesses to their respective locations. “Anybody or any business that comes to Napier will also consider locating in Hastings, and vice versa,” James explains. “So when businesses look at the area, it behooves us to look at ourselves as a region because a win for Hastings is a win for us; anywhere in the region is a win for everybody. Each business will make its own individual site selection based on their unique requirements. So we’ve been promoting economic development as a regional proposition rather than TEAMING UP
| Napier City Council just Napier City.” “What we’ve accomplished the most over the last six months is improved collaboration in economic development between the five Hawke’s Bay councils,” he continues. “We’re more effective as a collective than as individuals. Instead of competing with each other, we’re working together, and it’s really producing results.” For example, the local councils and BusinessHawke’s Bay recently initiated a targeted industry study as part of the development of a regional Business Attraction Strategy. According to James, the study will provide “real empirical evidence” as to which businesses are legitimate candidates for relocation or expansion into the Hawke’s Bay region. “Before I camehere, thebiggest announcement they had in recent times in the regional development space was that Kiwibank was relocating their business centre to Hastings,” he recalls. “So when I came to town, I asked, ‘Can the region support additional call centres that may wish to come here? From a regional business promotion strategy, can we validate targeting additional call centres as an option for future growth? Is that the sector we should be focusing all our efforts on?’ Maybe so, and we’re going through the process now of actually doing some real studies
Napier City Council | and comprehensive research on what industries and businesses we have the best chance of attracting.” Preliminary research indicates that the region does have a competitive advantage for distribution centres and further call centres. “We’re pursuing that now and figuring out which ones they are,” says James. “We have our own unique brand and we will be successful because we’ve never really had a proper attraction strategy. Previously, Napier was very much looking to attract people, but the bottom line is they won’t come unless there are jobs for them. So we’re endeavouring to create economic prosperity and generate jobs in the area. That’s what it’s all about.” There are many reasons why a business would want to consider Napier as a destination, James says. In particular, the “superefficient” Port of Napier is the third largest exporting port in New Zealand. “The cost of unloading a container in Napier is less than a third of what it costs in Auckland,” he explains. “So in terms of bringing things in and out, Napier is a much more cost-effective location. The cost-savings are
| Napier City Council significant in a provincial location like Napier, especially since we have such a competitive port and transport situation.” He also points out that the cost of a house in Napier is approximately half of what it would be in Auckland, making the city very appealing to employees of prospective companies. In the coming years, James says the council wants to make significant progress in generating stable, well-paying jobs in the region. In his opinion, if they can create those opportunities, the rest of the pieces should fall into place “relatively easily” because people want to work and live in a city like Napier. “Our vision is to create a sustainable, prosperous economy that everyone can participate in,” he declares. “That’s easier said than done, of course, but there are enough ex-Hawke’s Bay people in the country that would move back here in a flash if there was a high-paying job for them because they want to return home and raise families here.” “We are seeking to diversify the economy SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY
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| Napier City Council Meet Napier’s friendly business lawyers first at www.wtr.co.nz Thinking about setting up business in Napier? Easy, let’s have a chat. 116 Vautier Street, Napier Tel +64 6 835 3229 by targeting compatible businesses that have a competitive advantage by locating in the Hawke’s Bay,” he concludes. “Statistically, the pace of development in provincial New Zealand is falling significantly behind Auckland, but that’s true in any major western nation because the larger city always dominates because of economies of scale. The real question, however, is can we attract businesses from Auckland? It’s not realistic to expect companies to cease operations in Auckland and move here, but we have a very compelling case for why a business should locate in the Bay. We are positioning the Bay as a preferred location for business expansion and distribution. That’s what we’re looking for.”
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