Council set to consider new ambitious plan for Waitaki economy
Published on 01 June 2022
Called ‘Uplifting Waitaki, Hāpaitia te Waitaki’, the plan aims to support economic growth whilst improving wellbeing for the whole district.
Waitaki District Council is set to consider a new, ambitious plan for the development of the Waitaki economy. Led by Polis Consulting Group and developed with the engagement of Te Rūnanga o Moeraki and local businesses, the draft Waitaki Economic Development Strategy outlines how the economy can grow by more than 8% above projected growth in the next 10 years, if the strategy is implemented. This would create between $70 and $146 million additional GDP and 1350 additional jobs in the district by 2032. Further, the strategy would also improve the environmental, community and cultural wellbeing of the district.
Council decided to progress an Economic Development Strategy after recognising that it was investing considerable resource into this area but it was not always clear that it was getting the most value from this investment in terms of business growth and jobs. The new strategy will help the council focus its resources on the areas that produce the most benefit for the district economy.
The strategy focusses on 5 key themes for economic growth:
- Optimised Primary Sector – growing and diversifying the important land, farming and associated businesses in the context of growing environmental constraints and climate change
- Skills Pipeline – developing and attracting the skills our businesses and communities need
- Business innovation and growth – supporting increased entrepreneurship, innovation, and productivity
- Urban Vibrancy – how to use and improve our towns to attract more businesses and visitors
- Increased return from the visitor economy – developing more engaging experiences and capturing more value from visitors to the district
Talking about the new strategy, Mayor Gary Kircher said, “We invest a significant amount in promoting economic development-related initiatives, and this has been the opportunity to make sure that investment delivers in more measurable ways. This has resulted in a strategy for the development of the district, not just a strategy for the council. It has been developed with significant engagement from across the Waitaki’s business community to ensure we capture the best ideas.
The job of our specialist consultants, Polis, has been to work with the Council and our partners, Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, to analyse this information and the data, and organise this into an ambitious strategy for the growth of our district. In doing this we have targeted sustainable and inclusive growth – that is growth that will be environmentally sustainable and long lasting with the benefits of growth being felt by as many people as possible across the district. Once the draft strategy has been formally considered by Council, we want to discuss it with the business community, government and others, including how we will work together to implement it.”
Part of the work commissioned by the Council was to review current arrangements and provide recommendations on the best approach to supporting the development of the local economy, including tourism. The proposals set out a number of options and Polis recommend establishing an Economic Development Agency, dubbed “Venture Waitaki” with Council, business and Te Rūnanga o Moeraki on the Board. This would see functions and budgets currently held by the council and within Tourism Waitaki, moved to the new agency. The consultant’s report recommends dissolving Tourism Waitaki and moving the Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) function to the new Agency. Polis further recommend that the agency be established as a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO), that is a company owned by Council but operating at arm’s length and with a board of directors from business, the Rūnanga and the Council.
Speaking about the proposed approach, Waitaki District Council CEO, Alex Parmley said, “We don’t have limitless resources and so we need to ensure we get the most benefit from the resource we have for developing the local economy. It is also important to recognise that whilst councils have a role in supporting economic growth, it is businesses that generate growth. The proposal being recommended to Council is for a partnership approach and governance, through an arm’s length company, with businesses and Te Rūnanga o Moeraki to oversee what is a shared and collaborative effort. This would seem to offer the best approach in achieving the sustainable and inclusive economic growth we are targeting for the district.”
The draft Economic Development Strategy will be considered by the Council on 7 June. If the draft is agreed, the Council plans to engage business, government and other interests on the proposals within the strategy and how they can best be implemented.