AN OPEN LETTER TO THE INCOMING HOROWHENUA DISTRICT COUNCIL CEO
MY VISION FOR A BETTER HOROWHENUA
Days out from the formal commencement of your new role as CEO of the Horowhenua District Council, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you home. I am excited by your arrival and look forward to working with you. I thought it timely to share with you my vision for Horowhenua, underpinned by the views and aspirations of our community.
You offer an opportunity to refresh and refocus. Your first 120day plan, which addresses many of the things I have focussed on during my first term on Council, will promptly tackle some of the longstanding issues and challenges.
You arrive at a Council with operational challenges and a governance group that is not necessarily in sync. However, the remaining five months of this electoral term present opportunities to affect immediate organisational change, focus on critical project delivery at pace and set the course for success over the next three-year electoral term.
I have been fortunate to represent my community over the last two and half years. To be effective, elected members need to be available to and understand the views of the people they represent. I have heard the community’s desires, concerns, and opinions. There is consensus that this is a District with great potential, but there is absolutely a desire for better. Unfortunately, while our District is moving forward, progress is occurring too slowly for many, and we are now squandering the potential and opportunities on our doorstep.
We have serious organisational issues and district-wide housing, rates affordability, and longstanding infrastructure problems.
Having a clear vision toward a better state is key to our District’s success. Through a vision, we create a mental picture that can be used to direct actions; our vision serves to provide a sense of purpose. The vision outlined in this letter is the future state I wish to champion for Horowhenua. It is also the story that needs to play out to get us there.
My vision: It’s 2025. We have made huge progress – much greater than any time in Council’s history. Horowhenua is a wellestablished District with a population that continues to grow and enrich our community. Despite Horowhenua’s changing makeup, our towns and settlements have come together well, strengthening the community spirit. People are proud to live here. While Horowhenua has kept a close association with Wellington and Ka¯ piti to the South and Palmerston North to the North, Horowhenua has carved out its own unmistakable identity, reputation and vision.
The District increasingly celebrates its distinctive provincial character from its close associations with the rural landscape in which it sits – we are reminded of the unique lifestyle we enjoy with the Tararua’s acting as an impressive backdrop from every vantage point across the District.
Horowhenua is increasingly recognised as one of the most desirable places to live and work in the Lower North Island, and businesses and government agencies are keen to establish and base themselves here. We have been boosted by the reputation gained by the town’s renewed long term approach to sustainable growth and infrastructure development, which “is” or “will be” used as a successful model by other growth Districts. Levin, Foxton and Shannon town centres are increasingly thriving and vibrant social hubs. Our beach settlements continue to be treasures that contribute to the unique lifestyle offered to all residents across the District. Our rural villages and small communities have maintained their charm and distinctive qualities but increasingly benefit from Council investment in priority infrastructure and better amenities.
Our three waters assets remain in our control, free from the unworkability of the 2022 central government’s proposals. Horowhenua’s water constraints are increasingly becoming a thing of the past, with significant progress being made to construct and deliver a 30+ day water demand holding reservoir to serve the towns of Levin and Ohau. We also have new builds with mandatory rainwater collection systems to reduce the demand for even more new water supply.
Visitors are attracted from throughout the Lower North Island to the variety of shops, entertainment, professional services and community facilities on offer. Levin increasingly has a night-time economy that meets the needs and expectations of the growing population. An ever-increasing event calendar, supported in part by Council, will mean there are various festivals, markets and iconic events that regularly gather the community together in our key community spaces that also attract visitors and boost our economy.
By 2025 Horowhenua is increasingly positioning itself as a future hub for signature sports and recreational pursuits. We have sports grounds, playgrounds and community facilities in place or in planning that will make Horowhenua the best provincial centre in which to raise a family and for active recreation. After watching their kids compete in sports, parents and families can enjoy a growing network of shared pathways and beach accesses and enjoy our beaches, rivers, and other open green spaces.
Construction of the new Horowhenua expressway is about to commence, with our District having secured a roading network and design that meets our needs and aspirations, that will save lives and prevent injuries, integrates well with local transport and infrastructure networks and ensures that the final road does not unreasonably impact residents living near it. It is a road that works for us, not just four lanes through our District.
The residents of the District find it easy to move around the District by car and other means. Residents also have a range of housing options to find just the right place to live; options that allow people to stay within the community they are familiar with, close to family and friends, or enable them to relocate into town, nearer to the beach, or into a retirement village or lifestyle or rural setting.