Economic Development Strategy
The strategy outlines ten priorities and four enablers:
Ten-priorities:
- strengthen and diversify primary sector productivity;
- increased and meaningful secure employment, entrepreneurship, career pathways, training and volunteer opportunities;
- district promotion and destination management;
- partner with hapū, iwi and the Ratana community to reach agreement on how they want to engage with Council, what their economic development plans are and how to support them on an ongoing basis;
- expand and diversify housing stock by incentivising residential development, realigning existing housing with family size, changing zoning bylaws to permit smaller section size and facilitating the development of social and emergency housing
- leverage the expansion of the Ohakea Air Force Base and new large commercial and industrial investments;
- create stronger, sustainable, more diverse and interesting downtown business areas that offer residents the retail stores, products and services they seek, and which will serve as a central focal point to the communities they live in;
- identify and facilitate opportunities for business growth, value-addition, value chain growth and strengthening, clustering, incubation and succession planning, promoting new, non-traditional, emerging and home-based businesses and additional sectors to grow and diversify the economy;
- information-gathering and analysis concerning businesses operating within the District, and the national, regional and local organisations that support them; and,
- facilitate the formation and assist in the institutional strengthening and capacity building of representative business organisations within the District.
Four-enablers:
- A. knowledge base
- B. policies and bylaws
- C. engagement, facilitation and communication
- D. relationships
In addition, the strategy defines the measures of success, with targets for each year set in the annual plans.