As a Hastings CBD business owner and former district councillor, I am calling on Hastings District Council to make the best possible decision it can within a flawed process, and to be under no illusion about what is at stake if it gets this wrong.
I am co-owner of O-Studio Hawke’s Bay, Director of Attn! marketing agency and Editor and Publisher of The Profit business magazine. Together with my partner Anna Lorck, we have lodged a formal submission opposing both options currently before Council.
This isn’t about avoiding a fair contribution to rates. It’s about whether Council has run a fair and transparent process. It hasn’t.
Council knew. And said nothing.
Council agenda papers from February 19, 2026 show Council was already aware of the likely revaluation impact on commercial and industrial properties, months before Annual Plan consultation opened. The Hastings City Business Association and the Havelock North Village Association should have been called in early. That did not happen.
The two-week extension now on offer was not a planned, principled process. It was introduced only after sustained pressure from ratepayers and business associations. That is not due process. That is damage control.
The options are not good enough
Council’s own data shows Hastings CBD retail facing increases of between 13% and 21.6%. Havelock North CBD retail between 15.8% and 30.2%. Council’s own figures show that 2.35 is the only differential that brings increases back to anything close to what was originally signalled. That option is not on the table. Offering 2.75 as relief is tokenism.
24 empty buildings. And counting.
There are currently more than 24 empty retail buildings in the Hastings CBD. I know of at least one more business waiting for its lease to expire before it leaves.
Rates hit the landlord. The pain lands on the tenant. Cafes, retailers, health and wellness studios, trades businesses, many running on margins of 3% to 8%, have no room to absorb rent increases driven by a process they didn’t even know was relevant to them.
Council has made real investments in our CBDs over nine years. The Tribune Atrium, streetscape improvements, inner city living, Quest Hotel. A rates decision that accelerates closures and vacancy will undo years of that work. That would be an extraordinary own goal.
The decision sits with elected members
The process was flawed. The options are inadequate. But what happens next is entirely within Council’s control. I am asking elected members to look at their own data, ask the hard questions, and make the best call they can for the long-term health of this district.
Not just for business owners. For everyone who lives and works here.
My full submission to Hastings District Council and a user-friendly version for submitters is available upon request – damon@theprofit.co.nz – 021 2886 772
Submissions on the Draft Annual Plan 2026/27 close today, Tuesday 1 July 2026.
