By Adam Caccioppoli, Associate – Baker Tilly Staples Rodway
Many businesses seemingly have not changed their approach to recruiting talent, despite the almost constant noise from all industries about how hard it is to find the people their businesses need to grow and succeed.
Are we really going through the same old motions expecting a different result? Here are four things businesses could and should think about when it comes to talent, if they aren’t already:
Posting an advert is not enough in this job market, especially for in-demand skillsets.
According to data from Seek NZ, the average time to hire is now 50 days. That’s a long time! Sometimes the best candidates are passive – interested in their next great opportunity, but too busy achieving good things in their current role to be looking on job boards all the time. Businesses that are quickly managing to secure the best talent have proactive sourcing strategies to access and engage with the people they need, utilising a mix of approaches.
These include investment in dedicated internal recruitment resources, utilising recruitment tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter and recruitment agencies, and hiring people who fit their culture and values, then providing them with technical skill gap training where needed.
Your leaders are your secret weapon to accessing the best talent.
If you have amazing leaders in your business, great! People don’t quit a job, the saying goes – they quit a manager. The same lesson can be applied to attracting talent – more people choose a manager than the company. If you have great leaders in your business, they need to be front and centre in the recruitment process working alongside internal and external recruitment partners to come up with innovative ways to engage with the intended target audience.
Think long term – build sustainable talent pipelines.
It’s easy, especially in a talent-short market, to get caught up in spending your time, energy and resources to fill the vacancy you have right now and neglecting to think about future hiring. Wouldn’t it be great if the next time you recruit for a similar position you are not starting from scratch? Organisations that are winning the war on talent have strategies to build their employee value proposition (EVP) with their target audiences. Whether this is through regular networking (online or in person) with key industry groups and meet-ups or building talent pools using recruitment tools and partnerships with specialist recruitment agencies, the key is to do this on an ongoing basis so that you have warm leads to contact when you next have a vacancy.
Embrace a data-driven approach to drive better return on investment (ROI).
Businesses collect and analyse data, often to extreme levels of detail, to help inform decision making about which customers to target or what price a product should be, yet when it comes to recruitment it seems most organisations have little if any data. You should constantly measure key questions around your recruitment strategy.
Which channels have produced the most suitable applicants and ultimately the most successful employees?
Which channels are bringing the most engagement from good talent? What is your time to hire? Recruitment costs have doubled across New Zealand over the past year. How much have you spent on recruitment agencies in the past 12 months?
Having a system in place, whether it is a simple spreadsheet or a more sophisticated Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to collect accurate data that highlights how your business is going about recruitment, can be an important first step to identifying what your key
talent problems are and improving your ROI at the same time. For any talent acquisition support or strategizing about your approach to getting the best talent for your organisation or business, Adam can be contacted at adam.caccioppoli@bakertillysr.nz
CHB is not the sleepy part of Hawke’s Bay any longer and under the combined leadership of for chief executive Monique Davidson and Mayor Alex Walker, the district has overcome many challenges to bring its THRIVE vision to life. Doug Tate has been part of that journey as the council’s group manager of customer and community partnership but with Monique heading home to the CE role with Horowhenua District Council, the council wisely promoted from within.
Doug is ready to continue with the hard work and build on the momentum of Monique’s legacy.
Where are you from?
Levin is where I was brought up and where Mum and Dad still are. Before heading over to Hawke’s Bay in 2018 we were in the Manawatū.
What is your career background?
Local government has been where I’ve really made my career. After finishing university in the middle of the global financial crisis, I worked for a short time with Dad – who is a builder – and was lucky enough to fall into local government. Since then, I’ve had nearly 20 years of working across just about every aspect of local government.
Why do you think is it great that an appointment has been made from within the organisation?
It demonstrates that the deliberate leadership position taken when developing Project Thrive in 2017,that of focusing on people as our District’s greatest assets, is paying off.
What do you see as the benefits of promoting from within?
In this instance it is allowing us to continue with the momentum and mana that we’ve established over the last few years, enabling a quick transition, and allowing me to build on the existing local and regional relationships we have.
Has your career journey being about aiming for a chief executive role?
Leading in local government has always for me been about achieving outstanding outcomes for the communities we serve. The opportunity to lead and serve in Central Hawke’s Bay as Chief Executive is about timing and being the right person to contribute to a thriving Central Hawke’s Bay.
Describe your leadership style?
Others have described me as authentic, genuine, collaborative and visionary. Personally I’d like to think that the teams I lead and the communities I serve are better off for me being part of them.
What did you learn under the former CE Monique Davidson?
Monique and I share very similar values, particularly around the unique role of local government and the spirit of public service – others before self. This speaks very much to what we have achieved as a team. The simple advice of always backing yourself is probably my biggest takeaway from Monique.
You have a young senior management team, are you all up for the challenge?
I’ll take young! Age is just a number – it’s ultimately the skill, curiosity, passion and commitment that you bring which will determine your success Being one of only two Councils in New Zealand to achieve the highest awarded CouncilMARK ranking of AA in 2021, up three grades from our 2018 assessment, tells me we are on the right track.
Monique and Mayor Alex formed a strong partnership, what do you see as different to how you will work well with Alex and councillors?
I’m fortunate to have already been part of the unique governance and management relationship we’ve had over the last three years. Our relationship will be different, but I’m confident we’ve got a solid base to work from.
What are the big challenges you see in the role over the next 3-5 years?
Leading through the multitude of unprecedented government reform programmes and unprecedented growth are our key challenges, but both present unique opportunities for us to positively place Central Hawke’s Bay in a position of strength for the future.
If you were to pitch CHB as a place to live, work and play to a business owner considering relocating to the area, what would you say?
The secret that is Central Hawke’s Bay is out – the District is experiencing a surge of optimism, positivity and growth not seen since the 1960s. Come and be part of the next generation of business and community leaders who understand the value and potential of this community as we work to build a thriving Central Hawke’s Bay for the future.
How in your CE role can you place a focus on enabling business to proper within CHB?
We’ve already got a solid platform and understanding of what we need to collectively achieve to see business succeed in the long-term. This isn’t just one thing, it’s about us staying the course on the varied work programmes that we have underway from continuing to deliver a reliable transport network that supports the backbone of our rural economy, enabling housing in the district or continuing to fill local support gaps for business with programmes like our Jobs in Central Hawke’s Bay initiative.
As a collective of Councils across Hawke’s Bay what can you collectively work on in the next 12 months?
There are some natural synergies and things already outlined in the five Councils Triennial Agreement where there are existing and emerging regional opportunities. Housing, Transport and enhancing social inclusivity are some of those.
You are the new CE within our local Councils, how do you see the 5 of you working together?
The regional partnership at CE level is strong and collegial. All four Chief Executives attended my mihi whakatau on my first day, which gives a great indication for how we continue to work in a collaborative way for the region and respective communities we serve.
What do you do in your spare time?
Weekends are usually spent out on the Tukituki Trails on the bike or on the sidelines of the ripper rugby field with the boys. Three children under 6 keeps me busy!
Less than six months into their partnership, Hawke’s Bay based property-tech company Re-Leased, and web development boot camp specialists, Dev Academy Aotearoa are successfully bolstering a previously shallow tech talent pool by creating work-ready developers in 15 weeks, and they have no intention to stop.
In 2021, Re-Leased (an international business, developing innovative commercial property management software out of their Ahuriri office) was struggling to meet the demands of its rapid growth due to the limited talent pool for qualified coders and developers in Hawke’s Bay.
Already an industry where the demand for talent significantly outstripped the supply, the border closure in 2020 meant that those businesses working in technology now needed to focus on increasing home-grown talent sustainably.
For Re-Leased this opened the opportunity to work alongside Dev Academy – New Zealand’s most immersive online coding course. The course was also able to be offered free to successful applicants thanks to the Government Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF), which supports learners undertaking vocational training without fees.
Following their initial outreach for applicants in late 2021,Dev Academy was overwhelmed with responses, which they believed, “reflected how many people in the region were thinking about changing careers, and were curious about a pathway to programming.”
Encouraged by the local enthusiasm to train in tech, Re-Leased and Dev Academy have continued to successfully collaborate and to date have commenced three cohorts, which will result in 11 new graduates, contributing significantly to the continued growth in this sector in Hawke’s Bay.
For Re-Leased, the benefits are obvious, “Partnering with Dev Academy has been the best initiative we’ve put in place to boost our Junior Developer talent pipeline.” states Talent and Engagement Consultant, Helena van’t Sant. “Not only are we able to offer full-time employment opportunities to several Dev Academy students each year, but we get to significantly contribute to the software development talent pool in Hawke’s Bay, and that benefits not only our industry specifically but our region in general.”
The partnership’s commitment and support to growing the tech talent in Hawke’s Bay is well-considered, and together the collaboration is successfully creating well-rounded, work-ready candidates, suitable to take on any number of roles within this burgeoning industry.
Tom King, Bridge Builder and Recruiter from Dev Academy explains that “The tech sector is increasingly looking for soft skills (Human Skills) as coding can be learned, but being able to be a good team member is much harder to teach. Because we teach these Human Skills as part of our curriculum, and Re-Leased provides each student a dedicated mentor for the course of the program which gives a “real-world” lens to their learning, our graduates can lean away from the more traditional coding route and find success in areas such as Testing, QA, Data Analysis, Customer Success, UX/UI, Business Analysis, Product, Agile/Scrum Coach, etc. All of which are in short supply country-wide.”
One recent graduate from this course and subsequent new hire of Re-Leased, Carol Silva is thrilled to have successfully graduated from the programme and excited to begin her new career at Re-Leased. Previously an Accounts Payable Team Leader for a local business, she decided to further progress a long-held interest and “finally learn about web development and how to code properly.”
Although the course work was fast-paced and demanded more energy than she imagined, the inclusion of Re-Leased on-site mentors helped tremendously, stating “The mentors helped a lot during the full course. When we were looking for different ways of developing a problem, faced technical and emotional challenges, or chatting about the work force and the real environment of a tech company, they were always available.”
It is this cohesive teamwork between Re-Leased and Dev Academy that is creating an environment of excellence and achieving world-class graduate developers, ready, willing, and able to help build the region’s ever-growing economy.
Given this successful partnership is now well entrenched, and agreed to continue for the foreseeable future, the focus now pivots to aligning with other Hawke’s Bay businesses looking to increase their recruitment pipeline.
Tom confirms that “70-80% of graduates from this course have historically been employed in the industry within a year (and most of those within six months), so the priority is keeping these new grads in Hawke’s Bay. We are now actively seeking to grow our relationships within the region to ease the transition of our students into their new career paths”.
“If you are a business looking to fill tech roles, we would love to hear from you.”
While being the best in one’s industry is a lofty business goal, in today’s climate it is crucial to set realistic, attainable goals rather than being caught up in the idealistic.
As businesses continue to grapple with the fallout of Covid-19 and government mandates, businesses are left with less operating flexibility and certainty. It is therefore paramount that business owners know their business: where is it now; where is it heading; and what you as an owner can do to get it there.
As we continue to see the consequences of the traffic light system, and the rolling lock downs, I have seen first hand from my recent time in London that traditional business planning is not sufficient, and those who merely roll forward their plans from the previous year will quickly be left behind.
Taking Stock
Taking stock of where your business is truly at (and no, we don’t mean counting everything on your shelves!) is a vital step of the goal setting process. Before you can plan for what comes next, you need to know where you are starting from NOW; not where you’ll be after the summer season, or how you were tracking prior to Christmas. Goal setting is future focused, and given the current climate, comes with a lot of uncertainty.
The process needs to incorporate a fine balance of ambition and challenge, but also be realistic and attainable. This can only be achieved by having factual, accurate and timely information. Check out our take on the Traffic Light system below to see where your business may fit.
RED– “With the lockdowns and operating restrictions my business has been severely impacted and any cash reservesI held have been depleted.”
If your business fits into the above, you may be looking to set goals around business wind up, reviewing your operating model or succession opportunities/options. For any business in this situation, it is crucial that you have accurate and timely information, and that you start having conversations with key relationships now. Bringing in your banker, business advisor and investors provides a fresh take on what is often a very tense situation and can ensure that all bases are covered, all options are explored and that you have a team around you to support you through this transition phase.
ORANGE – “Covid has been tough on my industry; profit margins and cashflow has been squeezed, but with clever, timely planning we’ve done ok and survived the worst of it.”
Those in the Orange section may need to take a more conservative approach to their goal setting. Funds may be lean for investment opportunities therefore ensuring that key revenue streams are strong and protected are essential for future growth. For example, you may be faced with the likelihood that a large percentage of your business is now conducted online as opposed to over the counter. Ensuring that your website and infrastructure can handle the increase in volume, is an investment decision that is worth evaluating.
GREEN– “Covid, what Covid?” Some businesses have been fortunate to thrive during these tumultuous times, by either finding themselves in the right business at the right time; or by pivoting their resources to capitalise on opportunities (check out our earlier article on the Business Pivot!).
Businesses who have been fortunate to experience this level of growth often find themselves playing catch up rather than setting strategic goals for the future. Take the time to think about what’s next for your business, and what steps you need to take to get there.
Keep in Mind
Regardless of where your business may fit above, when setting business goals, it is important that you are able to answer the following: What is your point of difference to your competitors? What future barriers will your business face?
And what infrastructure can you invest in to minimise the impact of these? Once you have an accurate picture of where your business is currently, you can set strategic, realistic, achievable goals. Keep in mind that COVID-19 is unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon, so flexible goals that are regularly reviewed are key. Witnessing first-hand the constant lockdown waves in the UK, it was evident the businesses that understood the key metrics of their business and those that were constantly reviewing their plans. These businesses were able to control the direction of their business and capitalise on opportunities as they arose.
The one silver lining with Omicron is that the health impacts are potentially less severe than other COVID-19 strains, and we can draw on the experiences of other countries that have already gone through their peaks to see how we can minimise the impact on our business here. One thing that is already evident, is that those businesses that have proactively responded have fared the most favourably.
To be blunt, like the rest of New Zealand Hawke’s Bay is flat out. Demands on planning and land development are high, with long lead in times for consultant support, and even higher demands on Council consenting, fuelled by low interest rates, high housing demand (social housing, and new housing – greenfield and infill and reinvestment in existing homes), along with new industry and commercial activities establishing in or relocating to our region.
It seems crazy that this demand is so great considering supply chain issues and increasing costs across all aspects of the development process, with other professional services such as engineering, surveying, and architectural providers also at capacity. For housing this high-level of demand has been confirmed by the jointly prepared ‘Housing Development Capacity Assessment 2021’, by Napier City Council, Hastings District Council and the Hawkes Bay Regional Council, as required under the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPSUD). This is the same legislation that has recently removed rules requiring onsite car parking, and has enabled fast-tracking of three or more houses on a site – but not in Hawke’s Bay. The capacity assessment quantifies housing demand and supply capacity under short, medium, and long term scenarios (long term being 2050).
The capacity assessment suggests the current planning provisions allow capacity for an extra 5450 new dwellings in Hastings and 14,000 in Napier by 2050 – concluding that Hastings can meet short term housing demand, whilst Napier is ok through to 2050. That is assuming adequate infrastructure, such as roading, water supply, stormwater and wastewater is provided, however delivering these services is also confronted by technical capacity and supply chain issues. These projected supply figures look good on paper and the efficiency benefits of intensification are recognised across the planning industry. The reality is however that intensification alone will not resolve the current housing supply shortfall. The elephant in the room however is the current housing backlog, which is not quantified in the study. Whilst future projections look positive, what about the now? – especially given that the Bay is already well behind the 8-ball.
The effects of this backlog are reflected in Hawke’s Bay residential rental increases of 14% in the last year, the highest regional annual rent increase in the country (as reported by NZME). Alongside this is the delivery of infrastructure and wider infrastructure upgrades to accommodate new development. We can obtain approvals for new development, but these sit there awaiting the installation of infrastructure. In my view, what is needed is the effective use of the fast-track planning processes available under the Resource Management Act. We need to promote re-zoning and/or consenting for development on the multiple small pockets of land already identified as suitable for ‘future urban’ development, but we need to do it now. Many of these areas, on the perimeter of our existing urban areas, can be readily serviced and accessed and do not warrant the same Structure Planning rigour needed for large greenfield development.
As I write this a new headline appeared from Westpac economists ‘the housing market boom is over’, – due to high inflation and tighter monetary control. What this means to me is that the ability and drive of the market to address Hawke’s Bay’s housing backlog will become constrained, and without taking bold action to increase supply, we will not have the ability to house those that are most in need, and realising the ‘enabled capacity’ that has been projected may well prove to be an unachievable goal.
Housing was once regarded as an issue for Central Government to deal with, but this is changing as it becomes a priority of the Hastings District Council, through its Hastings Place Based Housing Plan, and Hastings Medium and Long Term Housing Strategy.
The plan, launched in 2019, has seen Council partner with central government, iwi and local providers and stakeholders to deliver warm, dry, and secure housing needed for people and whānau in Hastings.
Speaking to The Profit on a driving tour of the residential development in the district, Council chief executive To’osavili Nigel Bickle is buoyed by the progress they have made, but recognises they need to continue to do more.
Nigel Bickle
“It is about how you create the right solutions for place and that’s not been the focus of central government previously, and councils historically have said: ‘well our job is to make sure there is enough forward land supply’ but doesn’t go beyond that.
“So, it was quite a different place but one that [Mayor] Sandra [Hazlehurst] and councillors were willing to step into because their predominant lens is a wellbeing lens.”
The district’s housing shortage hasn’t happened overnight and has been “decades in the making” but supply that is being created is now being consumed at record levels.
“You want to avoid a situation where you run out of land because that’s where the problems really do start to compound.” They are confident in the short to medium term, but traditionally, a sensitive topic has been what land should be used for development, with growers arguing that fertile land should not be used for housing, but to grow crops. It is something the Hastings District Council is sensitive to, but also tackling head on.
A key aspect of council’s housing strategy is a residential development programme that provides certainty for developers and choice in the housing market, being staged at a rate that balances the cost to council of installing the required infrastructure against market demand.
This is taking place across Flaxmere, Frimley, Havelock North and Te Awanga, and other greenfield areas rezoned residential are going through the development process at Howard St, Parkvale, and Iona and Brookfield Rd in Havelock North.
Council has also made changes to the district plan to allow for seasonal worker accommodation to be built in the light industrial and general industrial zones at Omahu and Irongate.
“The council gets that our success long term goes to what we grow on the Heretaunga Plains, but you’ve got people saying we can’t keep doing greenfield developments on our fertile land so that’s putting pressure to do more intensification of CBD and CBD fringe suburbs.”
“If we’re not going to keep doing greenfields developments on land, we have to utilise the footprints that we’ve got and find ways to intensify housing in the CBD and CBD fringe suburbs and get more return on the land that we are bringing because we just don’t have an endless supply of land.”
While they see a way of building quality density housing in these areas with apartment living and more terraced houses, the infrastructure was not designed to accommodate that style of living and will require significant time and investment.
As a result, they have applied for $100m through the Government’s infrastructure fund.
Further up the road in Wairoa, a working group established in response to the current housing shortage in Wairoa, has found demand in the district is outpacing supply. It is a situation, that if left unchecked, is only going to get worse. The current shortage of about 150 homes could increase to 500 in the next 10 years with the expected population growth.
Wairoa District Council chief executive Kitea Tipuna says they are working as a housing enabler in partnership with local iwi and providers in relation to residential developments in the district.
While there are developments, including a 38-lot mixed housing subdivision in the pipeline, official resource consent applications have not yet been granted.
Kitea says a local housing strategy is being worked on to cater for all their community needs, and a housing co-ordinator has been appointed to work collaboratively with key stakeholders in the Wairoa region.
The one-year position will include exploring opportunities for housing initiatives, best use of resources and reporting on the progress and outcomes of the housing strategy relating to the development of social housing, Papakāinga, and affordable home ownership.
“The role includes active promotion and coordination of community collaboration by supporting iwi, government, and non- government agencies to work together within their respective sectors to achieve better outcomes for whānau.
“We know our community works best with people who recognise the unique nature of our district. It is important organisations like Kāinga Ora, differentiate between the communities they work with. Wairoa may not need whole new suburbs or high-rise apartments, but we still have a housing need and require support.”
While the housing capacity analysis suggests Napier has sufficient development capacity over the short (three years), medium (seven years) and long term (30 years) to meet demand, it has found there is significantly greater demand for housing than the market is likely to provide resulting in a lack of affordable housing options.
Napier City Council CE Dr Steph Rotarangi says housing solutions are essential.
“We have been working with our partners to develop Napier’s Spatial Picture, essentially asking what does Napier look like in the future and how do we get there today?
The result, Steph says, is a new focus on medium density residential intensification (like terraced houses or walk-up apartments) around the city’s centres and main roads.
“This has been extremely useful, to keep an eye to the future while we deal with housing pressure here and now.”
The issues facing Napier are compounded by the fact that the city boundary is small, many of the suburbs are on a flood plain and the area is vulnerable to tsunami. The city is also surrounded by highly productive plains land, which requires effective and sustainable management. Where there are hills, the infrastructure to support growth is limited and difficult to support.
“There’s also demand for new industries and businesses. We are in a period of growth and high demand for competing resources. We are fortunate to have a lot of people in Hawke’s Bay with the drive, expertise, ideas, and on-the-ground knowledge to help navigate Napier through these pressures as we set about working with our partners to solve our housing needs.”
She says that the council was working with mana whenua, a number of different developers, central government agencies and local providers to ensure appropriate housing needs are met.
“Depending on the stage of the development, some of the work we undertake is commercial in-confidence and not able to be provided. Other information and statistics are transparent and/or subject to resource consents and building consents.”
Two big projects in Napier at present are the Mission Estate development, with about 600 residential sections, and the Riverbend Road development, with 650 residential units, which is currently being assessed by the new Government fast-track process.
Steph says that by law, the council needs to provide for at least 6.5 percent residential growth.
“As set out in our Housing Development Capacity Assessment 2021, based on a medium-high population projection, an additional 2,700 houses will be needed to meet demand in Napier by 2030, particularly 1-2 bedroom and affordable housing.
In a bid to cope with the demand, the council has developed an end-to-end team of key account managers to assist developers with their consenting process to support economic development in Napier.
“This framework kicks in when developments require the delivery of multiple internal business units (i.e., planning, infrastructure). This process aims for efficiency in service as opposed to building capacity.“
She says there are also structural changes now at play at a national level including Local Government reform, RMA reform and a number of National Policy statements. There is also a new emphasis on climate change, Kāinga Ora and MHUD initiatives, and significant developments such as fast-tracking of “These are all things the council needed to evaluate whether we are structured to respond effectively.”
Steph says it is council’s role is to ensure there is sufficient, suitable land available in order to have competition in the market so that developers can respond to opportunities and build dwellings.
“Zoning land is the main area that council can influence. Developers control when and where housing opportunities are realised including whether or not a development is ‘affordable’. Council therefore has a key role to enable land availability but by itself cannot deliver housing or affordable housing to meet expected demand.”
In Central Hawke’s Bay, the District’s Mayor Alex Walker says there has been year on year growth in consenting for new residential dwellings, with a 247 percent boost in new lots being created in the 2020-21 financial year.
She describes the region as being on a journey of positivity and growth.
This is evidenced by the number of key sizeable residential developments across the district that are either underway, or shortly to break ground.
In 2020 an additional 1500 new homes in the district were forecast by 2031, with this assumption now reforecast in November 2021 to be an additional 1700 homes by 2031.
“In the short to long term, land availability is not going to be a constraint on development going forward. Analysis of resource and building consents for the last five years indicates there are up to 2,500 unbuilt sections in the pipeline – 80 percent of these are from applications since the start of 2020, including those still in the processing stage.”
There are also plans to release further areas for development.
In 2020 the council developed its Central Hawke’s Bay 2050 Integrated Spatial Plan, to promote and encourage sustainable growth and smart use of its existing infrastructure.
“As a priority project, council has been progressing towards the development of the Waipukurau South Growth Precinct, with an anticipated yield of 950 lots over the next 15+ years in the centre of Waipukurau.”
“This precinct in development with both private landowners and the Heretaunga Tamatea Settlement Trust, has been successful in the first round of Kainga Ora’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, as a development to ‘fast track’ implementation, and if successful the first houses can be expected in the next three years.”
The big challenge facing Central Hawke’s Bay, like the rest of New Zealand, is finding the capacity and skills in the building sector to develop these sections.
“The need for housing – including social and affordable is significant. Over 60 individual families are registered for emergency housing in the district and while the number pales to those in or on emergency housing lists in Napier and Hastings, proportionately in relation to population the number is high,” Alex says.
She says that with a growing population, the lowest unemployment rate in the region and businesses in desperate need of employees, unlocking housing is critical for the long-term success of the district.
“Council is pulling every lever available to it to support housing. This has included the establishment of the Tamatea Housing Taskforce, a housing partnership project between Te Taiwhenua o Tamatea and council. Council over the last four years has also been advocating for and identifying housing opportunities with both Kainga Ora and Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which has seen a site in Waipukurau purchased for housing by Kainga Ora and eight new homes being purchased in the district by Kainga Ora in late 2021.”
In the past six years, Greenstone Land Developments has supplied 73 per cent of the finished residential section supply for Havelock North and Hastings, and currently has about 300 sections in the pipeline.
Managing Director Tim Wilkins says they have seen a significant increase in demand in the last two years due to an influx of people moving to the region and a natural increase in population which has brought about a lack of supply.
“We can keep up with the demand at the moment, but there are resource problems at local government level in the processing of these developments though to title.”
Tim says the biggest issue facing developers in the region in the future is the land resource required for development.
“There’s a real conflict between land that’s very valuable for horticultural export purposes that shouldn’t be put into development and where development should occur going forward as it is critical to provide housing to all sectors for our growing population.
And intensification in the CBD is not in “demand”, he says.
“The reality is that people don’t want to live in apartments, and they don’t want to live on very small 300m2 sections. It might stack up financially in major towns in New Zealand, but certainly not provincial towns in New Zealand.”
Basketball in Hawke’s Bay is at an all- time high in regards to participation.
In 2021, more than 4,000 registered players regularly played, and that number swelled with youngsters playing ‘ball’ at their local outdoor court thanks to a partnership between councils and regional sport organisation Basketball Hawke’s Bay.
Basketball Hawke’s Bay’s general manager Nick Hogan says the growth in basketball is due to the sport seen as part of popular culture – with the NBA, its global stars and its alignment with sport brands such as Nike and Adidas – but also as an alternative to the physical nature of our national game, rugby.
Nick sees no let-up in participation growth.
“As other sports battle with the perception of concussion and the risks that run with that, basketball does not have these same issues.
“We continue to trend in an upward direction and the modifications within the sport to adapt to more 3-on-3 competitions and shorter modules are only going to help to increase this. The investment in community courts will place more pressure on indoor court space, where all competition is played.”
The investment in six extra courts at PGA is long overdue and will ease scheduling pressures, which have seen young participants playing at a time when they’re usually being tucked into bed.
“We have eight-year-olds playing basketball at 8pm at night and as indoor sports become more and more popular, we need to keep ahead of demand in court space.”
Nick hopes to see the region hosting national tournaments, which will prove economically beneficial to the local accommodation, hospitality and tourism sectors.
“The PGA’s expansion puts Hawke’s Bay in a prime position to bid for prestigious national age group tournaments at under 15 and 17 years as well as secondary school nationals.
“With nine courts in the one place, we would be set-up perfectly to run tournaments of this size and magnitude. These currently are the show pieces of Basketball New Zealand’s calendar.
“Multiple venues such as PGA, the Centennial Hall and the Hastings Sports Centre allow us to run tournaments but also allows the region to have multiple events on simultaneously. In the past it hasn’t been possible to run tournaments at the same time as other regular-user sports. With more facilities it should allow for tournaments to be run while not displacing other sports or events both within and externally to basketball.”
“In Hawke’s Bay we are really very lucky with the facilities that we have, as well as our great climate. Whenever we have an event here, visitors just say we are so lucky.
Sport Hawke’s Bay chief executive Mark Aspden agrees that there are opportunities to attract large events. “I know there is a willingness on the part of facility owners to work together. There is often a lot of competition for events, but Hawke’s Bay will be very well placed – our facilities will be up with the best.”
Just 10 kilometres away from the Mitre 10 Park is the home of indoor court sport, the Pettigrew.Green Arena (PGA), which was built in 2002.
Operated by the arena’s trust, participation has well outgrown court space availability, leaving children as young as seven and eight years old playing volleyball and basketball at a time when they’re usually heading to bed.
Trust chairman Craig Waterhouse is leading a $20 million new-build project providing six courts to be used for basketball, futsal and netball or twelve volleyball courts and is aimed exclusively for community use.
In 2002, Hastings District Council (HDC), Napier City Council and EIT worked collaboratively to build PGA but so far only Napier City Council has committed to funding, contributing $4.1 million; the biggest funders are the government’s Provincial Growth Fund, which pledged $6.4 million, and Lottery Significant Projects Fund, which gave $3 million.
Craig is hoping to cover the shortfall with a last ditch effort for funds from HDC, as well as private funders, in the hope of not pushing the recovery of the shortfall on to codes and participants via increases in hire fees.
“HDC drove the original build through the previous mayor (Lawrence Yule) as well as pushed for an operational restructure when it was in financial trouble five years ago.”
Craig says the fact that the venue is physically in Napier shouldn’t stop funding support from Hastings as it is regarded as a regional facility that mutually benefits Hastings and Napier residents.
“When the current facility was built in 2002, Taradale was regarded as the best central location by both councils. It was opposite EIT (the region’s tertiary education institute), was on a major bus route and fitted with the major roading networks proposed to be built.”
Facility use by Napier and Hastings residents is close to equal, and 90 percent of current PGA users are under 19 years of age.
“The project will provide positive benefits for the health and well-being of the people of Hawke’s Bay. The arena complex will increase Hawke’s Bay’s ability to look after its own recreational needs and help it to grow a stronger, healthier community.”
As well as being short of funds for the new facility, Craig is also concerned about future funding for community, much of which comes from gambling and gaming machine trusts.
Gaming trusts have provided funding for the new courts as well as sports equipment over the past 20 years and the trusts also directly fund user organisations such as Basketball
Hawke’s Bay and Netball Hawke’s Bay, helping keep player and hire fees more affordable.
“Our business model will likely collapse when gaming machine trusts are eliminated. The arena trust gets funds to operate, and all regular-user sports clubs and associations receive funds for staff and arena court fees. Sport codes’ costs will go up significantly and income will go down if this type of funding disappears.
“Who fixes this? I have no idea, I assume councils, which are the organisations that ultimately decide on the number of gaming machines operated.”
Gaming trusts have provided funding for the new courts as well as sports equipment over the past 20 years and the trusts also directly fund user organisations such as Basketball
Hawke’s Bay and Netball Hawke’s Bay, helping keep player and hire fees more affordable.
“Our business model will likely collapse when gaming machine trusts are eliminated. The arena trust gets funds to operate, and all regular-user sports clubs and associations receive funds for staff and arena court fees. Sport codes’ costs will go up significantly and income will go down if this type of funding disappears.
“Who fixes this? I have no idea, I assume councils, which are the organisations that ultimately decide on the number of gaming machines operated.”
Giants Boxing Academy founder Craig McDougall can’t wait to open a purpose- built complex to share with Central Districts Cricket, as well as Aikido, fencing and possibly table tennis, at the Mitre 10 Park.
Craig and his 140-plus members – mostly youth whom many regarded as ‘at risk’ – will move from their inner-city premises to the sports park in August.
Funding has come from Lotteries, gaming trusts and local supporter Rodney Green, with $1.6 million of the $2 million confirmed, and Craig sees the potential for future expansion.
“It gives us a permanent and sustainable home for both the Hastings Giants Boxing Academy and the Hawke’s Bay Boxing Association, and being able to co-locate with CD Cricket greatly reduces the initial capital outlay as well as ongoing maintenance and servicing costs of the building.”
Craig adds that the park’s broader offerings are also a huge appeal.
“I expect we will use nearly everything to a greater or lesser degree – running track, sports fields, gymnasiums, pool, etc. I also think many of the existing sports will want to engage in boxing as part of their training.
“Boxing participants will be able to cross- train with indoor sports, including cricket, football, touch rugby, dodgeball, etc, using the larger indoor arena; and Central Districts Cricket will be able to use the boxing gym and training apparatus for their elite players too.
“The location also better serves the at-risk communities that have benefited from the academy’s wider community support programmes as it is more readily accessible from Camberley and Flaxmere.
“Being part of the wider sporting team and community will add value to us; however, we also feel we have much to give back in the form of service, strategies and enjoyment.”
Many local businesses have scored big-time in recent years from the development of sporting facilities, with over $150 million worth of investment in sports facility assets throughout the region.
Some of the biggest projects are now set for completion and are being handed over to local sports trusts to welcome users – predominantly Hawke’s Bay residents – and create economic windfalls from national and international sporting events.
Hawke’s Bay now has the potential to host events such as national and international Masters Games that use multiple venues, through to junior and senior Pacific, Oceania or world championships for canoe polo, athletics, basketball, volleyball and cricket.
The Mitre 10 Park in Hastings is now the largest multisport facility in New Zealand.
The sports park was created after Hastings District Council (HDC) sold Nelson Park – the home to athletics, rugby and league – for $18 million to be converted into large format retail in 2007. Council used $11 million of the sale proceeds to part fund the new sports park.
Today Mitre 10 Park is the regional home of netball, athletics, canoe polo and rugby league, joined by clubs and competitions in football, hockey, rugby, touch rugby, Ki o Rahi and futsal; and via the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust (HBCFCT), there’s a fitness centre, high-performance gym, indoor sprint track, pole vault, café, medical services, meeting rooms and onsite accommodation.
As the Mitre 10 Park’s chief executive Jock MacIntosh puts it, a simple survey at athletic events confirms the sports park and the region offers everything athletes and their supporters want.
“When we host big athletics events, I survey attendees and ask how they rate the venue –we average over nine out of ten every time. I know I’m a bit biased but we are really lucky to have such a fantastic facility.”
Thanks to the vision of Sir Graeme Avery, who also led the development of the Millennium Institute of Sport, the Mitre 10 Park will this year welcome a $32 million regional aquatic centre with a 50-metre International Swimming Federation (FINA) global elite standard pool, a learn- to-swim pool and a hydrotherapy pool; a $5 million hostel with 60 beds; and a $3 million extension of the existing EIT Institute of Sport and Health Centre.
Operated by the HBCFCT, the three capital projects have been funded by the Lotteries Significant Projects Fund, the Provincial Growth Fund and the Infrastructure Reference Group’s shovel- ready funding.
The Hawke’s Bay community has also contributed $19 million, including $4 million from HDC.
Elsewhere at the park is an International Hockey Federation (FIH) Level 1 hockey turf, International Association Athletics Federations (IAAF) Level 2 athletics facilities, a multi-court canoe polo facility, sport fields for rugby, football and league, and netball courts. Over 300,000 people visit and use the park each year.
The founding trust of the Mitre 10 Park, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park Trust, will also complete a new build project in 2022 in partnership with Central Districts Cricket and Giants Boxing Academy.
The 2,000 m2 cricket and boxing centre will feature four indoor cricket lanes and a boxing area, comprising 600 m2 of purpose-built space supported by changing and office facilities for both codes.
A master plan for the 30-hectare sports park will set the future direction, helping identify opportunities for other sports as well as how to overcome traffic and carparking issues that have arisen due to the park’s growing popularity.
For HBCFCT chief executive David Nancarrow, the immediate focus is on ensuring the new aquatic complex covers its costs. Pools are regarded as a bottomless money pit but David is confident that HBCFCT can make it pay its way.
“The problem with a lot of pools is that once you fill them with swimmers, there’s not enough space for spectators, but we have the luxury of seating for 1,350 spectators, which will help us attract regional, national and southern hemisphere swim meets.”
The complex will also feature a learn-to- swim provision in a dedicated pool and a hydrotherapy pool for patient rehab and athlete recovery.
“We also hope that the swimming clubs will relocate and train here and be able to grow their sport. We will also have a water polo club, which is a new sport to the region and offers real growth opportunities.”
Economic opportunities from major sporting events
Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Trust chief executive David Nancarrow says the opening of its three new builds – pool complex, hostel and indoor facility extension – creates significant economic opportunities for the region.
David says the region now offers a one- stop shop with a vast range of facilities to cater for one sport or many sports.
“Part and parcel of building these world- class facilities is attracting major events and an event strategy is firmly on our radar. We’re already starting to attract major events such as indoor pole vault events, and we have just won the North Island Weightlifting Championships, which draws 200 competitors.
Along with the vast facilities at Mitre 10 Park, Hawke’s Bay can now offer a larger multi-venue package including the two indoor arenas at Pettigrew Green Arena, field sports for rugby, football and hockey at Park Island, and cricket and rugby facilities at Napier’s McLean Park.
He says the new regional aquatic facility, with its FINA-approved 50-metre pool, will be the biggest in New Zealand with spectator capacity of 1,350, allowing for opportunities to host national and southern hemisphere events, which the trust is already pursuing.
Jock McIntosh says arguably the Mitre 10 Park is the best of its kind in New Zealand.
“We have the best athletics set-up, international Tier 1 hockey turfs and a world-class canoe polo set-up, so it becomes a very compelling mix of what is available.
The new hostel adds another new dimension for economic benefit, with national sports organisations such as athletics and rowing conducting high- performance training camps.
“This is a cool place for them to stay. They can use all the training and health science facilities here and stay onsite.”
Sport Facility build experience pays off
At the forefront in the construction of sport facilities is Apollo Projects, a business founded in Christchurch but now making a strong presence in Hawke’s Bay.
Apollo Projects Hawke’s Bay regional manager Steve Bailey and his team have been busy over the last 12 months building the regional aquatic centre in Hastings and the new indoor arena in Taradale.
Although relatively new to the region, their track record in large scale sport and community projects is impressive. Projects such as Te Pou Toetoe – Linwood Pools, He Puna Taimoana Hot Pools, Taiora: QEII Recreation and Sport Centre in Christchurch and High Performance Sport New Zealand’s Apollo Projects Centre has established the firm is the ‘go to’ for councils, trusts and commercial businesses.
As well as the two Hawke’s Bay sport projects, other current projects include a new aquatic centre in Gisborne, and indoor court facilities in Christchurch and Te Kuiti.
Steve says Apollo has gained a reputation for overcoming what is regarded in the industry as “Triple Constraint – of time, cost and scope”.
“There are multiple facets in play when it comes to delivering on time and on budget. Some of the obvious are good people, good systems and good communication between client and contractor but more recently other considerations have had more of an influence such as risk and resources.
“As design and build contractors we are well placed to manage this from day one of any project. If design does not consider your budget, then a tender process is nothing more than a lottery. We have a team of design managers and estimators who work solely on the pre-construction phase of every project.
Steve says this leads to facilities that not only look good but are functional and fit for purpose, and designed to budget.
“It’s then over to our team of highly skilled construction professionals who ensure that the quality is achieved and handed over on time and within budget.
When it comes to sport facilities Steve says participants and supporters aren’t too focussed on the design of a building but the overall experience.
“Whenever people go and play sport the buzz and excitement that is generated does not come from amazing architecture or fantastic detailing. It is more about the overall experience, whether playing or spectating.
