Need to act now to energise the heart of our city

Tessa Allan

Opinion

I feel I have stepped into the role of president at the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce at a pivotal time for our local businesses. We are facing some serious challenges as a business community after Covid-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle and simply can’t wait much longer for efforts to turn things around.

The heart of our city, the CBD, should be the buzz and the energy of our community, a place where we go to connect with others, but instead I feel most of us would rather avoid it. The number of shops is dwindling. How many more are we going to lose before we decide we need to switch things up and try a different approach?

We are becoming more focused on our employees’ wellbeing and work-life balance, so why not create and encourage a space to connect, unwind and enjoy? Give opportunities to our local cafes, restaurants and shops to expand into the street. Make a city centre that is focused on people, vibrant and fit for purpose for tourism.

If we want to encourage growing our own talent here in the region, to fill local job opportunities, we need to provide a CBD that has energy at night time and encourages young people to stay here or to come back home.

We have been hit hard lately. The two cyclones and relentless wet weather could not have been imagined after coming out of a challenging post-Covid stage.

Local businesses, already struggling and trying to pick up the pieces, were once again knocked about by an extreme event we just didn’t plan for. Infrastructure was annihilated by Cyclone Gabrielle. Our town was cut off from civilisation.

Visitors to Tairawhiti have slowed as media have focused on the devastating effects on our road links and our beaches, one of the region’s main drawcards. This directly impacts our tourism industry, which in turn negatively affects so many of our locally owned businesses.

Retailers, the beating heart of our city, are struggling. There is an urgent need for action. Planning and discussion for future revitalisation doesn’t provide immediate support for our businesses in the CBD. To ensure most of them survive recent events, we need to act now.

With sales reduced by 20 to 30 percent on average across cyclone-affected regions, retailers are not confident that their businesses can survive. Immediate assistance given at the time of the cyclone certainly helped to relieve financial pressures, but as we move on more needs to be done to increase foot traffic in our city centre.

How we do this is the challenge. Restoring the roading infrastructure is key – without a functioning road network, tourists and visitors to our region are reduced. As roads open up, keeping them open is crucial. Safe access to our region and all around it is essential for attracting people back.

Our council and economic development agency need to collaborate with retailers and local businesses to develop attractive incentives and promotions to shop local. Let’s consider events in the city centre to bring people together. Is there a model for limited free parking that supports CDB businesses?

Enhance the experience – make it appealing to draw people back. Cultural events, art exhibitions, pop-up stores. Showcase our uniqueness! Beautify our streets and public spaces.

The cyclone’s timing in February was extra unfortunate in that it put a halt to the Trust Tairawhiti event focusing on our city centre and its regeneration, scheduled for the evening of the 14th. Here’s hoping we can move ahead with this event and start setting objectives and immediate actions.

We can’t wait much longer. At this critical time it is crucial that we come together as a community to support our local retailers. Don’t make a plan, take some action. Shop with local businesses. Talk with retailers and listen to what they need. If our region is to grow and thrive in the future this needs to be a priority. Some flags and fairy lights aren’t going to cut it any more. Supporting local is an investment in the future of Tairawhiti Gisborne.

■   Tessa is president of the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce and owner of occupational health services business WorkAble as well as ProTraffic alongside her husband Kurt Allan.