Media Release
23 January 2007

Manukau Central Set To Become Business Improvement District

Manukau central is one step closer to becoming one of the city’s business improvement districts following polling that shows that nearly 80% of businesses in the area are supportive of the move.

By becoming a business improvement district, the city centre business association will receive additional council funding, generated through targeted rates, and support for programmes and activities to promote the area.

Manukau City Council’s Manager Economic Development, Denise Fink says that town centres such as Manukau central are an integral part the economic vitality and development of the city as a whole.

“Town centres contribute greatly to the vitality and economic development of the city, and our Business Improvement District Policy enables us to work collaboratively with business associations and local businesses to transform parts of the city into successful and vibrant places.

“Manukau central is an important area within Manukau as it is essentially our CBD. It is a hub of government agencies and business support services that serve the wider southern part of the Auckland region, and the next few years will see some major improvements and growth, with the council committed to revitalizing the area.”

Manukau City Council’s Business Improvement District Policy, established in 2005, is based on international models to improve the economic, social and cultural vitality of defined areas within the city. The policy enables additional funding to be directly applied in the area it is collected from, for initiatives including security and maintenance, graffiti control, beautification projects, events and tourism initiatives, marketing and promotional activity, business recruiting, signage, coordination of precinct (e.g. appointing someone to coordinate all activities), child care facilities, horticulture and retail improvements.

There are currently eight business improvement district in the city, ranging in size from 30 to more than 1500 businesses. Polling is required as part of the establishment phase to determine the level of support from businesses in the area.

ENDS

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