A busy year looms for Marlborough’s TEAM (The Economic Action Marlborough) Group which will reconvene at the beginning of February to consider its key focus areas for 2021.

Established by the Council in April 2020, TEAM is part of the Marlborough COVID-19 Recovery Plan. The group’s activities have been informed by an Expert Advisory Panel and working groups in the labour and business, and tourism, retail and hospitality sector.

“TEAM’s role was identified from the start as needing to provide support, leadership, promotion of Marlborough and the local economy, and to encourage employment and skills and that’s what we will continue to do this year,” said TEAM Group chair, Councillor Mark Peters.

The key focus for the group this year includes engagement with business and industry on impact, re-imagination and solutions, assessing Marketview consumer spend data, delivering summer tourism projects and looking at further projects for funding. Further engagement is planned with Iwi and a Phase 2 report will also be released in June which will give insight into the impacts felt this summer season.

Nine months on from its formation, TEAM can celebrate 23 Council-funded projects being supported, an investment of over $500,000. The projects include:

• Feast Marlborough’s ‘Marlborough’s Summer Feast’ series of events in February and March to support the region’s food producers and venues;
• Event support for the Havelock Mussel Festival, Garden Marlborough, Saint Clair Half Marathon and the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival market day;
• Investment in marketing Marlborough to visitors across NZ;
• Six webinars delivered to local businesses by the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce;
• Forty vouchers from Business Trust Marlborough for support including marketing and business advice;
• Graeme Dingle Foundation Career Navigator 18-24 pilot programme completed by nine Marlborough young people;
• The ‘Make it Marlborough’ campaign which included Town Activation Days in Picton, Havelock, Renwick, Seddon and Blenheim, a celebration of Hometown Heroes, and extensive ‘support local’ advertising;
• School based programmes at Queen Charlotte College, Marlborough Boys and Girls Colleges to assist over 30 students seeking work;
• South Marlborough Tourism’s ‘Maunga to Moana’ film project which will showcase businesses in the region.

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