The Economic Action Marlborough (TEAM) Group, led by Marlborough District Council, has received a commendation at the 2021 Economic Development New Zealand (EDNZ) Awards. The award recognises TEAM under the ‘integrated planning’ category of EDNZ’s annual best practice awards.

TEAM Group chair Councillor Mark Peters said he was proud of what TEAM Group had achieved in helping Marlborough’s post-Covid-19 recovery.

“I’d like to thank all the people and organisations who worked together as TEAM Group to support our communities.”

“TEAM was one of the first groups set up in the regions to address the impacts of Covid-19. We already knew in January 2020 that the pandemic was affecting our tourism, seafood and forestry industries and that it was only a matter of time before it hit the wider economy and our communities.”

“TEAM was set up following the announcement of the level 4 lockdown but we had been discussing a collaborative, Marlborough-wide approach for some weeks prior. TEAM brought together central and local government with iwi, our key industries and professional services, and we all put in some long hours, usually by Zoom, to get our objectives and plan agreed.”

“Our priorities were to support those hit hardest; retain or create jobs here in Marlborough and get infrastructure investment and new opportunities for economic activity happening.”

After securing funding from the Council’s Emergency Events Reserve, TEAM Group set about implementing projects to help local businesses and leverage central government resources and funding.

“Our first phase of work included a business support voucher scheme, which meant small businesses could get professional help and advice locally. We also funded a ‘Make It Marlborough’ campaign to encourage locals to buy and support local, and also a tourism campaign to encourage Kiwis to visit Marlborough. We also provided free parking to encourage retail and hospitality spending,” Councillor Peters said.

“We were successful in getting tens of millions of dollars in Government funding for our ‘shovel-ready’ projects, including the new library and art gallery in Blenheim, the Whale Trail cycle way from Picton to Kaikōura and a new NZ Wine Centre.”

TEAM Group’s Phase 2 work was developed after an in-depth study of the impacts of Covid in Marlborough and focused on those hardest hit: the tourism, hospitality and event sectors.

“After the cancellation of the Wine and Food Festival we decided to fund a series of new events - 65 in all - which were attended by over 20,000 people – a fantastic result. We saw over 250,000 social media engagements for our ‘Summer Feast’ events and Make It Marlborough activity.”

“One of the things I’m proudest of is we helped dozens of people seeking work and supported nearly 100 businesses with professional advice. We also piloted a new Career Navigator scheme for 16 to 25 year olds, which helps show our young people that there are some great work opportunities right here in Marlborough.”

“There are still a lot of learnings to come out of our efforts but what I do know is when a region works together as one, anything is possible.”

For further information go to https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/civil-defence-emergency-management/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/the-economic-action-marlborough-team-group

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