One Warkworth – Business concerns all

As a business association, we regard ourselves as the voice of business in our area, but the projects and issues we deal with often show that these impact residents as much as business.

Earlier this year, One Warkworth took a 50 per cent share in the Warkworth i-SITE. One of our first objectives has been to make it financially viable, and this has meant finding other income streams. The advertising outside the i-SITE has always been very popular as it gives companies and organisations great exposure to the large number of people who pass by. So we have put up another 18 advertising boards for those local businesses that want a high visibility spot in the centre of Warkworth. If you are interested, come in to the i-SITE and talk to Asher about advertising. We will be having a networking evening at the i-SITE on October 31, from 5pm to 7pm. This will be a joint One Warkworth/Matakana Coast Tourism event. This is a complimentary event that will give you a chance to buy some different Christmas gifts, while meeting a few new people and many old friends. If you are interested in attending, email me, murray@onewarkworth.co.nz

Meanwhile, the Matakana link road has been getting a lot of publicity at the moment and while some may think that this is a business issue, it is not. One of our concerns is that if Auckland Transport continue with their plans to make it a two-lane road, we will end up with two major choke points, Hill Street and the Matakana link road. This will not help businesses in Matakana, Omaha, Snells Beach or Warkworth as residents from these areas try to get in to town to shop.

Given that there will also be heavy traffic volume from construction traffic for both the new 60ha industrial area and the proposed residential area for around 1500 homes, this has the potential to cause total gridlock. As a business association we get involved because issues like this affect not just business but the whole community. For us to have a healthy business community, we need to make sure that infrastructure is future-proofed and not just built for today.

We are a growing area. We need to be certain that what is being built takes in to account just how big and how fast we will grow. We need to make sure we are not short-changed because of a shortfall in funds.

Murray Chapman, One Warkworth Manager
www.onewarkworth.co.nz