Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce Chair, Mark Ternent, has acknowledged the effort Council is putting into economic development and job creation in the region.
Mr Ternent used public speaking time at a meeting of the Corporate Business Committee to apologise for comments in a recent press report that suggested otherwise.
Mr Ternent said in publicly releasing the ‘vision 2031’ document on behalf of business think tank, Kāpiti Action Group, that he didn’t mean to imply Council was doing nothing, nor that his group’s document was the ‘only show in town’.
“This Council is taking a leadership role and a lot of good effort has gone into job creation and economic development over the past 18 months. My reference to a lack of plans was a historical one.”
“From being in a position where economic development needed to be addressed, Kāpiti is now moving to front foot and there is community buy-in. I think this is an important message to go out beyond the region to people looking to relocate their businesses here.”
Mr Ternent said Council had supported the Kāpiti Action Group in producing the ‘Vision 2031’ document, which was very closely aligned with Council’s own work and collective vision.
Corporate Business Committee chair Ross Church said Mr Ternent’s presence at the meeting was very much appreciated.
“Good on Mark for fronting and apologising which is completely accepted. We are looking forward to working with the Chamber. We need more businesses in Kāpiti and I’m all for it if the Chamber and Council can do anything to make that happen.”
Cr Church said “Council processes often take longer than outside organisations and so we will continue to support such agencies.”
He said in recent times there has been significant progress with businesses such as the Kāpiti Airport, Whitireia Polytech, and Mitre 10 Mega all flourishing.
