Business Support

Waitakere City Council is business friendly. It plays a significant role in the transformation of the local economy directly and indirectly. Direct support is provided to businesses through its economic development agency, Waitakere Enterprise, which has a range of initiatives to meet local business needs. These include:

• Promoting Waitakere as a business investment location and providing a key client service to new investment opportunities from inside and outside the city
• Creating an environment for and supporting initiatives that grow strategic industry sectors
• Growing the number, size and performance of existing businesses
• Stimulating business networks
• Developing export trade links
• Facilitating and delivering education and skills development initiatives that meet local business needs
• Providing foundation skill training and employment transition programmes for sustainable entry to the labour market
• Supporting community economic development initiatives

In addition, the Council plays a direct role in making available suitable land for economic development in the city. This includes developing and marketing specific Working Environment Areas for business growth (e.g. Henderson Vineyard Business Campus) and the initiation of the process to release land for future business and employment growth.

Council has initiated a process under the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Act 2004 (LGAAA), to establish three new peripheral urban growth areas which are primarily intended for commercial and industrial activities. The Council also intends to introduce rules and supporting policies to facilitate and encourage the intensification of development in and around the New Lynn town centre.

These proposed Plan Changes will open new areas for business investment. In total these areas will provide 205 hectares of business land by 2021. Already, the Hobsonville Airbase area has begun to develop as a marine precinct with several boat building companies in operation at this location.

The Council has also recognised the importance of the transport network in supporting sustainable economic development. Several major projects are planned, and some are already underway, to improve the efficiency of the transport network and connectivity of Waitakere City with the rest of the region. These include the development of a new transport interchange at Henderson; double tracking of the rail line; trenching of the rail track in New Lynn and upgrading of New Lynn railway station under the New Lynn
Transit Oriented Development Project; and new motorway construction projects (State Highway 20, and State Highway 18) that will significantly improve road access to Waitakere.

To complement these initiatives, the Council is investing in creating dynamic town centres, developing a real sense of place and an identity for the City. In addition, the Council has invested in a film studio to assist the development of the film industry in the City. The development of the Trusts Stadium, the Waitakere Central Civic Centre, Waitakere Central Transport Interchange and the UNITEC/Council library in Henderson collectively generate a considerable amount of spin-off benefits to businesses.

Indirectly, the Council contributes to economic development through all its activities in the areas of planning, policy making, partnership development, advocacy, community development and infrastructure development. It is hard to isolate and identify the positive effects of these because of the influence of a host of other factors on the local economy and the complexities involved in development process. The leverage effect of these activities is critical in local economic development.

The Council continues to invest in "soft" infrastructure that supports economic development including strengthening its consent process to provide faster service and more certainty in processing for business consents.

As an eco city, Council provides assistance to businesses in developing cleaner production methods so that they will become more competitive in the emerging new international economic order based on sustainability. The Council continues to protect and enhance the liveability and amenity of the City, as these issues have been found to be of major significance to business leaders in their location.