Activate Tairāwhiti has formally taken over the programme delivery of city centre management and promotions.

Council collects a targeted rate from non-residential properties in the city centre to fund these activities, previously delivered by Heart of Gisborne.

The existing manager for Heart of Gisborne has been employed by Activate Tairāwhiti to continue the role and will be based out of the Gisborne i-SITE.

This follows 12 months of discussions between Heart of Gisborne, Activate Tairāwhiti and Council.

Director of transformation and relationships Keita Kohere says increased resourcing, regional alignment and operational efficiencies offered by Activate Tairāwhiti will benefit the targeted rate payers and wider community.

ECT chief executive Gavin Murphy was pleased to be welcoming Lana and Hayley to the Activate Tairāwhiti team.

“It’s exciting to connect our current work to city centre promotions. There is a clear fit with our economic development and tourism functions and we will build on the platform created by Heart of Gisborne to connect both locals and visitors to a vibrant city centre.”

Activate Tairāwhiti plans to take a business as usual approach for the remainder of 2019, including a shop local initiative in winter, a street food festival, the Christmas Parade and cruise ship support.

“We are looking forward to meeting businesses that are current Heart of Gisborne customers in the coming months to understand what we should consider regarding city centre services and promotions moving forward,” said Mr Murphy.

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