From highway repairs, to airport fire station, to HB Hospital facility upgrade, to ‘transformational’ civil defence strategy, here are some noteworthy announcements you might have missed.
State highway repairs roll forward
Here the latest update on Hawke’s Bay state highway repairs from NZ Transport.
Work at many sites on State Highways 2, 5 and 50 are underway or about to get underway in the coming weeks, with stop / go traffic management and temporary lower speed limits in place.
Airport getting new fire station
The much bigger new station (550m2) will serve the airport for the next 50 years.
The current fire station was built in the 1960’s, when Hawke’s Bay Airport was a smaller and less busy aerodrome. At the time its location was some distance from the terminal and other tenants, but expansion of both the terminal and the Airport’s general aviation community has seen the fire station surrounded by other buildings and businesses.
The new fire station will be strategically located at the southern end of the airport offering uninterrupted access to the airfield for the fire team and other emergency services.
Hawke’s Bay Airport Operations Manager, Deb Suisted says, “Our new station incorporates sustainable design principles such as orientation optimised for solar photovoltaics, engineered timber framing, grey water capture, and solar power which is in keeping with our sustainability goals.
The construction period is expected to be 12 months, with the new fire station coming into service around March next year. On the project team is Hawke’s Bay architect RTA Studio, and lead contractor TW Construction.
HB Hospital facility upgrade
Stage 2 of the newly refurbished Puawānanga Outpatients facility at Hawke’s Bay Hospital has opened. This is the second stage of a $16.9 million three-stage project to refurbish the Puawānanga building following the completion of Stage One for Hand Therapy services, which moved in last year.
“The first Orthopaedic clinic will see more than 100 patients today. General Surgery, Vascular and Plastics Outpatients will move in next week.”
Associate General Manager Surgery and Electives Phillip Manoy says, “Designed with the needs of both patients and staff at its core, the refurbishment will improve patient safety and flow as well as enabling us to deliver contemporary models of care.”
Stage Three of Puawānanga will provide more multi-purpose clinical consultation spaces to relieve pressure on the main hospital.
Civil Defence reforms to be announced
Actually, this is just an announcement of an announcement! The actual ‘Transformation Strategy’ and reforms to be implemented won’t be confirmed until Monday the 27th.
The Strategy can be found here, but awaits formal adoption and confirmation of funding provisions.
Once adopted, implementation of the Strategy will be led by recently appointed HBCDEM Transformation Director, Matt Boggs, who joined the Group on a fixed-term basis in August 2024. “In his role as Transformation Director, Matt has been tasked with working alongside the CDEM Coordinating Executive Group and Council partners and leading the development of a clear, prioritised action plan to transform the HBCDEM system.” Boggs has a largely military career, rising to senior positions in the NZ Army and NZ Defence Force, with a stint at local government consultants Morrison Low.
The media release did include this bit of news about work that has occurred in response to the major post-cyclone reviews undertaken …
“This includes the 53 Community Emergency Hubs established across the region, with an additional 41 in progress, the 24 Community Response Plans under development, with a further 2 already completed, and the more than 700 coordination centre staff, volunteers and partner agency representatives who have completed initial emergency management training with the support of the HBCDEM Group, all of which will form a key component of the Transformation Strategy’s implementation.”
