From new Social Supermarket, to Ahuriri Regional Park, to HB business survey, to Waiohiki stopbank progress, to EIT graduations, to seeking Napier heroes, to good news for wool, to interesting HB coastline developments, to Unison seeking feedback, here are some notable items you might have missed.
Nourished for Nil opens 2nd Social Supermarket
Following on the successful launch of their first Social Supermarket in Onekawa Napier in Sept 2023, Nourished for Nil announced their second Supermarket in Hastings, opening on Monday April 14th 2025at 506 Queen Street West.
The store is similar to a small 4 Square with shelves stocked with grocery items to ensure a good variety of nutritious food, just like you would find in a normal supermarket, but offered at a low or subsidised cost. Each grocery item is allocated a point value rather than a dollar value, so shoppers can spend their point allocation (depends on family size) but shop just like they would in a normal supermarket. At the point of checkout, food is scanned through and bagged up, and each shopper is then asked to contribute a minimum of $25 towards their shop. Points are allocated on the basis of family size.
Nourished for Nil’s two Social Supermarkets are operated in partnership with Foodstuffs, the driver of this initiative across the North Island.
Open Day shows Napier stormwater solution
On Saturday 3 May, Napier City Council is hosting an Open Day at Lagoon Farm – which is set to become Ahuriri Regional Park – to give people a chance to explore the area, view the plans on site and provide feedback.
The Park is a collaboration between Napier and Hawke’s Bay Regional councils, and Mana Ahuriri Trust.
The primary purpose of Ahuriri Regional Park is to establish wetlands of native plantings to filter, polish and clean the ‘first flush’ of urban stormwater before it enters Te Whanganui a Orotu (Ahuriri estuary).
More information here. Consultation on the Ahuriri Regional Park Masterplan is open from 16 April to 7 May through sayitnapier.
Chamber finds HB businesses cautiously optimistic
Most local businesses believe their productivity will be the same or better this year, according to a recent survey by Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce.
50% of respondents felt their business productivity would be better over the coming six months, while 40% believed it would be the same and 10% believed it would be worse.
Improving operational efficiency is the main challenge facing Hawke’s Bay businesses, according to the Chamber’s annual survey of 140 mostly small-medium businesses.
More than half of small businesses responding target local customers (53.6%), while 35% focus on the national market and 11.4% have an international reach.
Waiohiki community moves to low risk status
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has confirmed that 45 properties in Waiohiki, previously classed as Category 2C, have now been moved to Category 1, the lowest risk category, following the commencement of work on a new stopbank.
The planned stopbank, which will run from Redclyffe Bridge to the Napier Golf Course along the Tūtaekurī River, will help mitigate the risk of future flooding in Waiohiki, providing protection for a 1-in-100-year flood event (at post-Cyclone Gabrielle levels).
“The release of this area to Category 1 means property and land owners have greater certainty about the rebuild back into the community and with greater mitigation from future flooding,” said HBRC Chair Hinewai Ormsby.
Celebrations as EIT HB students graduate
On Friday, 300 EIT students marked the end of their study journey.
Two ceremonies were held at the Napier Municipal Theatre today (April 11), with whānau, friends and supporters gathering to mark the occasion. In total, EIT awarded 2,241 diplomas, degrees and postgraduatequalifications to Hawke’s Bay-based learners who finished their studies last year.
The morning ceremony recognised graduates from the Centre for Veterinary Nursing, IDEAschool, Te Ūranga Waka, and the Schools of Education and Social Sciences, Primary Industries, Tourism and Hospitality, Trades and Technology, and Viticulture and Wine Science.
A graduation parade through Napier’s city centre followed, with students, staff, and supporters cheered on by the community.
In the afternoon, students from the Schools of Business, Computing, Health and Sport Science, and Nursing were celebrated.
Valedictorians Elijah Rogers and Kayla Hughes delivered heartfelt speeches reflecting on their time at EIT. Olympian Nigel Avery was the special guest speaker, and Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd was also in attendance.
Nominate Napier’s humble heroes
Nominations close for the 2025 Napier Civic Awards on 5 May, and the awards will be held on 9 September.
Mayor Kirsten Wise says volunteers demonstrate a huge amount of community spirit through their activities.
“Volunteers help make our community more resilent, they help nurture relationships and build connections, they help make Napier an attractive visitor destination and a place people are proud to call home.”
Nominations of younger volunteers who demonstrate community spirit and service to Napier are welcome. While older volunteers often have their names put forward, longevity of service is not a compulsory part of the nomination criteria.
There are three categories: the Civic Award, Civic Award for Meritorious Contribution to the Community, and Freedom of the City.
For more information and to fill in an online nomination form, go here. Paper forms are also available from the Customer Service Centre or Napier Libraries.
Good news for HB wool industry
The Government has directed Government agencies to use wool products in Government Buildings.
From 1 July, government agencies will be directed to use woollen fibre products in the construction and refurbishment of government buildings, where practical and appropriate. The new procurement requirements will apply to the construction of government owned buildings that cost $9 million and more, and to refurbishments of $100,000 and more. The requirement will apply to about 130 agencies.
“Our government is backing our Hawke’s Bay wool industry, and the announcement shows our commitment to woollen fibres by leveraging government spending, to provide more targeted opportunities for wool producers. This will help drive economic growth in our region,” said Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd.
HB coastline news
Stuff veteran reporter Marty Sharpe has been focused on some HB coastal developments lately.
He writes here of HDC’s consent application to build a 200 metre seawall at Te Awanga to tackle urgent erosion risk.
And here he writes of a more questionable Napier plan for a 59-lot subdivision in Bay View inside the tsunami risk zone. With an interesting twist … no cats allowed.
Unison invites feedback on 10-Year Plan
Local electricity distributor, Unison Networks, is inviting feedback on its latest 10-year Regulatory Asset Management Plan. The plan guides the design, construction, and maintenance of its networks, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of regional customers, communities, and businesses.
Says Unison: “In addition to continuing to invest to ensure we can reliably supply customers, connect new customers’ new loads and distributed energy resources, we are also evaluating non-traditional solutions … we are inviting proposals from third parties that can provide these solutions.”
Visit www.unison.co.nz/ramp to explore the 10-year plan and provide feedback.
Unison will also host a community meeting in Hastings to discuss the plan – Monday, 12 May, 5:30 – 6:30pm – Te Rae, 101 Queen Street East.
