From special HB Farmers’ Market venue, to Expressway alerts, to new alcohol rules, to a better Cyclone Gabrielle flooding map, to progress on Māori archive centre, to Napier’s positive vibes, to citizen beach scientists, here are some notable items you might have missed.
HB Farmers’ Market shifts venue for one week
The HB Farmers’ Market is bringing a special one-time market event to Havelock North! On Sunday, March 9th, the market will temporarily relocate to the Village Green in a celebration of National Farmers’ Market Week.
Harvested on the Green, 8:30am-12:30pm, will feature a vibrant market atmosphere filled with vendor demonstrations, tastings, a dedicated Kids’ Corner, live music, and more. Set in the spacious and centrally located Village Green, families can enjoy a relaxed morning shopping for the freshest produce while children take advantage of the playground. Visitors will have the chance to meet and chat with local growers and makers, learning more about the people behind their favourite market products.
The market will continue as usual at the Tōmoana Showgrounds every other Sunday before and after March 9th. www.hawkesbayfarmersmarket.co.nz
Expressway alerts
Work on HB Expressway necessarily brings detours and delays. Here and here are some alerts for the first week of March related to resurfacing and tree removal.
Curious about drilling rigs in the Tutaekuri off the Expressway bridge?It’s not every day commuters between Napier and Hastings get to see a drilling rig in Tutaekuri River.But that’s exactly what they’ll see from early March as work progresses on the State Highway 2 Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance project.
The drilling rig will be here and in other locations on the expressway for approximately 4 weeks while geotechnical investigations are carried out, subject to consent approval.
Hastings/Napier alcohol rules up for debate
The councils are proposing additional discretionary controls, which could include: asking licensed premises to install CCTV with a 28-day recording requirement, enhancing exterior lighting, and improving queue management.
Additional discretionary controls could limit high-strength drinks, and restrict drink sizes per sale. Off-licences could also face stricter discretionary conditions, such as limits on alcohol signage, a ban on small ‘ready-to-drink’ single sales, and a requirement to stock low or no-alcohol options.
- The proposed policies build on input from New Zealand Police, health experts, and alcohol licensing inspectors.
- Public consultation will run from 14 March to 14 April 2025, with hearings scheduled for 23–24 April 2025.
- The draft policies and supporting documents are available online at:
Hastings: https://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/services/alcohol-licensing/
Napier: https://www.napier.govt.nz/services/alcohol-licensing/
New Cyclone Gabrielle flood map
A new map showing the extent of flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle is now available on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council website.
The sources of information to produce this map included photographs, videos, satellite photos, local council building inspection information, and ground contours.
Local councils from across the region provided information for the map and were consulted on the results. It shows only the extent of the flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle, not the depth of the flooding.
To review the most up-to-date version of the mapping, visit here:
https://hbrc.info/cyclonegabriellefloodmap
Feathers cloak Māori archive centre
Eighty, six-metre-tall aluminium feathers have started being installed on the new Hawke’s Bay research and archive centre.
The building will house the region’s historic artefacts and taonga not on display at the MTG Hawke’s Bay and be accessible for research and education purposes.
MTG Hawke’s Bay museum director Laura Vodanovich said the feathers represented a cloak, protecting the taonga in the Hawke’s Bay collection.
The laser-cut aluminium feathers on the building’s exterior will be engraved with the names of major donors who have contributed towards $700,000 in public fundraising by the MTG Foundation, on behalf of the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust, for the project.
Jeanette Kelly, chair of the Trust, commented: “We’ve had wonderful support for our fundraising for the new Hawke’s Bay Research & Archive Centre and are delighted that 45 of the external feathers will show donor names. Despite the regional challenges created by Cyclone Gabrielle our community fundraising campaign has so far successfully raised $700,000 from individuals, families, hapū, small businesses and some local charitable trust grants. Our original goal was $1 million and we still hope to achieve that, most likely from further charitable grants.”
The bulk of funding includes $9 million from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s Regional Culture & Heritage Fund and $5.5 million from the New Zealand Lotteries Commission. Hastings District Council has contributed $4.56 million and Napier City Council $3.13 million.
Napier reports positive vibes
Sentiment about life in Napier is improving, with 66% of residents rating it as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, up from 63% in 2023, according to the 2024 Napier City Council Social Monitor Survey just released. The survey is based on 500 responses, with methods ensuring demographic representation of Napier’s population based on the 2018 Census.
Other findings (all slightly better than 2023 attitudes):
Safety: 56% of residents feel safe. Daytime safety is particularly high, with 73% feeling safe going out during the day.
Mental Well-being: The well-being index has improved to near pre-cyclone levels, with a notable decrease in reported depression rates (31%) and financial concerns (41%).
Health and Accessibility: Self-reported health has improved, with 66% rating their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Accessibility ratings have also risen to 53%.
Community Resilience: The resilience index remains high at 67.1 out of 100.
Emergency Preparedness: Preparedness remains stable, with 89% of residents having means of cooking without power and 88% storing food for emergencies. Additionally, 67% have a household emergency plan, and 56% have emergency kits.
Become a citizen beach scientist
Community and visitors to Hawke’s Bay coast will be invited to become beach scientists by taking a photo at one of ten newly installed CoastSnap cradles as part of a global citizen science project to capture changing coastlines.
HBRC will install ten smartphone camera cradles between Whirinaki and Clifton. Anyone who has a mobile phone will be able use the cradles as part of this science project.
CoastSnap relies on repeat photos taken at the same location to track how coastlines are changing due to human activity and natural processes such as storms, rising sea levels and day-to-day changes in the beach structure.
The photos taken will add to a community database used by scientists and planners to map shoreline changes.
You will soon be able to find a CoastSnap cradle at:
• Whirinaki – Whirinaki Road Rest Area (SH2 Access)
• Whirinaki – Southern end of Whirinaki Road
• Bay View – Le Quesne Road Toilets
• Westshore – 70 The Esplanade (Beach Access)
• Westshore – Rangatira Revetment
• Ahuriri – Spriggs Park
• Haumoana – Corner of East Road and Clifton Road
• Te Awanga – Te Awanga Community Hall (facing north)
• Te Awanga – Te Awanga Community Hall (facing south)
• Clifton – Entrance of the Clifton Motor Camp
We will let you know once they are all installed.
The CoastSnap app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play, or photos can be emailed to [email protected]
CoastSnap is a joint project involving Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier City Council and Hastings District Council and the University of New South Wales.
