| As we step into 2025, there’s a lot to be excited about. This year presents new opportunities for us as a town to plan, innovate, and promote Warkworth as a destination where visitors as well as locals want to spend time—and money. The summer break saw Warkworth lively with activity. Despite the windy weather, the sunshine brought locals and visitors out in force. On my visits into town, I was struck by how busy it was and heard from retailers and cafés about the strong trade over the holiday season. However, one challenge stood out—ensuring more businesses remain open on public holidays. While I understand how difficult this can be, especially for those managing small teams or operating alone, it’s also clear these are some of the busiest and most profitable trading days. Finding ways to collaborate better on this is something we can explore together. A key goal for this year is positioning Warkworth as a must-visit destination. To achieve this, we’re forming a planning group of tourism, hospitality, and retail representatives to develop a promotional and advertising strategy. Drawing inspiration from successful revitalisation projects elsewhere, such as Queen Street’s transformation efforts highlighted in this RNZ article, we can explore new ways to breathe life into our town and attract more visitors. You may have noticed the hanging flower pots outside a few businesses we are trailing around town, such as outside the Information Centre, Warkworth Butchery, and Watson’s Shoe Repair. While they’re not real plants, they’re a low-maintenance way to add vibrancy to the streetscape. If the trial goes well, we hope to extend this to all interested businesses with minimal one-off costs. On another front, our engagement with Watercare continues positively. As their planning progresses, I’ll organise a meeting early in the year for Elizabeth Street businesses to address concerns directly with the project team. Watercare’s willingness to engage with our community has been exceptional, and the changes we’ve helped drive are a testament to what we can achieve as a small but determined community. Here is what Dave Chambers, Watercare CEO wrote to me in an email: |
| “Our intent is to work well with communities and mostly that occurs but not always. In this case, it very clearly didn’t but the work we’ve been able to do together since July is excellent and you could also feel proud that you’ve changed our organisation as the goodwill and expertise you came to the table with has changed how we approach more challenging development situations. It has already brought a changed approach from us for a southern Auckland community that would not have been the case had we not worked together on the Warkworth situation.” – Dave Chambers, Watercare CEO |
| Let’s make 2025 a year of progress, collaboration, and growth for Warkworth. Together, we can ensure our town continues to thrive. Murray Chapman Manager, One Mahurangi, Warkworth  murray@onemahurangi.co.nz |
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