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Local firm sees value in the hub
South Taranaki chartered accountants Harris Taylor will contribute $50,000 over five years towards The Hub sports, events and recreation complex.
Business partners Neil Taylor and Dean Pratt say they've done the numbers, and see their sponsorship deal as good value for the firm and the district. "We're passionate about South Taranaki and this is a great way to give something back to the community."
Mayor Mary Bourke says Harris Taylor's commitment shows that the project has the potential to win significant support from district and national businesses. "The Council agreed to contribute $13.65 million but we can only deliver a top-class facility if businesses and community groups get behind the fundraising."
Mr Taylor says Harris Taylor had been searching for a large scale sponsorship project for some time. "The Hub was the ideal opportunity," says Mr Taylor. "We saw it as a facility that will benefit the whole district. Not only will it be used by a lot of our clients and staff, and their families, but it will bring more business and visitors to the district by providing facilities for functions, conferences, expos and competitions."
He says it's important to enhance the lifestyle benefits of living in South Taranaki for present and future generations. "It will be a fantastic venue for our young people."
Mr Pratt, father of two, has spent time freezing courtside watching his children play Saturday sport. He says completion of the Hub, with the full range of sporting and leisure amenities, is badly needed.
"Many of the facilities we have in Hawera are clearly inadequate. They are uninviting and depressing, and in some instances downright dangerous. This is not the image that we want to portray of our district."
Harris Taylor has 15 staff, and they are supportive and excited about the sponsorship.
"That is hardly surprising as we take the health and fitness of our staff very seriously and actively encourage the whole office to exercise. Staff have entered the Round the Mountain cycle race, the Rotorangi Gutbuster, the Relay for Life, and the Taupo half marathon walk," say the partners. "The Hub was a project well worth supporting just from the health and leisure perspective."
Mayor Mary Bourke says she is delighted with Harris Taylor's contribution. "This is a real demonstration of community leadership - a local business putting something back into the community for the benefit of the wider district, and Harris Taylor have a long record of such community generosity," she says.
"With a declining population as people head to the cities and a real skills shortage here in South Taranaki, it is vital that we do things to make our district an attractive place for people to come and live and stay - because if we don't, other districts certainly will."
South Taranaki District Council has committed $13.65 million towards the Hub project with a further $8 million being sought in external funding. The Council contribution is being loan funded from the Long Term Investment Fund so building the Hub will not affect rates.
"Opportunities like the Hub don't come along very often," says Mr Taylor. "So I challenge other local businesses to get in behind this project in whatever way they can and keep this district moving forward."
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