Upper Hutt, a city of opportunities!
Upper Hutt City Council is getting serious about attracting new business investment.
UPPER HUTT, Wellington NZ, 02 OCT 2014—Upper Hutt City Council seeks to stimulate the economy by offering incentives for
businesses to set up and expand within the city. Its new Economic Development Stimulus Package offers a range of grants
for relocation, retrofitting, and earthquake strengthening commercial properties within Upper Hutt.
“It’s about saying we are serious about attracting new investment and incentivising our current businesses to grow,”
says Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy.
For example, a significant retail store (or organisation) relocating to Upper Hutt could receive a $30,000 grant towards
their relocation expenses. They could then also receive another $50,000 grant from Council to contribute towards the
retrofit cost. The package is designed to support a range of different levels of new investment, based on the size of
the business and the number of employees.
“We are committed to supporting business at every level and these incentives open up some real opportunities for local
businesses looking to give themselves a facelift through to new companies wanting to establish themselves in the
Wellington market,” says Council’s Chief Executive, Chris Upton.
As well as retrofitting and relocation subsidies, the package also waives building and resource consent fees on all new
commercial and industrial developments. Plus it provides a grant to cover the property rates, whilst new developments
and building conversions are taking place. For those who already own a building, the package supports earthquake
strengthening, through provision of a grant, up to $15,000, for each renovation. These incentives are in addition to a
current offering that removes rates for a period of three years for significant new developments.
The incentive package is one of many initiatives that Council is offering to attract commercial investment into Upper
Hutt. The incentives can be viewed on the new Upper Hutt commercial website, www.biz.upperhuttcity.com, where
applications may also be made. On this site you can also view the commercial profiles video, and read about the local
success stories and the opportunities for investment currently available.
ends