Teams win and lose, but Marlborough’s TEAM (The Economic Action Marlborough) Group is satisfied with its current score card.

Established by the Marlborough District Council in April 2020, TEAM is part of the Marlborough COVID-19 Recovery Plan. The group’s activities have been informed by an expert advisory panel and working groups in the labour and business, and tourism, retail and hospitality sectors.

TEAM Group Chair Councillor Mark Peters said the expert panel, made up of local business and community representatives, was created to take the economic ‘temperature’ of the region. “The panel identified the impacts as particularly significant in the tourism, retail and hospitality sectors. People’s mental health was also highlighted as an issue.”

“TEAM’s role was identified as needing to provide support, leadership, promotion of Marlborough to locals, and to encourage employment and skills. That’s what we will continue to do,” he said.

Seven months on, TEAM can celebrate the following Council-funded projects:

• Six webinars delivered by the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce;
• Forty vouchers from Business Trust Marlborough for support including marketing and business advice;
• Graeme Dingle Foundation Career Navigator 18-24 pilot programme completed by nine Marlborough young people;
• The ‘Make it Marlborough’ campaign which included town activation days in Picton, Havelock, Renwick, Seddon and Blenheim, a celebration of Hometown Heroes, and extensive ‘support local’ advertising;
• A further 11 places in 2021 for Marlborough Boys College’s Gateway project, a Ministry of Education initiative supporting students into the workplace;
• South Marlborough Tourism’s ‘Maunga to Moana’ film project which will showcase businesses in the region;
• Feast Marlborough’s ‘Marlborough’s Summer Feast’ series of events in February and March to support the region’s food producers and venues;
• Event support for the Havelock Mussel & Seafood Festival, Rapaura Springs Bloom in the Boom, Saint Clair Vineyard Half Marathon and the Marlborough Festival Market Day.

“TEAM has also invested in data collection to assess the current and future impact of COVID-19 on Marlborough’s economy. The first of these reports from Infometrics will be presented on 8 December,” Clr Peters said.

“This combined with the consumer electronic card spend from Marketview will be very useful in assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors,” he said.

The group are considering other projects including events, and are open to considering proposals that help address the economic impact of Covid-19 on Marlborough.

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