Big thinking and bold strategies are shaping numerous
rejuvenation projects currently underway within Invercargill, injecting new
life and revolutionising the city, making Southland the leading region in
innovation and redesign.
One key player in reshaping Southland’s future is Southland
Just Transition; Southland Just Transition is a region wide strategy to help
Southland lead its own planning and to ensure sustainable diversification of
industry, wellness of community and to secure a prosperous future for the
region.
The Southland Just Transition work is being supported and
driven by Iwi, government, unions, education, Southland Business Chamber, Coin
South, Councils, Great South and the Murihiku community.
With or without Tiwai, the group’s
agenda is to secure the future of the region, to keep it buoyant, introduce
more skilled jobs, lower carbon, diversify land and water use, and look to
productive clean energy usage.
Invercargill is on track to become a highly desirable city to
visit and settle down in, and as key projects for the greater benefit of
the region are presented, Southland will continue to look to government for
on-going support.
Deliberate and collective design of the region,
industries and communities were born from The Southland Regional Development
Strategy (SoRDS). From this, large scale projects and initiatives will be shaping
what Southland will look like.
Industry extension and diversification for Southland has
been a key focus to secure the region’s future, and as innovation and new
methods for cleaner more efficient operation for many industries have been
developed, the Aquaculture sector has been pegged as an industry that can be
significantly upscaled to be a substantial economic contributor to Southland
and to become the leading region for New Zealand’s Open Ocean Aquaculture
Industry.
The highly
anticipated inner-city redevelopment, two brand new hotels, eateries, retail
outlets and New Zealand’s first Tier 4 data centre, will all contribute to the
transformation of the region.
The CBD redevelopment will have a
variety of retailers, a fantastic food court with up to five restaurants on the
second floor, access to Invercargill’s cinema, and a large new car park with
approximately 670 spaces.
Just Transition’s Enduring
Oversite Group (EOG) Chair, Neil McAra commented what an exciting
time it was for such a transitional phase for the region’s industries and
economies.
“It’s wonderful to have so much enthusiasm about the future
of Southland and it’s great to be well supported by government and government
resources,” he said.
EOG Co-Chair, Aimee Kaio added Southland Just
Transition was key to unlocking the region’s economic and environmental
potential.
Digital access and connectivity are seen as vital to
Southland’s development. Presently, the region is being mapped to ensure cell
phone coverage is consistent throughout the region.
An exciting new industry will soon be home to Southland with
two multi-million-dollar data centres being constructed in the region.
Datagrid New Zealand Limited has had Overseas Investment
Office (OIO) approval to build the centre at a 43-hectare site at Makarewa,
about 12 kilometres north of Invercargill.
Invercargill-based T4 Group is a Kiwi-owned data centre
contender that has arrived with plans to build New Zealand’s first tier 4 data
centre located in Southland.
The ‘green’ data centre will use modular design and rely on
the region’s hydropower generation. It would also use the naturally cool air of
the region to reduce the need for powered cooling systems and extract warm air
to be used by a large local business.
The initiative
was not only beneficial for the industry itself, but for the future of the
Southland community, as specialist training facilities are being discussed,
bringing potential educational opportunities to Southland attracting
international students.
There is a sense of excitement about Southland and the
future of the region; the Just Transition work groups are in the planning
stages to identify what projects will offer the most value for Southland.
The project groups are made up of
seven work streams led by community leaders. These streams include Long
Term Planning, Clean Energy, Worker Transition, Business Transition, Land Use,
Community Capability Building and Aquaculture.
As the physical landscape of the inner-city changes, the bold
plans to reshape Southland’s future is being crafted to not only secure the new
direction the region is heading in, but to ease reliance on some industries.
The plan is a bold transition of Southland, and the future
looks bright.
