FAQs

Yes, when the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council was established in 1989, it was officially gazetted that its headquarters would be in Palmerston North. 

Council is very mindful of costs and will try to minimise the impact on ratepayers. 

Detailed cost estimates will be prepared during the initial design phase, which has a budget of $950,000. There will be no increase in rates to cover the cost of the design phase, as Council approved at their 24 June 2025 meeting to fund this part of the project from two recent sales of surplus council properties. Reinvesting the proceeds from these sales into property-related projects is considered appropriate.  

Funding arrangements for the building work will be brought to Council for endorsement when we know how much the new building will cost. These funding arrangements may include a mixture of loans, asset sales or rates, and potentially options that may not require additional debt or increasing rates.  

Recognising the size of this project and possible impact on rates, Council has indicated there could be public consultation at some point in the process. At this stage we are not sure exactly when that will be as more information is gathered, but options include via upcoming Annual/Long-term Plan consultations. Council acknowledges there will be concerns about costs and will do its best to minimise costs while providing a building that is fit for purpose for staff and the best value to ratepayers. 

On 24 June 2025, Council endorsed the formation of a subordinate decision-making body, comprising a panel of three councillors, which would take over governance of the project. It would be supported by a steering group comprising Horizons’ chair and staff. 

We will keep you updated via the Regional House Palmerston North Project page on the Horizons website.

We appreciate that there has been a lot of talk in the media about the possibility of reforming local government. At this stage ministers have said there are no active plans to reform local government. Politicians in both central and local government do agree the current model is not fit for purpose, but what it could look like has not been decided.
 
With this in mind, we are approaching this from a few angles.
 
Firstly, a new build is needed to house our staff as the current building has been deemed earthquake prone and there are two other sites we are renting where staff are working from. Our team has looked at different options such as renting an existing building, and buying a commercial property however there has been nothing on the market that has met our needs. We are also wary that continuing to rent two extra properties to house our staff will also have an impact on costs, so building something more suitable will reduce those ongoing costs.
 
Secondly, we are proceeding with the process of what a building could look like, but like any new build this will be done in stages. As this progresses, we are ensuring that the building is future proofed, so that should regional councils be abolished the building will be a strong commercial asset.
 
Finally, our work involves flood protection asset construction and maintenance, possum control, water quality monitoring, Civil Defence, flood plain mapping, biodiversity protection, air quality monitoring, regional transport planning, floodgates, land management to stop productive land eroding into waterways, oil spills, river heights & rainfall monitoring, public transport and more. It is important to note that even if regional councils were abolished, the mahi we do would still need to happen.

There is a five-year deadline for vacating the existing earthquake-prone RHPN. 

A detailed project timeline will be developed during the upcoming design phase. The phasing is expected to be: 

• Design which encompasses initial concept, preliminary design, developed design. 

• Pre-construction consenting and tender. 

• Construction. 

On land the council already owns, next to RHPN on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Grey Street, Palmerston North. No extra land is required to be purchased for the project. 

The public is excluded from many of the council meetings about the RHPN project due to commercial sensitivity. This is to ensure tender processes for any project work remain competitive and deliver the best price possible for the ratepayer.