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About 22,100 people have been commuting into Hamilton for their jobs each day.
That’s about equivalent to the population of Cambridge, and makes up a big chunk of the city’s workforce.
“It’s already a nightmare coming into the city at peak times”, Hamilton city councillor Sarah Thomson said - so the council will have to work with its neighbours on transport options.
She was speaking after a meeting on the figures, which are based on national Census data and were outlined in a report to the latest city council strategic growth and district plan committee.
The flow goes both ways for Hamilton. Some 13,100 residents head out of the city borders for work - about 9% of the city’s workers, according to the latest 2023 figures.
City leaders have rolled out the financial red carpet for ‘the best theatre in the country’.
The Waikato Regional Property Trust has been granted $70,000 from Hamilton City Council to celebrate the opening of what’s promising to be ‘a very big story for the city’ on the national stage.
As the final layers are peeled off and the full face of the $80 million Waikato Regional Theatre comes into view, it’s time to start planning the party.
Councillors approved the $70,000 in financial sponsorship at this week’s economic development committee meeting and while general manager destinations, Sean Murray, said it was “a little bit out of the ordinary”, it would deliver “substantial profile”.
Two of Hamilton’s newest bridges have got “massive” international recognition, showing they measure up against projects including billion-dollar transit hubs.
Te Ara Pekapeka and the Taurapa pedestrian bridge, which connect Hillcrest and the future Peacocke development, got a special mention at the Architizer A+ Awards, placing them among the top 5% of global entries.
The international awards recognise excellence in architecture and design. Out of more than 3500 submissions, the Hamilton bridges stood out in the infrastructure category, placing them alongside mega projects like European train stations and billion-dollar transit hubs.
“It feels pretty amazing, this is massive recognition for a small studio in a small country,” said Harry Croucher, principal at Edwards White Architects and one of the lead designers.
As of May 2025, there were 705 equivalent full-time international students enrolled, up 44% from May 2024, according to figures released by Te Pūkenga.
In the 12 month period ending May 2025, international students at all Te Pūkenga polytechnics saw growth.
Wintec operations manager Warwick Pitts said international student numbers at Wintec and across Te Pūkenga are returning to pre-Covid levels.
He said New Zealand had a strong international reputation before Covid and that remains true.
Te Matatini may be heading for Hamilton sooner than the scheduled 2029 date - if one Hamilton City Councillor has her way.
Councillor Maria Huata said she has been lobbying for the event to come to Hamilton / Kirikiriroa and that there had been “rumblings in the ether” that it could be staged here in 2027.
Huata made the comments as Hamilton also positions itself as one of the contenders for hosting the Homegrown music festival.
Huata said she was “dead set on [Te Matatini] being held in Kirikiriroa”.
The biennial event, which was staged in New Plymouth this year, was scheduled to next take place in the Nelson-Marlborough region, though funding doubts have been raised about that location.
Senior city councillors are calling for action by the “highly-priced” supermarket duopoly to prevent shopping trolleys being pinched by streeties and ending up as abandoned eyesores in Hamilton’s inner city.
They supported supermarkets using “geo-fencing” technology which locks up trolleys if someone tries to take them out of the supermarket car park.
But they also indicated they weren’t afraid of using a stick, with a possible bylaw to enforce it also mooted.
The councillors’ call came at Thursday’s economic development committee meeting which discussed a report by the Hamilton Central Business Association, whose members have regular problems with anti-social behaviour.
A big shake-up for one of the CBD’s busiest streets is on the cards as officials grapple with the reality of bold plans to bring a new “five-star” $100 million Pullman Hotel to the city.
The changes to Ward St include a new two to three vehicle loading zone area with a five-minute limit outside the current Chemist Warehouse - guests will be able to park their cars there before they’re taken away promptly by a valet parking service.
A range of other parking tweaks - which reportedly won’t cut total on-street parking space in the area - have been suggested, a city councillor briefing heard. Final recommendations will go to a council hui this month.
A Trade Me report on the last quarter of 2024 shows Hamilton had three of the five ads that prompted the most applications.
Nationally, total job applications remained high, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.
An ad for two retail assistant roles in Chartwell attracted 531 applicants in the December quarter, while 507 people applied for another retail assistant role there.
During the same period, 520 people responded to an ad for four warehouse picker/packers in Hamilton.
In a move to support cafes and restaurants, Hamilton City Council is recommending to change an annual fee for outdoor dining and signage to once every three years.
At today’s Community and Natural Environment Committee meeting
(18 February), the committee made a unanimous recommendation which means businesses who want to use the space outside their store for dining or signage will save time and money by only needing to apply every three years.
The permit process is to make sure there is balance between city vibrancy, customer experience, consistency of rules and accessibility for footpath users.
Committee Deputy Chair Anna Casey-Cox hopes this will encourage more places to offer outdoor dining.
“This is a small step to show that Council appreciates what these businesses do for our city and Hamiltonians. We hope to see even more businesses using outdoor dining and creating a real sense of atmosphere and buzz.”
Alcohol sellers should not get any ratepayer “subsidy” for the cost of licensing fees, says a former deputy mayor who’s labelled the practice “obscene and criminal”.
Firing up - a former deputy mayor is arguing booze outlets shouldn’t get any ratepayer subsidisation of their alcohol licensing fees, despite concerns from some hospitality outlets.
Gordon Chesterman’s comments come in response to council plans to raise fees by 34% across the board next year, by 20% the year after and 3% in subsequent years to achieve a “user pays” system.
His views have gained some support from one bar owner but are questioned strongly by several others.
Police in Hamilton could take a harder line on those found in possession of stolen shopping trolleys, but blanket arrests are probably not the way to go, says Hamilton City councillor Sarah Thomson.
Thomson’s views were also shared by Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams after police in Rotorua arrested 13 people and returned 45 trolleys to local supermarkets after a three-day operation.
“Operation Trolley” was executed in an effort to protect businesses from anti-social and unlawful behaviour between January 21 and 23, after police received complaints about homeless people in possession of trolleys intimidating people in Rotorua’s central city.
Hamilton City Council is asking the community for feedback on a proposal to address a financial imbalance in alcohol licensing costs.
Currently, the fees set by legislation have not increased in more than 11 years and do not cover the full costs of licensing activities. As a result, ratepayers have been subsidising these costs by up to 29% and this is expected to grow year on year. Council is proposing to introduce an Alcohol Fees Bylaw that would reduce the ratepayer subsidy to 5%.
About two hectares - four years’ supply of office space - will be on the market in the coming year. This includes the former Fonterra building on London St after their staged-exit.
A huge piece of Hamilton real estate will remain empty for at least two years, as Fonterra staff make their staged exit out of the London St building by 2027.
After that - possibilities for the building include a hotel, student accommodation, mix of retail-office-residential, long term rental accommodation... or it could simply become part of Hamilton Central’s vacant concrete jungle.
©HamiltonCentralBusinessAssociation
