Momentum builds for Levin Town Centre transformation
Published on September 03, 2026
Levin’s town centre transformation is set for another fresh burst of energy following two significant Council decisions designed to turn long-term plans into visible progress.
The first of these significant decisions saw Horowhenua District Council adopt the Levin Town Centre Retail Transformation Strategy and approve $200,000 in funding to begin delivering improvements and implementation of the Strategy.
The Retail Transformation Strategy provides a roadmap for strengthening our town centre over the next 10 to 15 years, with the goal of making it the place people from across Horowhenua choose to meet, eat, shop and spend time.
Councillor Clint Grimstone, Levin Ward Councillor and Council representative on the project’s Steering Group, says the decisions signal a shift from planning to action.
“We know the Taitoko, Levin town centre has huge potential, and these decisions give us a clear direction and some real momentum,” Councillor Grimstone says.
“Council’s aim is to create a town centre our community can feel proud of. By investing now, we can make improvements people will see and experience, while supporting local businesses and creating a town centre that works for everyone.
“A strategy sitting on a shelf won’t transform our town centre. By making $200,000 available from our existing Town Centre Activation budget, we can get moving now and deliver improvements our community can see and experience.”
The funding will support early initiatives such as improved street cleaning and gardens, better signage, enhanced public spaces, and work to improve access, safety and vibrancy.
Council will also establish a contestable fund to support town centre retailers and property owners to improve their shopfronts. Potential projects could include repainting, upgraded signage and lighting, façade improvements. The details and timing of the contestable fund will be finalised and communicated in the coming weeks.
The Strategy responds to feedback from residents, retailers and property owners, who highlighted the need for greater retail variety, a stronger hospitality offering, more activity and a refreshed town centre environment.
At the same meeting, Council made a second key decision confirming the pathway for the redevelopment opportunity associated with the six strategically located Council-owned properties on Oxford Street. Council chose to apply the intent of its First Right of Refusal to Iwi Policy by providing iwi and hapū with an exclusive opportunity to put forward redevelopment proposals through an Expression of Interest process before any opportunity is offered to the wider market.
“This is an opportunity to work in partnership with iwi and hapū and invite forward ideas that can deliver the outcomes we want for these important sites,” Councillor Grimstone says.
The opening of the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, currently expected in late 2029, will significantly change how traffic moves through Horowhenua. Councillor Grimstone says Council is determined to prepare early and make the most of the opportunities ahead.
“We’re not waiting for the expressway to open before thinking about what comes next,” he says. “This is our opportunity to make Taitoko, Levin town centre a destination in its own right, somewhere people choose to stop, spend time and return to, rather than simply pass through. With the direction set, funding behind it and key sites moving forward, now it’s time to get on with it. The redevelopment of these Oxford Street properties presents an opportunity to be a catalyst and transformative development in the heart of the Town Centre.”