About the Southend Business Group
The Southend Business Group has been created to promote businesses and activities in the Southend of the Lower Hutt CBD. This area, based around the southern end of High Street, is known as the Southend neighbourhood, and is the southern entrance to Lower Hutt.
All Southend based business or building owners or managers and their staff are eligible to become members of the Southend Business Group. There is also a separate category of membership for anyone else interested in and supportive of SEBG.
The group holds regular after work meetings on the second week of each month to discuss projects, initiatives and any other issues affecting or relevant to the Southend. The group is aimed at identifying activities that can improve the neighbourhood to bring more people into the area to increase general business activity.
A particular focus each year is the "Christmas on High" promotion in December to fill the neighbourhood with Christmas trees and decorated windows. The group also supports the annual "Cool As Challenge" each January and the Hot Chocolate Challenge each winter. Many of the hospitality businesses in the Southend participate in these events.
The Southend Business Group is working closely with the Hutt City Council and the Riverlink Project to strengthend and re-vitalise the Southend neighbourhood in parallel with the development of the changes to Lower Hutt that will result as the Riverlink project comes to fruition.