We are a predominately rural district with terrain that goes from the sea in the west to hill country in the north, with a number of villages (communities) throughout the district. The Manawatu District covers 2,780 sq kms with a population of around 30,000 and is approximately a 2 hour drive from Wellington, Napier or Turangi. Our main town is Feilding and are proud to have been awarded the New Zealand Most Beautiful Town award 14 times, for our beautifully restored and preserved Victorian and Edwardian buildings, as well as our quality shops and cafes. Our vision is to be Connected, Vibrant and Thriving Manawatu – the best rural lifestyle in New Zealand Our job as a council is to ensure that the community has the infrastructure it needs both now and into the future, that it has effective local public services and regulatory management systems. We do this through teams dedicated to Infrastructure, Community, Business, and Human Resources. In short we aim to be the people delivering great service to our local community.