Council's Nursery
Response
Sent: Wednesday, 24 September 2025 01:21 pm
Subject: Official Information Request - Council's Nursery
I refer to your Official Information request of 5 September 2025 for information regarding the Council's Nursery.
Question:
Please provide a timeline of council work looking into the "viability of operations" at the inner-city nursery, i,e Date - Requested work on viability. Date - report presented to staff for feedback. Date - decision timeline pushed back by ten days to consider feedback any other milestones.
Answer:
Investigations into the Nursery operations began in February 2025 as part of the Infracore
integration process that began from November 2024, under the direction from Elected Members.
An investigation into external suppliers of products occurred during March 2025 and again in July 2025.
Nursery Financial accounts were analysed during June and July 2025 and sustainability was assessed.
A change proposal report was presented to Staff on 12 August 2025 with feedback requested by
27 August 2025.
Due to the amount of feedback and the timing it was received, a decision on the outcome was delayed from
9 September to 18-19 September 2025.
The outcome of the change process was communicated to staff on 18 and 19 September 2025.
Question:
Please provide any consultation/documents (if it was not a formal consultation, please provide whatever document/presentation was provided to staff where their feedback was requested) regarding the "viability of operations" at the local nursery which were provided to staff for their feedback.
Answer:
Consultation documents were provided to staff on a confidential basis and was not intended for the general public release. Council declines this request as per the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act section 7 (2)(a) ‘protect the privacy of natural persons’ and section 7 (2)(f)(i) ‘the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to members or officers or employees.’
Question:
Please provide staff feedback on the consultation.
Answer:
Council declines this request as per the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act section 7 (2)(a) ‘protect the privacy of natural persons’, as those that submitted would not have known their feedback could have been made public and section 7 (2)(f)(i) ‘ the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to members or officers or employees.’
Question:
Did looking into "the viability of operations" include the potential of a staged closure, if so what was/is this?
Answer:
A staged reduction in operations was considered, proposed to occur for some services immediately and for others over an 8-month period. The outcome will be retail sales closing over 6 months with external bedding plant supplied reducing over 8 months. RLC bedding supplies will continue to be provided for.
Question:
Please provide any media requests and responses related to the nursery within the above timeline.
Answer:
5 September 2025 - Rotorua Lakes Council
8 September 2025 - Rotorua Lakes Council
Question:
Please provide internal emails/txts/messages related to my Facebook post about the nursery. Please provide any reports presented to members.
Answer:
Please find documents in the link at the end of this response HERE.
Question:
If a closure is being proposed, why is it being proposed?
Answer:
The proposal was to reduce the operations from the nursery. This was proposed to reduce the loss that the nursery has been making by providing a retail service and growing annual bedding plants for Rotorua and other local authority/business’s needs. A closure of the facility will be an elected members decision on consideration of the RLC Facilities Strategy by the newly elected Council. For further detail on the Nursery, please refer to Councils media release.
