LGOIMA Requests

Date received: 03/08/2026

Requested information: Information on Councils core business systems - Request for information on Council's core business systems, planned replacements or upgrades, supporting documentation, and associated budgets and timelines from 1 July 2023 onwards.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 25/08/2026

Response:

Date received: 01/08/2026

Requested information: Request for detailed financial information, including staff costs, debt and borrowing details, and council-approved expenditure for the 2026/27 financial year.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 25/08/2026

Response:

Official information request - FLOW-211.

I refer to your official information request dated 01/08/2026.

The information you have requested is below. 

Information: Please see the answers to your questions in this link - FLOW-211 response.zip 

Manawatū District Council may publish this response along with a summary of the request on our website.  Requests and responses may be paraphrased.   

To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you. 

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email. 

Date received: 31/07/2026

Requested information: Covered Community Space Proposal Cost Inquiry - Request for the total ratepayer cost of design, consultation, and staff time for the proposed covered community space in Manchester Square.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 20/08/2026

Response:

Official information request -FLOW 212

I refer to your official information request dated 31/07/2026

The information you have requested is below

Council has reviewed the costs recorded to date for the Town Centre Refresh project, of which ‘Proposal 01: Covered Community Space in the Brick Quadrant of Manchester Square’ forms part.

Design

Council has incurred $50,855 excluding GST in design and associated professional costs for the Town Centre Refresh project.

Concept designs were commissioned for the first iteration of the Town Centre Refresh programme that outlines a range of activity including the proposed cover over the quadrant. As a result, Council is unable to identify the design costs specifically for the cover as it was part of a wider scope of work.

Consultation

Council has sought feedback for several years on possible improvements to the town centre. As part of this feedback process the idea for a cover over the quadrant again appeared. A proposed cover formed part of the town centre refresh concepts presented to council during the 2021-2031 and 2024-2034 long-term plan processes. Council approved investment into the town centre refresh programme in the 2024-2034 long term plan that included the cover over the quadrant and as a result the proposed investment in the town centre was consulted on. The consultation did not include concepts for the initial proposed programme of work given the funding was needed to develop those concepts.

Council is completing its initial consultation with the community now and should the cover over the quadrant proceed beyond this process, a fully notified Resource Consent process is required.

The identifiable external informal engagement cost to date is $240 excluding GST, relating to catering for engagement with CBD business owners. This engagement covered both the cover over the quadrant and the proposed one-way traffic alterations in the CBD and, therefore, the cost cannot be attributed solely to the cover.

MDC staff input

Elected members and council staff have contributed to the development of the proposals and associated engagement as part of their normal duties. Elected member and staff time has not been recorded for the town centre refresh programme and Council is unable to provide this information.

Manawatū District Council may publish this response along with a summary of the request on our website.   Requests and responses may be paraphrased.    

To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you.   

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email.

Date received: 30/07/2026

Requested information: A request for 2024 building consent application data, including consent details and Requests for Information (RFI) records.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 06/08/2026

Response:

In relation to your request for certain building consent information for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, we are able to provide a report identifying:

Building consent number;
Requests for Information (RFIs); and
A description of each RFI.

However, we are unable to provide the RFI category and application type requested.

This information is not recorded in a format that can be readily extracted from our systems. Providing this information would require the manual review of individual building consent records and the manual compilation of the requested data. As a result, this part of your request would require substantial collation or research.

Accordingly, this part of your request is refused under section 17(f) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 on the grounds that the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

In accordance with section 17A of the LGOIMA, we considered whether extending the timeframe for responding to your request or imposing a charge would enable the request to be granted. We concluded that neither option would overcome the need for substantial manual review and collation of individual consent records and therefore would not make the request reasonably able to be met.

Personal details (names, addresses, contact details, etc) of third parties, which have been withheld under section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA, to protect their privacy. 

I do not consider that those persons’ privacy interests are outweighed by the public interest in the information’s release. Information withheld pursuant to this section will be redacted in the relevant documents and marked as such. 

Manawatū District Council may publish this response along with a summary of the request on our website.   Requests and responses may be paraphrased.    

To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you.   

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email.  

Yours sincerely, 

Date received: 30/07/2026

Requested information: Documents relating to the most recent Alcohol licence application or renewal for Bottle-O Sanson, including application, assessment, decision, licence, and any hearing-related records.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 18/08/2026

Response:

Official information request - Documents relating to the most recent Alcohol licence application or renewal for Bottle-O Sanson, including application, assessment, decision, licence, and any hearing-related records.

I refer to your official information request dated 30/07/2026

Please find the relevant documents as, requested in link below, there was no hearing for this application.

Personal details (names, addresses, contact details, etc) of third parties, which have been withheld under section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA, to protect their privacy. 

I do not consider that those persons’ privacy interests are outweighed by the public interest in the information’s release. Information withheld pursuant to this section will be redacted in the relevant documents and marked as such. 

Manawatū District Council may publish this response along with a summary of the request on our website.   Requests and responses may be paraphrased.    

To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you.   

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email.  

Yours sincerely,

Date received: 27/07/2026

Requested information: Toilet Facilities Request - A request for information on all publicly accessible council-owned or maintained toilet facilities, including locations, accessibility features, and available amenities.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 12/08/2026

Response:

Official information request -information on all publicly accessible council-owned or maintained toilet facilities, including locations, accessibility features, and available amenities.

I refer to your official information request dated 27/07/2026

The information you have requested is provided via the link below

Manawatū District Council may publish this response along with a summary of the request on our website.   Requests and responses may be paraphrased.    

To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you.   

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email.  

Date received: 27/07/2026

Requested information: School Bus Responsibility - A request for information on which organisation is responsible for school bus routes in the Manawatū area, including their roles, responsibilities, and relevant legislation.

Status: Transferred

Date received: 23/07/2026

Requested information: Please advise the plans for the ongoing maintenance of Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park and provide a copy of the April 2026 accounts.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 19/08/2026

Response:

Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 request – Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park Trust

Thank you for your email dated 23 July 2026. We have treated your request as seeking:

a copy of the Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park Trust’s accounts for April 2026;
information about the maintenance arrangements and ongoing restoration work, including the wetland planting, for Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park.

April 2026 accounts

Attached is the Trust’s approved financial report for the period ending 30 April 2026. Please note that these are the routine end-of-month management accounts and not the Audited Accounts relating to the dissolution of the Trust.

Maintenance of the park and ongoing restoration work

Following the dissolution of the Trust, responsibility reverted to Council who has continued to contract Green By Nature (GBN) for restoration advice, and the provision of both maintenance and new work in the park and Forest.

Pleasingly, a contract is now in place between Council and GBN. The contract was formed with input from the Trust, who had been operating without a contract with GBN for some time. You may also be aware that GBN will subcontract Ngāti Kauwhata for specific contract work.

Your concerns about the effect of the dissolution on donors and community volunteers have been noted. As stated publicly, Council is committed to preserving and maintaining this special taonga so future generations can enjoy the legacy created through years of dedicated community effort and investment made by the Trust, Council and other funders. We acknowledge your longstanding considerable contribution to the Trust and this special area.

Maintenance activities at Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park are level of service based for the different aspects of vegetation maintenance, litter bin services, cleaning, inspections and reporting, etc. For the activities that are carried out daily or weekly there are resource allocations that are intended to capture the average effort required over the course of a full year. For these weekly service activities there are 23 hours of labour allocated. In addition, there are mowing and inspection activities that are scheduled to take place fortnightly, monthly, quarterly and annually.

Manawatū District Council may publish this response along with a summary of the request on our website.   Requests and responses may be paraphrased.    

To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you.   

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email.

Date received: 22/07/2026

Requested information: Playground Timber Safety - A request for detailed information and evidence regarding the safety, structural integrity, and compliance of playground timber at Kowhai Park and confirmation that the playground remains safe for public use.

Status: Complete

Date responded: 13/08/2026

Response:

Date received: 14/07/2026

Requested information: Information about the management and administration of the Feilding Civic Centre discussions and minutes of meetings

Status: Complete

Date responded: 17/08/2026

Response:

Official information request for meeting minutes and information relating to Feilding Civic Centre Trust

I refer to your official information request dated 14 July 2026 to Manawatū District Council (Council) under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1986 (LGOIMA), which read:

1. May I please have copies of the minutes of the Feilding Civic Centre Trust Board meetings for the last nine (9) months

2. Could you please provide me with the details of any correspondence, meetings, and any discussions that have occurred in the last nine (9) months among elected members, and/or managers, and/or other staff relating to the Feilding Civic Centre Trust as a Council Controlled Organisation, or prior to that point during the past six (6) months. In particular, but not exclusively, any plans that may have been proposed and/or discussed about the management and administration of the Feilding Civic Centre being taken over entirely, or partly, by the District Council.

On 19 July 2026, we sought clarification on the date range you were requesting. You confirmed that the second part of your request was intended to cover the 12-month period preceding your request (that is, 14 July 2025 to 14 July 2026).

Part of the information you have requested is provided alongside this covering letter. However, we have decided to withhold some information otherwise captured by your request:

• We have redacted some contact details for individuals which would otherwise be captured by the scope your request under section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA, to protect the privacy of natural persons.
• Three documents have been withheld in full under section 7(2)(c)(ii) of the LGOIMA, to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence where release would be likely to damage the public interest.
• Two documents have been withheld in full under section 7(2)(f)(i) of the LGOIMA, to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to members or officers or employees of Council in the course of their duty.
• Two documents have been withheld in full under section 7(2)(g) of the LGOIMA to maintain legal professional privilege.

In relation to all the information withheld, we consider that withholding is necessary for the reasons stated, and that any public interest in release does not outweigh the relevant withholding reason.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information requests where possible. Our response to your request will be published shortly at https://www.mdc.govt.nz/contact-us/official-information-requests-lgoima/lgoima-requests, with your personal information removed.

Yours sincerely