The Lower Hutt mayor is labelling the Ministry of Health unhelpful by blocking the council's proposal to relocate a business selling legal highs.
Ray Wallace says the council's legal team made a request to the ministry for the store, Naenae T, to have its licence transferred so it can sell the legal drugs on a more suitable site.
The outlet operates out of a Coin Save shop in Naenae and is very close to a playground, the local library, the swimming pool and on the main route from Naenae College and Naenae Intermediate School.
Mr Wallace says it's a serious situation and the ministry is being inflexible. He says the shop's owner has agreed to move if he is issued a new licence.
In a statement, the Ministry of Education said licences to sell legal highs are only temporary and as new regulations pass in the future, greater flexibility could be possible.
