Audit, Risk and Information Service
The Guildhal , High Street
Bath and North East Somerset Council
Bath, BA1 5AW
Our ref: RFI1249
Telephone: 01225 396872
Facsimile: 01225 477387
Email: [email address]
www.bathnes.gov.uk
11th December 2008
Ms Helen Samuel
Email: [FOI #4280 email]
Dear Ms Samuel
Request for Information – Newbridge Park and Ride
I write in response to your recent information request, reproduced below for your
reference. Your request has been assessed under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (EIR) and we can now respond as fol ows.
1. That a ful consultation has been carried out in the Newbridge area regarding the
expansion of the Newbridge Park & Ride.
I have today posted a copy of this information to your home address.
2. Inspectors' reports substantiating the claim that the current proposal is the only
one possible and that al other possible sites were unsuitable and why.
This information is contained within the Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan,
Inspector’s Report May 2006. This document is available on the Council’s website at
the fol owing location:
http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/environmentandplanning/planning/localplans/ba
thnesomersetlocalplan/Local+Plan+Inspectors+Report.htm
3. Environmental and ecological reports on why greenbelt land is suitable for such a
scheme.
I can confirm that the Council holds this information. The reports are currently at draft
stage, and the Council's determination is that they are exempt from disclosure under
section 12(4)(d) of the EIR. This section of the regulations provides an exemption to
the disclosure of information which is stil in the course of completion, to unfinished
documents or to incomplete data.
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This exemption is subject to the public interest test, which we have concluded
favours withholding the information at this time. Please refer to the Appendix of this
letter, for the detailed reasoning behind the application of Section 12(4)(d) of the EIR.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you are unhappy with the response to your request, you may ask for an internal
review. Please contact the Council’s Head of Audit, Risk and Information, Mr Jeff
Wring at the Guildhal , High St, Bath BA1 5AW mailto:[email address].
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to
appeal directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
Kind regards,
Amanda Osborne
Information Compliance Manager
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Appendix 1
Detailed reasoning behind the application of Section 12(4)(d) of the EIR
Factors for withholding
In July 2008 the Information Commissioner, issued a Decision Notice in respect of
the disclosure of a draft report by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (ref
FER0178729). The Commissioner stated in his Decision that section 12(4)(d) of the
EIR is ‘akin to the exemption contained at section 22 of the FOI Act in that it is
designed to exempt information that is essential y intended for future publication’.
The Council is intending to publish the reports when the Planning Application for the
Bus Rapid Transit and Newbridge Park and Ride Expansion is submitted in early
2009.
Also within his official guidance on this section of the EIR, the Commissioner states
that ‘public authorities must consider whether the disclosure of the information would
be misleading because incomplete’. The Council’s determination is that disclosure of
incomplete and potential y inaccurate information contained in the draft ecological
and environmental reports would be very likely to have the misleading effect
described by the Commissioner in relation to the exemption.
Factors for disclosure
There are various general factors in favour of disclosure. The Council considers that
most of the factors suggested by the Information Commissioner as being relevant to
an assessment of public interest apply to this information. Disclosure would:-
• further public understanding of the issues involved;
• further public participation in the public debate of issues, in that disclosure
would al ow a more informed debate;
• promote accountability and transparency by the Council for the decisions it
takes;
• promote accountability and transparency in the spending of public money;
• al ow individuals and companies to understand decisions made by the Council
affecting their lives and assist individuals to chal enge those decisions;
More specifical y, the Council acknowledges that the proposed expansion of the
Newbridge Park and Ride has attracted a significant amount of public interest, and
that it would be desirable to have as much information as possible on the proposed
scheme in the public domain.
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Reasons why the public interest favours withholding the information
It is in the public interest for information relating to the proposed expansion to be
made available to al interested parties at the same time. When the Planning
Application is submitted, the reports wil be posted to the Council’s website.
Not only is it in the public interest for as much information on the proposed expansion
to be publicly available as possible, there is also an important public interest in that
information being up to date and accurate, in order to facilitate a wel -informed
debate. The reports are not up to date or accurate in their current form, and it is not
in the public interest for misleading information to be placed in the public domain.
The formal consultation process regarding the proposed expansion to the Newbridge
Park and Ride wil begin when the Planning Application is submitted in early 2009.
The Council considers that disclosing the reports at that time wil enable the Council
to meet its public interest obligations in this matter.
The timescale for publication of the reports is relatively short. The information, along
with various other studies relating to the proposal, wil be publicly available early in
2009.
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