A List of Commercial Property not currently Receiving Small Business Rates

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). This letter is to confirm that your enquiry is being processed in line with the council's Access to Information procedures. You will receive a more detailed response within the next 20 working days.

The council reserves the right to publish your request and the council's response on its website.

The council acknowledges your right under S.11 of the Act to express a preference as to whether to receive information in permanent or digest form or to inspect the information. The council will endeavour to comply with your preference taking into account the practicalities of doing so.

Due to the high number of requests under the Act now generated by commercial organisations, the media and researchers, and aimed indiscriminately at all public authorities, the council will in most cases opt for the most cost effective and time-effective means by which to communicate the information. Please note that the council is not obliged to complete surveys, questionnaires and spreadsheets or to undertake research or data analysis in order to comply with your request. I hope you will understand that the council believes the greater public interest is served by giving priority to providing the services it is set up to provide.

The provision of information is also subject to the following conditions:
• That the council holds a record of the information you have asked for;
• That the information is not already in the public domain and reasonably accessible to you.
• That the work involved in locating, retrieving, extracting and collating the information will not exceed the cost limits set out in the Act; and
• That the information you have requested does not fall under an exemption set out in the Act. If the council chooses to use an exemption it must, in many cases, conduct a public interest test to make sure withholding the information rather than disclosing it best serves the public interest.
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The council may ask you to pay for postage and any substantial amounts of photocopying or reproduction of documents. If this is the case, I will let you know.

Please address any future correspondence on this matter to me on the above email address or by writing to the Information Rights Officer, Guildford Borough Council, Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford GU2 4BB.

Vincenzo Ardilio
Information Rights Officer
Guildford Borough Council
Extension: 4053
DDI: (01483) 444053
[email address]

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Dear Mr Ball

Thank you for your email. As you made your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the format of this response is formal in order to meet the legal requirements set out in Part 1 of that Act.

Please find attached the information you requested, although you will notice that we have had to remove those properties that are identified by the name of the ratepayer. Personal information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act, which is why we have withheld this particular aspect of your request.

I trust the above information answers your questions but you are welcome to contact me if you require clarification. I apologise for the delay in providing this response. Over the past year the council, like most public authorities, has experienced a sharp increase in the number of requests received from the media and from commercial organisations for research and for marketing purposes and this has placed a considerable burden on the council's limited resources.

If you are not satisfied with the way your request has been handled you may write to the Council's Monitoring Officer: Richard Lingard, Guildford Borough Council, Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford GU2 4BB.

You also have the right, under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, to ask the Information Commissioner to decide whether your request has been dealt with in line with the requirements of the Act. His address is: The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Vincenzo Ardilio
Information Rights Officer
Guildford Borough Council
Extension: 4053
DDI: (01483) 444053
[email address]

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