Butternab Tunnel

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to make a request under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 regarding information that Kirklees Borough
Council may hold relating to Butternab Tunnel on the former Meltham
Branch Line.

According to a Freedom of Information request made to BRB
(Residuary) Limited, Butternab Tunnel was "Part sold to
Huddersfield Corporation in 1971" whilst "BRB (Residuary) retains a
portion of the tunnel in the middle of the structure".

I understand that the Huddersfield Corporation was one of the
organisations merged to form the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees
in 1974.

I would therefore ask:

1. That the Council confirms whether or not it still owns any part
of Butternab Tunnel
2. That the Council provides a copy of any deeds and agreements
relating to Butternab Tunnel that it may hold
3. That, if the Council is still responsible for any part of
Butternab Tunnel, it provides a copy of last inspection report
4. That the Council confirms whether it is aware of the conversion
of the southern tunnel portal to provide a studio area without
planning permission as documented in [2]
5. That the Council explains what, if any, action will or has been
taken in relation to (4)

My preferred format to receive this information is by electronic
means.

I understand that under Section 16 of the Act public authorities
have a duty to provide advice and assistance to requesters and so
if it is necessary to clarify any details of my request or you find
this request to be unmanageable please contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Adam Brookes

[1]
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/31...
[2] http://www.webcitation.org/5powHQlLG

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write regarding my recent Freedom of Information request relating
to the Butternab Tunnel which I made on 28 May 2010.

Section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires
public authorities to comply with requests "promptly and in any
event not later than the twentieth working day following the date
of receipt".

It appears that Kirklees Borough Council has failed to meet this
requirement which is a breach of the Act. I therefore hope that a
full response will be provided very soon and would ask that I am
informed if the Council expects this delay to continue for much
longer.

Yours faithfully,

Adam Brookes

Dear Jenny Cartwright,

I am grateful for your response to my recent Freedom of Information
request relating to Butternab Tunnel. The response to point 1 which
clarifies the ownership situation is particularly helpful.

In reply to point 2, it is said that "The Council can provide a
copy of the Conveyance dated 23 July, 1971, however it will not
scan, so if you want a copy please can you provide me with your
postal address so that I can send it out".

This information would be of interest to me but I am surprised that
the Council is able to send a copy by post, i.e. produce a
photocopy of this document, but is not able to scan the document to
enable it to be transmitted electronically. Photocopying and
scanning would seem to be very similar activities and I must assume
that the Council has document scanners in the planning department
for example. I would therefore be grateful if the difficulty in
scanning this document could be explained in more detail.

Yours sincerely,

Adam Brookes

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your prompt response to my email regarding my recent
Butternab Tunnel FoI request. I am most grateful for your
assistance with this. I do note the concerns about the clarity of
the scanned image but it appears adequate for my purposes.

Yours faithfully,

Adam Brookes