CONTRACT COMPLETION - WARRENS GLASSHOUSE AREA LAND

Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your follow up below, because of the priority and current
situation regarding the SAR and the impact on our legal staff's time we
have
unfortunately gone over time on your request. I have been in contact
with Legal services today and a reply is being composed for you.
I can only apologise for the length of time this has taken and thank you
for your patience.
Kind Regards
Jane Corrin
Information Manager
Wirral Council

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"Freedom of Information request-CONTRACT COMPLETION-WARRENS GLASSHOUSE
AREA LAND

Dear Ms. Curtis,

I refer to the request for information made in your email of 7 May 2009,
detailed below, concerning Warrens Area Glasshouse Land. The Council
considers that this request should be dealt with under The Environmental
Information Regulations 2004, rather than the Freedom of Information Act
2000. This is on the basis that the information you are seeking comes
within the definition of environmental information, in that it involves
plans and agreements likely to affect land (Regulation 2 (c) of The
Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

You have asked for information concerning the current situation in respect
of any lease and/or contract entered into by the Council concerning the
Warrens Area Glasshouse Land. The Council considers that the exception
contained in Regulation 12 (5) (e) of the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004, applies and that the Council as a public authority is
entitled to refuse your request to the extent that its disclosure would
adversely affect the confidentiality of commercial or industrial
information where such confidentiality is provided by law to protect a
legitimate economic interest. In reaching this decision the Council has
had regard to the guidance issued by the Information Commissioner in
October 2008 concerning commercial detriment of third parties. Although
that advice mainly deals with the Freedom of Information Act, Regulation
12 (5) (e) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 are also
mentioned. The Council has consulted the solicitors acting for the third
party in respect of your request. They have indicated that they consider
that disclosure of the information requested would adversely affect the
confidentiality of commercial or industrial information which is contained
in a conditional agreement between the Council and the third party, that
confidentiality protecting a legitimate economic interest of both the
Council and the third party.

The Council in all the circumstances of the case considers that the public
interest in maintaining the exception contained in Regulation 12 (5) (e)
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, because of
the conditional nature of the agreement and that it would be premature and
damage the legitimate economic interest of both the Council and the third
party, if information was publicised at this time.

You are entitled under Regulation 11 of the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 to make representations concerning any failure you
consider the Council has made to comply with the requirements of the
Regulations .Any representations should be made in writing to the Council
no later than 40 working days after the date you receive this refusal to
disclose information. The process is similar to asking for a review under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Council's complaints procedure
is available here
[1]http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100004/200...

You also have the right of complaint to the Information Commissioner, who
would normally expect representations to be made to the Council before
investigating a complaint. The Information Commissioner's address is as
follows:

The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Tel: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
[2]www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Jane Corrin

Information Manager

Wirral Council

[3]http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100004/200...
complaints procedure available here

This information supplied to you is copyrighted to Wirral Council and
continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non commercial
research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other
reuse, for example commercial publication, would require our specific
permission, may involve licensing and the application of a charge.

Dear Sir or Madam, The F.O.I request response, I made, regarding

the 'contract completion/GLASSHOUSE AREA LAND', is now late. The

non response is in breach of the Law. Please process immediately.

We have already complained to Information Commissioner re. lateness

to requests, and have received a confirmation from IC that Wirral

Council were in breach on that recent occasion. I expect the

information IMMEDIATELY as a tax paying democratically engaged

Wirral citizen. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

VAL CURTIS

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