Mountgrange money

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Dear Logan

Thank you for your request for information received on 03 June 2009. I
can confirm that this is being dealt with in accordance with the Freedom
of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. As such the request must be dealt
with within 20 working days and provided in a format of your choice.

A response to your request for information will be sent to you promptly;
and in any event not later than 01 July 2009.

Your request may not result in us supplying the information you asked for
as the Act imposes certain conditions and exemptions on the information we
may supply. If this is the case, we will let you know.

It is also possible that the information you request is controlled by
different legislation. Again, we will write to advise you of this.
Finally, we may have to charge for the information we give to you. If this
is the case, we will write requesting payment before we release the
information.

If you require further information please contact us on Tel: 0131 200
2340. Further information on the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland)
2002 can be obtained by visiting www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Mark Francis
Contact Centre Manager
Freedom of Information, Level 1 Chesser House, 500 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh.
EH11 3YJ. Tel: 0131 200 2340. Fax: 0131 200 2341. Email:
[Edinburgh Council request email]

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Ms Julie Logan        Date:  30
June 2009
email: [FOI #12756 email]>

 Your ref: 

 Our refs: SD.32/RLW

  FOI ref: IN373318-
40300

Dear Ms Logan

FoI REQUEST IN373318- 40300 [ How much revenue/gifts and services have CEC
received from Mountgrange's companies to date]- limited information
available, request for clarification

I am responding  to your  request logged on 3/06/2009 seeking
information on:  "How much revenue/gifts and services have CEC received
from Mountgrange's companies to date. Please provide a breakdown of all
funds received including the financial value of any professional
     services provided which may be offset against fees or charges or
are considered as matched funding for any projects. Please include total
values of any other fees which have been paid (planning and development
fees), sponsorship for Edinburgh events (Cow Parade etc) and financial
bonds."

I regret that there appears to be a lack of documentation covering the
points raised in your request. Additionally, with some of the Mountgrange
companies  now in financial administration, the status of some
transactions between the Council and Mountgrange which were scheduled to
be spread over a period of time has become less clear.

With respect to `Planning and Development fees', yes money was received in
respect of planning applications for the `Caltongate developments'. I am
advised that on occasions cheques which accompany planning applications
are provided by the developer's agent, GVA Grimley, rather than from the
applicant, however there is no record made as to the name of the firm or
person whose account will be debited when the cheque is passed for
payment. Therefore in terms of Section 17 of the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 there is no record held to confirm that a Mountgrange
company made that payment.

In terms of Edinburgh events, many of these are arranged by other
organisations and it is these external organisations which would receive
any donations from companies such as Mountgrange. The firm which was
behind the `Cow Parade' in Edinburgh is no longer trading. The colleague
who liaised with the `Cow Parade' thought they held a copy of a press
release which stated the value of the sponsorship Mountgrange made to this
event. To date it has not been located.

One or more of the planning applications would have extended the road
network into the site and in due course a Road Construction Consent would
have been required. As part of the Road Construction Consent a bond would
have been required to be lodged in case there was a failure to complete
the work. In this case  negotiations on this aspect of the development
process had not been concluded so no bond had been established.

As part of the Planning process Mountgrange entered into a legal 
agreement whereby they deposited £100,00 into a jointly administered
account. That sum could be used by the City Council if certain situations
were encountered, as detailed in the Legal Agreement.

If you require a further search of the Council's records to be made I
should be grateful if you could clarify various aspects of your original
request:

a) Please could you name the different firms  whom you specify as
being a Mountgrange company.

b) Please could you list the other Edinburgh events (apart from the
Cow Parade) for which you would like the sponsorship to be checked, and
for regular events please state the timespan in which you are interested.

c) It is not clear what professional services you think Mountgrange
may have provided for the Council and so be entitled to receive a payment.

d) In your enquiry you refer to match funding and to services
provided being offset against fees or charges due to be paid by
Mountgrange. Please could you be more specific about the nature of the
situations you have in mind so that relevant files/ persons can be
identified

Section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) At 2002 permits the
Council to ask you to be more specific in order to identify and locate the
requested information.

If you should wish to make further enquiries, you may contact the
Council's Freedom of Information Team on Tel: 0131 200 2340, E-mail:
[1][Edinburgh Council request email].

Yours sincerely,

R L WILLIAMS l:\doc\FreeinfoOUT361800.doc, pp.112-3
PRINCIPAL OFFICER
(PLANNING & STRATEGY)

Edinburgh City Council City Development,

Business Centre G3, Waverley Court,

4 East Market Street,    EDINBURGH EH8 8BG

Note: If you are not happy with this interim response, or want to complain
about the way in which we handled your application, please write to the
Director of Corporate Services, Waverley Court, Level 2/7,  4 East
Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG. If you wish to take up this option you
should do so within 40 working days of receipt of this response

If, after you have received a reply from the Director of Corporate
Services, you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to appeal to the
Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle,  Doubledykes Road, St
Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS

Phone: 01334 464610  Fax: 01334 464611   E-mail:
[2][email address]

If you wish to take up this option you should do so within 6 months of
receipt of the response from the Director of Corporate Services.

For further information please phone us on 0131 200 2340 or visit our
Website at [3]www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi

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