Planning and Highways Records on Private Driveway

Gwyn Pritchard made this Freedom of Information request to Isle of Anglesey Council

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Isle of Anglesey Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

From: Gwyn Pritchard

27 November 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I hereby
request all documentation, copies of drawings, maps and
measurements relative to the Highways Department branding of the
main road junction with a private driveway leading to Bryn Goleu,
Capel Coch, Llangefni, as DANGEROUS.

With regard to a reply, Section 8.1.b of the FOI Act asks for an
"address for correspondence", and stipulates that an email address
is sufficient. If such information cannot be sent by email, please
let me know Immediately by email and arrangements will be made for
the file to be collected by private courier from your offices.

Pleas reply within the stipulated period

Yours faithfully,

GL Pritchard

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From: Gwyn Pritchard

27 November 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Council Reference: 021.61.163/027.89.23.103C/JRWO/FW

The response to a perfectly reasonable request made to your
Highways Department is in no where addressing the questions asked
in the original request to the Council. We are very dissatisfied
with the Council Response as the issues are not even addressed and
have been completely avoided in a bland non specific answer passing
on all responsibility elsewhere.

We would now ask the Council Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and
the Council Officials in question to review the original request
where it will become immediately apparent that the Head of Highways
Department has completely ignored the request for information. In
addition to this requested review, I have submitted a disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000.

Yours faithfully
GL Pritchard

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From: Gwyn Pritchard

7 January 2010

Dear Isle of Anglesey Council,
for the personal attention of the Chief Executive

Dear Sir

There has been no response whatsoever to my request filed in
according with the Freedom of Information Act. I would like to know
why the Council has not replied at all to this request for an
internal review and requesting copies of all relative documentation
applicable to the decision made to brand the private driveway to
Bryn Goleu LL77 7UR as Dangerous.

Please refer to all previous communications for dates and statutory
limits and you will find that the Council has obviously ignored
this formal and legal request.

I thank you for taking care of this matter urgently.

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Pritchard

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From: BERYL JONES
Isle of Anglesey Council

7 January 2010

Dear Mr Pritchard,

Your e-mail has been passed to me as the Customer Care Officer for the Council and I would inform you that the application to review your FOI enquiry was registered by myself on 4.12.09 and a meeting had been arranged with the relevant officers and the Corporate Information Officer for the 15.12.09.

However, due to the absence of some of the relevant officers ( sick leave) that meeting had to be cancelled and is being re-arranged for next week.

Please accept my apologies for not letting you know about this - I will respond to you as soon as I am able.

Regards,
Beryl Jones
Information Compliance Officer,
Managing Director's Department,
Anglesey County Council,
Llangefni,
Anglesey
LL77 7TW.

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From: Gwyn Pritchard

7 January 2010

Dear BERYL JONES,

Thank you for your explanatory email. I have also requested full
details of all the paperwork associated with the Highways
Department branding of my private drive-way onto the main road -
dangerous. We believe that this decision has no legal merit or
substance and therefore request the parameters and legal references
by which the Highways Department made its decision.

Yours sincerely,

Gwyn Pritchard

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From: BERYL JONES
Isle of Anglesey Council

14 January 2010

Dear Mr Pritchard,

On 12.1.10 an internal review of the way your FOI application was dealt with took place.

Your letter dated 20.9.09 was considered in terms of Access to Information legislation. The conclusions of the review were that the information you requested was not held at the time of your request. However, the review recognised that the initial response should have explained that the information was not held for the purposes of the FOIA and EIR.

The review considered your use of the term "dangerous" which possesses connotations for the purposes of highway maintenance standards. It was demonstrated that the officers had not used the term dangerous but had referred throughout to the junction as substandard in accordance with the appropriate legislation.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.

However, your FOI request dated 25.11.09 for documents/ records is currently being dealt with and I will be in contact with you again in the near future.

If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Beryl Jones
Customer Care Officer.

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From: Gwyn Pritchard

25 January 2010

Dear BERYL JONES,

Thanks you for your letter. The document mentions the following:

It was demonstrated that the officers had not used the term
dangerous but had referred throughout to the junction as
substandard in accordance with the appropriate legislation.

Could you therefore send me a copy of the legislation that depicts
the criteria for 'substandard' and what steps were taken by the
Officer(s) to arrive at the conclusion that the junction met the
substandard criteria. Please respond with a statement confirming or
denying that this substandard decision was as a result of any other
planning or highways permissions given to other businesses or
residents that resulted in this particular junction being
reclassified or described as substandard.

Simplified, did any other work recently done in the vicinity of the
junction cause the said junction to now be substandard.

Many thanks for a quick reply.

GL. Pritchard

Yours sincerely,

Gwyn Pritchard

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From: BERYL JONES
Isle of Anglesey Council

3 February 2010

Dear Mr Pritchard,

This is the reply received in respect of you e-mail dated 25.1.10 from
the Highways Department :-

"I refer to the email from Mr Gwyn Pritchard dated the 25th of
January, 2010. In my memo to you dated the 2nd of July, 2009 I stated
that the assessment of the Bryn Golau access by Officers from the
Development Control Team of the Highways Service was based on "Technical
Advice Note 18 : Transport". It is my understanding that you conveyed
this information to Mr Pritchard. "Technical Advice Note 18: Transport"
is a public document published by the government and we are therefore
not obliged by the Freedom of Information Act to provide Mr Pritchard
with a copy as he can freely access a copy himself. It is also my
understanding that all the steps taken in the assessment have been
clearly explained to Mr Pritchard in previous correspondence and all the
points raised by Mr Pritchard have been answered previously."

I have looked for the Technical Advice Note 18 and found it at the
following address:-

http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh/publicatio...

Regards,

Beryl Jones

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25/01/2010 12:27 >>>
Dear BERYL JONES,

Thanks you for your letter. The document mentions the following:

It was demonstrated that the officers had not used the term
dangerous but had referred throughout to the junction as
substandard in accordance with the appropriate legislation.

Could you therefore send me a copy of the legislation that
depicts
the criteria for 'substandard' and what steps were taken by the
Officer(s) to arrive at the conclusion that the junction met the
substandard criteria. Please respond with a statement confirming
or
denying that this substandard decision was as a result of any
other
planning or highways permissions given to other businesses or
residents that resulted in this particular junction being
reclassified or described as substandard.

Simplified, did any other work recently done in the vicinity of
the
junction cause the said junction to now be substandard.

Many thanks for a quick reply.

GL. Pritchard

Yours sincerely,

Gwyn Pritchard

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