Sale of public land

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Dear Ms Logan,

Your ref 1-116892748

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Acknowledgement of Request

We received your request on 04/09/2008 and 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.

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.

The City of Edinburgh Council is obliged to answer your application within 20 working days of receipt. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your application, or you do not receive a response within 20 days, you can apply for an internal review. The application for a review should be made in writing to the Director of Corporate Services, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG.

For further information on the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, please phone us on 0131 200 2340 or visit our Website at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi.

Yours sincerely

Stuart Hutchin
Freedom of Information Team

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Date 10 October 2008

Your Ref
Our Ref 20151/9/GT/AJD - 1-117077616

Dear Ms Logan

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) 2002

Thank you for your request for information received on 11 September
2008. I am dealing with your request in accordance with the above Act.

In regard to your request for a copy of the Opinion of Senior Counsel I
would advise you that I cannot give you the information requested. The
Opinion of Senior Counsel is information in respect of which a claim to
confidentiality of communications could be maintained in legal
proceedings and they are therefore exempt information in terms of
Section 36 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. In
considering this exemption I have to apply the public interest test in
terms of Section 2(1)(b) of the 2002 Act. The Courts have long
recognised the strong public interest in maintaining the right to
confidentiality of communications between legal advisor and client.
In his decision 023/2005 the Freedom of Information Commissioner
indicated that there will always be a strong public interest in
maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between legal
advisor and client and he is likely to order disclosure of such
communications only in highly compelling cases.

It is in the public interest for a public authority to receive the most
comprehensive legal advice about its proposed actions. An Authority
should be permitted to communicate its position to its advisors fully
and frankly in confidence, in order to obtain the most comprehensive
legal advice and to defend its position adequately should that become
necessary. In my view these considerations override any public interest
that there may be in the content of this aspect of the information which
you seek.

In regard to your request for a copy of the Cushman and Wakefield report
referred to in the report to Council in June 2005 I can advise that I
have located said report but prior to making a decision on whether to
release the report I need to consult with parties named in the report.
Accordingly I shall write to you again shortly.

If you are not happy with this, or want to complain about the way in
which we have handled your application, please write to the Director of
Corporate Services, Level 2/7, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street,
EDINBURGH EH8 8BG.

If, after you have received a reply from the Director of Corporate
Services, you remain dissatisfied, you may ask the Scottish Information
Commissioner to conduct a review. You can contact him at Scottish
Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledkyes Road, St Andrews,
Fife, KY16 8DS. Phone 01334 464 610, Fax: 01334 464 611, E-mail:
[email address].

Yours sincerely

BILL MILLER
Property Manager
Property Management and Development

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Julie Logan Date: 30
October 2008
43/2 New Street
EDINBURGH EH8 8BH

[[1]mailto:[FOI #2818 email]] > Your ref:

Our refs:
SD.32/RLW

FOI ref:
1-116892748

Dear Ms Logan

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REF 1-116892748 [LAND FOR CALTONGATE DEVELOPMENT]
- Re-Provision of Response

1. I am responding to your comment published on the world wide web
on Sunday 26 October 2008 that you had not received a response to an
information request lodged with the City of Edinburgh Council in early
September about land at Calton Road, Edinburgh.

2. I believe that the text of your original request was as follows
"Dear Sir or Madam, When, and under what authority, did CEC agree the sale
of land on Calton Road proposed for development by Mountgrange, when was
this land identified as surplus to requirements, what was it valued at and
how was it marketed."

3. I have looked through the Council's files and found a copy of a
letter which appears to have been sent to you dated 5 September 2008. As
you appear not to have received that letter I am attaching a copy of it to
this E-mail.

If you should wish to make any further enquiries, you may contact the
Council's Freedom of Information team on Tel: 0131 200 2340, E-mail:
[2][Edinburgh Council request email] or visit our Website at
[3]www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi.

Yours sincerely,

R L WILLIAMS H\word\FreeinfoOUT355800.doc, p.104
PRINCIPAL OFFICER
(PLANNING & STRATEGY)

Note: If you are not happy with this 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:
[4][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 [5]www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #2818 email]
2. mailto:[Edinburgh Council request email]
3. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi

Julie Logan Date: 3
December 2008
43/2 New Street
EDINBURGH EH8 8BH

[[1]mailto:[FOI #2818 email]] > Your ref:

Our refs:
SD.32/RLW

FOI ref:
IN358594

Dear Ms Logan

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REF IN358594 [LAND FOR CALTONGATE DEVELOPMENT] -
Re-Provision of Response

1. I am responding to reply of 3 November asking for the material
previously sent to you to be provided as plain text in the body of an
email to enable wider public access to the reply about land at Calton
Road, Edinburgh.

2. This is essentially the third request you have made for the same
piece of information. Section 14 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act 2002 does not oblige a Scottish public authority to comply with a
request which is essentially similar unless there has been a reasonable
period of time between the two requests.

3. I note that on the `what do they know' website the previous
response is marked as `successful' and a pdf image of the first response
can be viewed there. The web-site does apologise that there are technical
difficulties in providing an html version of the image (and the technical
team has made a note of this, saying that `when we get the chance we'll
try and fix it or report a bug').

4. Adobe Acrobat reader software can be downloaded without charge so
I do not consider the format of the previous response as being
inaccessible to you. You have made a number of information requests of
the Council in the past without mentioning a requirement for the responses
to be in plain text, but if you require one or more future responses to be
in plain text please state that requirement when you lodge your request.
Section 11(1) and (2)(a) of the Act permit you to express a preference for
how you receive the information when you are making your request.

If you should wish to make any further enquiries, you may contact the
Council's Freedom of Information team on Tel: 0131 200 2340, E-mail:
[2][Edinburgh Council request email] or visit our Website at
[3]www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi.

Yours sincerely,

R L WILLIAMS H\word\FreeinfoOUT360800.doc, p.49
PRINCIPAL OFFICER
(PLANNING & STRATEGY)
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL

Note: If you are not happy with this 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:
[4][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 [5]www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #2818 email]
2. mailto:[Edinburgh Council request email]
3. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi