Welsh Assembly Regeneration Funds for Victoria Pier

Dear CCBC,

I make this FOI request following the revelation in the press a
month ago that the Welsh Assembly has confirmed to Darren Millar AM
in a letter of 26th Jan 2009 that the Assembly would be prepared to
provide funding for a viable plan to restore/regenerate Victoria
Pier.

My questions are:

When Leighton Andrews, Deputy Minister for Regeneration, visited
Colwyn Bay to view the potential regeneration projects, did CCBC
representatives visit the Promenade and/or Pier and discuss its
future with the Minister? If so, please provide a copy of any
minutes, notes etc. of that meeting where the Pier is discussed in
any way.

Was CCBC aware of the availability of these funds before 26th
January 2009, I.E. had it been discussed or identified in any other
meetings or consultations with the Welsh Assembly in the
considerable amount of negotiations there has been over the past
few years with regard to the various regeneration projects in
Colwyn Bay. If so, please provide copies of minutes of such
meetings, or any other letters or documents in which it was
discussed.
In the alternate, please confirm CCBC knew nothing about the
availability of these funds until the intervention of Darren Millar
AM in January 2009.

Now that funding has been identified, please provide copies of any
letters, documents, minutes of meetings etc., regarding any
discussions there has been either internally within CCBC, or with
the Welsh Assembly, or Darren Millar AM, or anyone else at all,
regarding the future of the Pier.

Finally, please provide copies of any further information CCBC has
obtained from the Assembly on the criteria for making these funds
available.

Yours,

Steve Hunt

Dear Info Regs Unit,

I was referring in particular (but not limited to) the visit of
Leighton Andrews to Colwyn Bay on 17th October 2008. Since you have
unlawfully denied me access to any documents regarding the
regeneration proposals for over 2 years now, unfortunately I do not
have a full list of Meetings between Welsh Assembly representatives
and CCBC. I guess that such a list is likely to be held by the 'Bay
Life Initiative' or perhaps Mr Rob Dix would have a copy in his
office.

Clearly you are unfamiliar with the concept of the Freedom of
Information process: it is meant as a means for people such as
myself to obtain information that I wish to know from public bodies
such as CCBC. If I knew what dates meetings occurred, what had been
said and had copies of the documents produced, then there would be
no need for the request would there?

What part of "...copies of any letters, documents, minutes of
meetings etc., regarding any discussions there has been either
internally within CCBC, or with the Welsh Assembly, or Darren
Millar AM, or anyone else at all, regarding the future of the
Pier." is it that you are having difficulty in understanding? - it
seems pretty basic school-boy English to me. If you would care to
let me know which particular words you do not understand, I will
try to find alternates containing fewer letters.

"Further Information" has its natural meaning in the English
language: I.E. information further to that which has already been
supplied by the Deputy Minister in this regard.

I admit I only studied English to GCSE level, but I really do not
consider my grasp of the language is so poor as to make it
incomprehensible?

Yours sincerely,

Steve Hunt

Dear Info Regs Unit,

Supply the information you can identify whilst I take legal advice
on your persistent belligerence in this matter.

Are you or are you not going to fulfil this part of my request,
which is asking for CCBC documents?:

"When Leighton Andrews, Deputy Minister for Regeneration, visited
Colwyn Bay to view the potential regeneration projects, did CCBC
representatives visit the Promenade and/or Pier and discuss its
future with the Minister? If so, please provide a copy of any
minutes, notes etc. of that meeting where the Pier is discussed in
any way."

Are you or are you not going to fulfil this part of my request,
which is asking for CCBC documents?:

"Was CCBC aware of the availability of these funds before 26th
January 2009, I.E. had it been discussed or identified in any other
meetings or consultations with the Welsh Assembly in the
considerable amount of negotiations there has been over the past
few years with regard to the various regeneration projects in
Colwyn Bay. If so, please provide copies of minutes of such
meetings, or any other letters or documents in which it was
discussed. In the alternate, please confirm CCBC knew nothing about
the availability of these funds until the intervention of Darren
Millar AM in January 2009."

I have adjusted the following question (temporarily) so that you
have no excuse to answer it (or that you have to find yet some
other excuse to withhold the truth)

"Now that funding has been identified, please provide copies of any
letters, documents, minutes of meetings etc., regarding any
discussions there has been either internally within CCBC, or with
the Welsh Assembly, or Darren Millar AM, or any employee or elected
member of Conwy County Borough Council or any employee or elected
member of Colwyn Town Council, regarding the future of the Pier."

Since you have difficulty in understanding the concept of "further
information", I have adjusted the final question to read "any
information" - that phrase has its natural meaning in the English
Language.

"Finally, please provide copies of any information CCBC has
obtained from the Assembly on the criteria for making these funds
available."

Your further deliberate attempt at withholding information from me
has been notified to the Information Commissioner and will be cited
in forthcoming Legal Action.

Steve Hunt

CCBC,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Conwy Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Welsh Assembly Regeneration Funds for
Victoria Pier'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/we...

Steve Hunt

CCBC - if you do not acknowledge my request by close of business on
1st September 2009, I shall lodge a further formal complaint with
the Information Commissioner.

By refusing to deal with my FOI requests, you are willfully
breaking the law (as you have done many times already)

Steve Hunt

Dear Mr Smith,

Thank you for finally supplying some information in response to my
request made 7 months ago.

I am glad to see the Council ADMIT to knowing about the
availability of funding that may be available from WAG to help
restore / regenerate the Pier.

I am intrigued by this particular statement of yours:

"The reviewing officer understands you were briefed on this when
purchasing the pier and subsequently in your discussions with Tim
Manson."

Indeed I did have a meeting with Tim Manson, and various other
Council Officers in November 2003, before purchasing the Pier.
However, I do not recall there being any mention of funding
available from WAG with the Pier remaining in private (my)
ownership. Of course, I am aware that with a different ownership
status, other sources of funding might be available.

As you are aware, Tim Manson's employment with the Council ceased
not long after that meeting, and as far as I am aware, the position
of Tourism Development Officer (as I think his title was) was never
filled by anyone else. - Please do correct me if my recollection
regarding Tim Manson's position is incorrect.

The reason I say I am intrigued at your quote regarding this
meeting is that I was unaware of there being any recorded minutes
or details of that meeting. In my Subject Access Request made under
the Data Protection Act in early 2007, the Council was obliged, by
Law, to supply copies of ANY documents or records in which I was
mentioned or referenced in ANY way. As you are aware, this case
eventually ended up in the County Court due to the Council's
refusal to comply, and the Order of the Court was that the Council
must supply ALL information it holds relevant to my request. No
minutes of the meeting with Tim Manson, or the fact that funding
was discussed, was forthcoming in the information that the Council
eventually supplied, and to which you make reference above.

Therefore it is now apparent that the Council has still NOT
complied with the Court Order (case ref 8CC00525)

Now that this information has surfaced, which should have been
provided to me in April as per the Order of the Court, perhaps you
would supply me with a copy.

Steve Hunt

Dear Mr Smith,

Considering there are no notes or minutes of the meeting in
question, how is it you allegedly know what was said by whom to
whom?

Perhaps you could explain where you got this information from - all
recorded information (in whatever form) needs to be made public.

Steve Hunt