Council building closures since 2010

The request was successful.

Dear Newry, Mourne and Down District Council,

Please kindly provide a list of council-run buildings (including Libraries, Day Care Centres, Community Centres, Schools and Administrative bases) which your Council has had to close since 2010. Please provide the name of the buildings and the postcodes of the buildings.

Such closures would include those where people have to seek the same type of service from a different location* which already exists (or maybe there is no alternative available). * If there are any scenarios where a service provision is not closed but relocated across the road to another council building I don't require information on that.

I require the list to include buildings closed and disposed plus buildings that are re-let following service closures. If there is a scenario where the building is closed but still under council ownership then please include that in the list.

I'm only interested however in the buildings in which you provided a service that you were forced to close due to Government cuts to your budget making it no longer financially viable for you to keep such buildings open.

The reason why I require this information is to get a picture of the effect of any Government cuts to council budgets which in turn is forcing councils to find ways to make savings.

In order to assist the request here is the relevant information from other councils. Please note I require the postcode besides the name of the buildings if possible:
Example 1 Lancashire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/4f28e56539.pdf
Example 2 Lincolnshire Council (excel file) https://d.pr/14FZr
Example 3 Oxfordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/fded63aff2.pdf
Example 4 Herefordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/17818cf345.pdf
Example 5 Suffolk Council (excel file) https://d.pr/117FU
Example 6 Milton Keynes Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/6c6384a655.pdf
Example 7 Dorset Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1dQAS
Example 8 St Helens Council (excel file) https://d.pr/cWXt
Example 9 Staffordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/7de57618e4.pdf
Example 10 Bedfordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/c34d1c5e1f.pdf
Example 11 Gloucestershire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/28ea5b7391.pdf
Example 12 East Sussex Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1hJZK
Example 13 Rutland Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/c7cd375a16.pdf
Example 14 Powys Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1cO7c
Example 15 Kent Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/d38becbbd4.pdf
Example 16 Norfolk Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/e1028b6905.pdf
Example 17 Hertfordshire (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/87d2eb2242.pdf
Example 18 Telford and Wrekin (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/088336242d.pdf
Example 19 Surrey Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/3694ad78f3.pdf
Example 20 Wiltshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/66cf0059b2.pdf
Example 21 Bridgend Council (excel file) https://d.pr/160HZ
Example 22 Brent Council (excel file) https://d.pr/cNcv
Example 23 Warwickshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/b6c0ac9a2d.pdf
Example 24 Durham Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/493c4eb3f6.pdf

Yours faithfully,

Lee Jefferson

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

21/10/2016

Our Ref AD/FOI/529

Email: [FOI #365711 email]

Dear Mr Jefferson

Thank you for your email dated 19 October 2016 and your request for
information therein.

You have requested information from Newry, Mourne and Down District
Council in relation to Closed Council run Buildings.

I confirm your request will be processed as a request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  Accordingly, you will receive the information you
have requested within 20 working days of the date of receipt of your
request by the Council, unless the Council does not hold the information,
or there is a reason to withhold all or part of the information requested.
 I will write to you in any event.  

If you wish to discuss the above, please do not hesitate to contact me
directly.

Yours sincerely

Lyndsey Moore
Legal Advisor

LM/NMCS

This e-mail, its contents and any attachments are intended only for the
above named. As this e-mail may contain confidential or legally
privileged information, if you are not, or suspect that you are not,
the above named, or the person responsible for delivering the message
to the above named, delete or destroy the email and any attachments
immediately. The contents of this e-mail may not be disclosed to, nor
used by, anyone other than the above named. We will not accept any
liability (in negligence or otherwise) arising from any third party
acting, or refraining from acting, on such information. Opinions,
conclusions and other information expressed in such messages are not
given or endorsed by the Council, unless otherwise indicated in writing
by an authorised representative independent of such messages.

Please note that we cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

The Council undertakes monitoring of both incoming and outgoing
e-mails. You should therefore be aware that if you send an e-mail to a
person within the Council it may be subject to any monitoring deemed
necessary by the organisation.

As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this e-mail
(or any response to it) under UK Data Protection and Freedom of
Information legislation, unless the information in it is covered by an
exemption.

Dear Newry, Mourne and Down District Council,

My request for this information hasn't changed, but as a result of requests of clarification from other UK councils I have 'fine tuned' this request in order to be as helpful as possible. Please therefore find the most up to date wording of this request along with 73 helpful example results from other councils below:

Please kindly provide a list of council-run buildings (including Libraries, Day Care Centres, Community Centres, Schools and Administrative bases) which your Council has had to close since 2010. Please provide the name of the buildings and the postcodes of the buildings.

Such closures would include those where people have to seek the same type of service from a different location* which already exists (or maybe there is no alternative available). * If there are any scenarios where a service provision is not closed but relocated across the road to another council building I don't require information on that.

I require the list to include buildings closed and disposed plus buildings that are re-let following service closures. If there is a scenario where the building is closed but still under council ownership then please include that in the list.

The primary reason I require this information is to get a picture of the effect of any Government cuts to council budgets which in turn is forcing councils to find ways to make savings. If you can't be sure of the reason for closure then kindly provide the information anyway and indicate what is known about the reason for closure (if known).

In order to assist the request here is the relevant information from other councils who have responded thus far which I'm very happy with. Please note I require the postcode besides the name of the buildings if possible.

Example 1 Lancashire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/4f28e56539.pdf 1,187 mi²
Example 2 Lincolnshire Council (excel file) https://d.pr/14FZr 2,646 mi²
Example 3 Oxfordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/fded63aff2.pdf 1,006 mi²
Example 4 Herefordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/17818cf345.pdf 842 mi²
Example 5 Suffolk Council (excel file) https://d.pr/117FU 429 mi²
Example 6 Milton Keynes Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/6c6384a655.pdf 34.36 mi²
Example 7 Barrow in Furness Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/d77a34c716.pdf 4.672 mi²
Example 8 Dorset Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1dQAS 1,024 mi²
Example 9 St Helens Council (excel file) https://d.pr/cWXt 5.3 mi²
Example 10 Staffordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/7de57618e4.pdf 1,047 mi²
Example 11 Bedfordshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/c34d1c5e1f.pdf 477 mi²
Example 12 Gloucestershire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/28ea5b7391.pdf 1,216 mi²
Example 13 East Sussex Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1hJZK
Example 14 Rutland Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/c7cd375a16.pdf 147.5 mi²
Example 15 Powys Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1cO7c 2,000 mi²
Example 16 Kent Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/d38becbbd4.pdf 1,442 mi²
Example 17 Stockport Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/6499ac30fe.pdf
Example 18 Norfolk Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/e1028b6905.pdf 95.98 mi²
Example 19 Hertfordshire (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/87d2eb2242.pdf 634 mi²
Example 20 Telford & Wrekin (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/088336242d.pdf 112.1 mi²
Example 21 Surrey Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/3694ad78f3.pdf 642 mi²
Example 22 Sunderland Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/b63afdf6e7.pdf
Example 23 Wiltshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/66cf0059b2.pdf 1,346 mi²
Example 24 Bridgend Council (excel file) https://d.pr/160HZ 2.51 mi²
Example 25 Brent Council (excel file) https://d.pr/cNcv 16.7 mi²
Example 26 Warwickshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/b6c0ac9a2d.pdf 763 mi²
Example 27 Durham Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/493c4eb3f6.pdf 108.3 mi²
Example 28 Buckinghamshire Council (pdf file) https://d.pr/1bcVb 724 mi²
Example 29 Ards & North Down Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/955d2f1285.pdf 228 mi²
Example 30 Derry City & Strabane Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/b3c38fda87.pdf 149 mi²
Example 31 Causeway Coast & Glens Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/dc3dd3be9e.pdf
Example 32 Merton Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/fc6e673dd7.pdf 14.52 mi²
Example 33 Bury Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/28d961a136.pdf 493 mi²
Example 34 Aberdeenshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/a2f2d17b10.pdf 2,437 mi²
Example 35 Sefton Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/cf55238424.pdf 59.1 mi²
Example 36 Caerphilly Council (excel file) https://d.pr/dJtM 3.734 mi²
Example 37 City of York Council (excel file) https://d.pr/AsSe 105 mi²
Example 38 Torfaen Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/100310d874.pdf 48.65 mi²
Example 39 Solihull Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/55a0f3f3eb.pdf 68.84 mi²
Example 40 Mid Ulster Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/727b2bf729.pdf
Example 41 Trafford Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/0f39f385d8.pdf 40.94 mi²
Example 42 East Riding of Yorkshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/f704ebcfac.pdf 930 mi²
Example 43 Slough Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/0e903eab33.pdf
Example 44 Sheffield Council (excel file) https://d.pr/w39T 142.1 mi²
Example 45 Selby Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/56c18de9ab.pdf 370 mi²
Example 46 Denbighshire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/91edf3c8f2.pdf 325.9 mi²
Example 47 Cheshire West & Chester Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/5471f29fb5.pdf 940 mi²
Example 48 Peterborough Council (excel file) https://d.pr/Gw9g 132.58 mi²
Example 49 Northumberland Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/94ffc0922b.pdf 2,018 mi²
Example 50 Belfast Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/a15077a7c1.pdf 44.4 mi²
Example 51 Isle of Anglesey Council (excel file) https://d.pr/1azFs 275.7 mi²
Example 52 Derbyshire Council (excel file) https://d.pr/17hUL 1,014 mi²
Example 53 Newcastle Upon Tyne (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/3311485ad7.pdf 139 mi²
Example 54 Devon Council (excel file) https://d.pr/kl88 2,590 mi²
Example 55 Leicestershire Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/4ed5d3187f.pdf 832 mi²
Example 56 Calderdale Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/b35241c9c5.pdf 140.5 mi²
Example 57 Blaenau Gwent Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/b7543a7976.pdf 42.09 mi²
Example 58 Kirklees Council (excel file) https://d.pr/3puj 157.8 mi²
Example 59 Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/69a679ce1e.pdf 76.61 mi²
Example 60 Cumbria Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/024157ebab.pdf 2,613 mi²
Example 61 Wolverhampton (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/27f1343187.pdf 26.81 mi²
Example 62 Sutton Council (excel file) https://d.pr/MCC1 16.93 mi²
Example 63 Moray Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/d0211899ab.pdf 864 mi²
Example 64 Barnet Council (excel file) https://d.pr/xxmh 33.49 mi²
Example 65 Bolton Council (excel file) https://d.pr/q6BU 21.34 mi²
Example 66 Highland Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/318b637778.pdf 11,838 mi²
Example 67 Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/2113a15228.pdf 554 mi²
Example 68 Cornwall Council (excel file) https://d.pr/11ICV 1,376 mi²
Example 69 Wigan Council (excel file) https://d.pr/JRR 72.66 mi²
Example 70 Conwy Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/88b4a714e2.pdf 435 mi²
Example 71 Rotherham Council (excel file) https://d.pr/2BRq 111 mi²
Example 72 Essex Council (pdf file) http://freepdfhosting.com/fa354958c8.pdf 15.95 mi²
Example 73 Northamptonshire Council (excel file) https://d.pr/Xboj 913 mi²

Yours faithfully,

Lee Jefferson

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

Dear Mr Jefferson,

I refer to the above matter and thank you for your request for
information, I apologise for the delay in being able to offer you a
substantive response.

Your request for information relating to Newry, Mourne and Down District
Council and Council run buildings has been treated as a request under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. I confirm your request has now been
processed as a request under the terms of the Act and, accordingly, please
find Council’s response below.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council does not hold any information in
relation to your request. As a Council in Northern Ireland this Council
has no libraries, day care centres or Schools. However the Council has
reviewed information held in relation to its buildings which include
administrative bases, leisure centres and Community centres. There have
been a few closures since 2010 but in each case this has been to redirect
a service, e.g. a new facility has been built, rather than truly close it.

I trust this is of assistance.  However, should you be unhappy with our
response in this matter you may request an Internal Review of our response
and you can contact Mrs. Alison Robb, Assistant Director of Administration
([email address]). In the event you are unhappy with the outcome
of any Internal Review conducted by the Council you may apply to the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a review of our response.
Please note that the ICO generally expects Internal Reviews to be
completed prior to reviewing the decisions of public bodies.  For further
information in relation to Freedom of Information I would direct you to
the website of the Information Commissioner at: [1]www.ico.gov.uk.

Kind Regards,

Lyndsey Moore
Head of Legal Administration

Oifig Dhún Pádraig
Downpatrick Office
Downshire Civic Centre
Downshire Estate, Ardglass Road
Downpatrick BT30 6GQ
Council:   0300 013 2233
Planning:  0300 200 7830

[2]www.newrymournedown.org 
[3]www.facebook.com/nmdcouncil
[4]www.twitter.com/nmdcouncil

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This e-mail, its contents and any attachments are intended only for the
above named. As this e-mail may contain confidential or legally
privileged information, if you are not, or suspect that you are not,
the above named, or the person responsible for delivering the message
to the above named, delete or destroy the email and any attachments
immediately. The contents of this e-mail may not be disclosed to, nor
used by, anyone other than the above named. We will not accept any
liability (in negligence or otherwise) arising from any third party
acting, or refraining from acting, on such information. Opinions,
conclusions and other information expressed in such messages are not
given or endorsed by the Council, unless otherwise indicated in writing
by an authorised representative independent of such messages.

Please note that we cannot guarantee that this message or any
attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended.

The Council undertakes monitoring of both incoming and outgoing
e-mails. You should therefore be aware that if you send an e-mail to a
person within the Council it may be subject to any monitoring deemed
necessary by the organisation.

As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this e-mail
(or any response to it) under UK Data Protection and Freedom of
Information legislation, unless the information in it is covered by an
exemption.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. http://www.newrymournedown.org/
3. http://www.facebook.com/nmdcouncil
4. http://www.twitter.com/nmdcouncil

Dear Newry, Mourne and Down District Council,

Thanks very much for the information - it is deeply appreciated. No problem regarding the delay.

Yours faithfully,

Lee Jefferson