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Empty Properties - Residential and Commercial

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Dear Eastbourne Borough Council,

I would like to request a list of All Empty/vacant City Council Properties,
Can you kindly include details such as:
1. How long have they been empty.
2. Property size, Bedrooms etc.
3. Property Address
4. Property Ownership if its PCC, Housing Association, Private

Yours faithfully,

Rhianan Bishop

Access to Information, Eastbourne Borough Council



Thank you for your information request received today.

 

I am currently reviewing your request and investigating whether there is
any information available for disclosure.  The Council, in accordance with
Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’), will reply
to your request promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth
working day following the date of receipt. Subject Access Requests will be
responded to within one calendar month in line with the GDPR (General Data
Protection Regulation).

 

In accordance with section 8(1)(b) of the Act and related guidance from
the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Council reserves the right to
treat any request for information as invalid unless the requester supplies
their real name.  In such cases, the Council may request proof of
identity.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Information Governance Officer

Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

 

Access to Information, Eastbourne Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms. Bishop,

 

Information Request: EFOI 13663

 

I refer to your information request dated 21 May 2021 received in our
office on the same day.

 

I would like to request a list of All Empty/vacant City Council
Properties, Can you kindly include details such as:

1. How long have they been empty.

2. Property size, Bedrooms etc.

3. Property Address

4. Property Ownership if its PCC, Housing Association, Private

 

I have carefully reviewed your request and investigated whether there is
any information disclosable to you. Unfortunately, the council is not able
to give you the information because it considers it is exempt from
disclosure. I have set out the reasons for this decision below.

The council considers that disclosure of information regarding empty
buildings/properties to be exempt under Section 31(1)(a) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 as detailed below:

31. (1) Information which is not exempt by virtue of section 30 is exempt
information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to
prejudice –

(a) the prevention or detection of crime

This exemption is subject to consideration of the public interest test.

 

The public interest test is designed to assist in determining whether the
public interest of disclosure is greater than that of non-disclosure.

 

Factors for disclosure Factors for withholding the
information
   

o public right to openness and o disclosure would be likely to
transparency in decision making encourage vandalism of these
properties if it was known that
  they were empty. This in turn
would be likely to have a
o furthering the understanding and detrimental effect on the
participation in the public surrounding properties and may
debate of issues of the day encourage further crime

   

  o disclosure may be likely to
encourage squatters to break in
and illegally inhabit these
properties and this also may have
a detrimental effect on the
surrounding properties and
neighbourhood

 

The council is satisfied that in the above case the arguments for
maintaining the exemption outweigh the public interest of disclosure at
this time.

 

For your information social housing is owned and managed on behalf of
Eastbourne Borough Council by Eastbourne Homes Limited (EHL).

 

All applicants have a 'right to review'. A review should be focused on the
original request and should identify how the council’s response failed to
answer your Information Request. Reviews must be made in writing (or
e-mail) within 40 working days of receipt of this response and addressed
to the Information Governance Reviews Officer, to the address below.

 

Information Governance Reviews Officer

Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

1 Grove Road

EASTBOURNE

BN21 4TW

 

Email: [1][email address]

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your review, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) cannot make a decision unless you
have already exhausted the internal reviews procedure provided by the
Council’s Reviews Officer.

 

Please contact me again, quoting your reference number, if you require any
further assistance with your current request and I will do my best to
provide the relevant help and advice.

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Rance
Information Governance Officer

Tel: +44(0)1273 471600

[2][email address]

Lewes and Eastbourne Legal Services acting on behalf of Lewes District
Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

 

Lewes District Council: Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes BN7 1AB
[3]www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk. Minicom 01273 484488

Eastbourne Borough Council: 1 Grove Road, Eastbourne BN21 4TW
[4]www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk. Text Relay 18001 01323 410000

 

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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Rhianan Bishop please sign in and let everyone know.