Planning permission breaches
Dear City of Edinburgh Council,
Under the Freedom of Information act, I would like to request the following information:
1. The number of breaches of planning permission recorded by the council in the last five years (2016-2020)
2. The enforcement action taken against the breaches above i.e. how many led to a prosecution, how many was no e enforcement action taken etc.
If you require any further clarification please let me know.
All the best,
Jamie Dixon
Mr Jamie Dixon
Our ref: 34277
Dear Mr Dixon
Acknowledgement of Request
Subject: Planning permission breaches
Thank you for your request for information which was received on 04/10/2021.
In your request you asked for the following;
1. The number of breaches of planning permission recorded by the council in the last five years (2016-2020)
2. The enforcement action taken against the breaches above i.e. how many led to a prosecution, how many was no e enforcement action taken etc.
I can confirm that your request will be processed under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004, or the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless the Council does not hold the information, or there is a reason for it to be withheld. We will write to you in any event. This means we have until 01/11/2021 to respond to your request.
In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case we will let you know.
If you have any requirements regarding the format any information should be supplied in, e.g. the language to be used, audio, large print and so on, then please let me know.
If you have any queries or concerns, do not hesitate to get in touch. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.
To promote transparency and accountability, it is the Council’s policy to publish all request details and responses made under the freedom of information legislation. This information is available at the following link: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/10....
Further information about your rights and accessing information is available on our website at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Unit
Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340
[Edinburgh City Council request email] www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Mr Jamie Dixon
[1][FOI #797049 email]
Our ref: 34277
Dear Mr Dixon
Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 - Request for
Information – Otherwise Accessible
Subject: Planning Permission Breaches
Thank you for your request of 04/10/2021 where you asked questions
regarding the above. Your request for information has been processed under
the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs). I shall
address each of your questions in turn.
You asked the following:
Q1. The number of breaches of planning permission recorded by the council
in the last five years (2016-2020)
A1. This information is publicly available in the Enforcement Section on
the Council’s Planning Portal at:
[2]https://citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/...
On opening the Portal, click on the “Advanced” search tab, then click on
the “Enforcements” tab and go to the bottom of the page and enter the
dates required. Please note that the information for the last five
years cannot be provided in a single search. You can search six months at
a time, i.e. 01/01/2016 to 30/06/2016, then repeat the process for
01/07/2016 to 31/12/2016, then for 01/01/2017 to 30/06/2017, etc.
Under the Regulations, a request for information can be refused where one
or more exceptions apply. In this instance, the Council is claiming an
exception under regulation 6 because the information is already publicly
available and easily accessible.
If you do have difficulty in accessing the information or if you have any
queries about this letter, please contact me quoting the above reference
number.
Q2. The enforcement action taken against the breaches above i.e. how many
led to a prosecution, how many was no e enforcement action taken etc.
A2. Under Section 147 of the Town and Country Planning Scotland Act 1997,
the Planning Authority must keep a register of enforcement notices, breach
of condition notices and stop notices. The register shall be available for
inspection by the public at all reasonable hours. The information for the
period 2016 to 2019 is held on the City of Edinburgh Council online
Enforcement Register which is publicly available at:
[3]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/planning-de...
Information for the period 2019 to the present day is currently being
uploaded to the online Enforcement Register and is near to being
completed. In regard to these records, the Council is claiming the
exception under regulation 10(4)(d): this regulation covers material which
is still in the course of completion, in this instance, to unfinished
documents.
For Regulation 10(4)(d) to be applicable, the Council needs to consider
the “public interest test” set out in the legislation. While there is a
clear interest in this information being available as soon as possible, it
is the Council's view that providing the information prior to its
publication could only be done by diverting the Council's resources away
from other essential core operations and would be an unnecessary
duplication of effort.
Please note that this constitutes a formal refusal notice under regulation
13 of the EIRs.
To promote transparency and accountability, it is the Council’s policy to
publish all request details and responses made under the freedom of
information legislation. This information is available at the following
link:
[4]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/10....
Your right to seek a review
If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your request, you can
ask us to review our actions and decisions by writing to the:
Information Compliance
The City of Edinburgh Council
Waverley Court Business Centre 2:1
4, East Market Street
Edinburgh
EH8 8BG or;
Email: [5][email address]
Please note that your request must be in a recordable format (email,
letter, audio tape etc.), and that you have 40 working days upon receipt
of this letter to ask for a review. You will receive a full response to
your review request within 20 working days of its receipt. Please quote
the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you can ask the
Scottish Information Commissioner to review our decision. You must submit
your complaint to the Commissioner within 6 months of receiving our review
response. The Commissioner can be contacted at:
The Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Fax: 01334 464611
Website: [6]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
Email: [7][email address]
Yours sincerely,
Iain Burden
Information Rights Officer
Information Governance Unit
Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340
[8][Edinburgh City Council request email] [9]www.edinburgh.gov.uk
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #797049 email]
2. https://citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/...
3. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/planning-de...
4. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/10...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[Edinburgh City Council request email]
9. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/
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