SBI information re Grange Hill West Kirby

The request was partially successful.

Birgitta Kuhlmann-Muller

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

Could you please let me know
1. in which year Grange Hill was awarded SBI status for the first time?
2. What were the criteria then?
3. Can you please disclose the findings of this first survey and the names of people / organisations who conducted the SBI inspection ?
4. When was the last time Grange Hill was re- awarded the SBI ( now local wildlife site) status?
5. Who carried out the latest survey?
6. Could you please disclose the inspection results of this latest review?
7. When is the next inspection due?

Yours faithfully,

Birgitta Kuhlmann-Müller

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Kuhlmann-Müller

 

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request.  Please see the
Council’s response to your enquiry below.

 

1.            In which year Grange Hill was awarded SBI status  for the
first time?

 

Grange Hill was originally designated as a local site in 1983 by the
now-abolished Merseyside County Council.  Following abolition of the
County Council the local sites system was taken over by Cheshire Wildlife
Trust and the site was reconfirmed as an SBI in 1990.

 

2.            What were the criteria then?

 

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust site selection criteria of that period are set
out in the attached Supplementary Planning Guidance note which was issued
alongside the Deposit Draft Unitary Development Plan (UDP) in 1994, which
also includes the schedule of sites at that time (Grange Hill is 2nd on
the list).

 

3.            Can you please disclose the findings of this first
survey and the names of people /organisations who conducted the
SBI inspection ?

 

Surveys are likely to have been undertaken by or on behalf of Wirral
Wildlife/Cheshire Wildlife Trust, not the Council.  Copies of the survey
forms are not held by the Council.

 

4.            When was the last time  Grange Hill was re-awarded the SBI (
now local wildlife site) status?

 

The SBIs were last reviewed in full in 1999 by Wirral Wildlife (the Wirral
group of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust) prior to the formal designation of
70 SBIs through Proposal NC6 - Sites of Biological Importance in the
Wirral UDP, adopted in February 2000.  The citation relating to Grange
Hill was further updated in 2011 with details of subsequent surveys. 

 

5.            Who carried out the latest survey?

 

The most recent survey documented on the citation was in 2007.  Surveys
are likely to have been undertaken by or on behalf of Wirral
Wildlife/Cheshire Wildlife Trust, not the Council.

 

6.            Could you please disclose the inspection results of this
latest review?

 

No changes to the boundary, citation or status as an SBI have been
proposed by Wirral Wildlife as a result of these surveys.  Copies of the
survey forms are not held by the Council.

 

7.            When is the next inspection due?

 

The 2014 Cheshire Region Local Wildlife Site (LWS) Selection Criteria have
now been adopted for Wirral.  It is proposed that all existing SBIs will
be reassessed against the new Cheshire LWS criteria and a new schedule of
Local Wildlife Sites complied over the next 5 years.  No date has yet been
set for the review of Grange Hill SBI.

 

We trust this answers your enquiry fully.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Lynette Paterson

Senior Information Management Officer

Business Services - Digital

 

Treasury Building

Argyle Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH41 1AH

 

[1]Tel: 0151 691 8201

[2][Wirral Borough Council request email]

 

 

[3]LGC Awards15_Winner_MIP

 

 

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Birgitta Kuhlmann-Muller

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'SBI information re Grange Hill West Kirby'.
I have contacted Cheshire wildlife trust ( CWT) to whom you referred in your reply.
Their information contradicts several of your answers.
Please see for more detailed information below.

Dear Ms Kuhlmann-Müller

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please see the
Council’s response to your enquiry below.

1. In which year Grange Hill was awarded SBI status for the
first time?

Grange Hill was originally designated as a local site in 1983 by the
now-abolished Merseyside County Council. Following abolition of the
County Council the local sites system was taken over by Cheshire Wildlife
Trust and the site was reconfirmed as an SBI in 1990.

Thank you.

2. What were the criteria then?

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust site selection criteria of that period are set
out in the attached Supplementary Planning Guidance note which was issued
alongside the Deposit Draft Unitary Development Plan (UDP) in 1994, which
also includes the schedule of sites at that time (Grange Hill is 2nd on
the list).

Thank you. The attachment is helpful.

3. Can you please disclose the findings of this first
survey and the names of people /organisations who conducted the
SBI inspection ?

Surveys are likely to have been undertaken by or on behalf of Wirral
Wildlife/Cheshire Wildlife Trust, not the Council. Copies of the survey
forms are not held by the Council.
Your reply re this question 3 seems incorrect.

I have contacted Cheshire Wildlife Trust and also studied their updated publication on their website. WBC Parks and Countryside Local Area Team Leader Christine Smyth contributed to this publication. On page 11 and 12 point 7ff is explained that all surveys are being referred to the landowner ( WBC for Grange Hill) – also recommendations are being given to the landowner ( WBC) how to manage the site in order to maintain SBI/LWS status. This procedure was confirmed by CWT ( Rachel Giles).
Therefore WBC should have the records of the survey and I would like to repeat my request in disclosing them.
Link to their website :
Local Wildlife Site Selection Criteria for the Cheshire ...www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/Cheshire...
2 Acknowledgements The Cheshire Region LWS criteria were compiled by Rachel Giles, Local Wildlife Sites Officer for the Cheshire Wildlife Trust with ...

4. When was the last time Grange Hill was re-awarded the SBI (
now local wildlife site) status?

The SBIs were last reviewed in full in 1999 by Wirral Wildlife (the Wirral
group of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust) prior to the formal designation of
70 SBIs through Proposal NC6 - Sites of Biological Importance in the
Wirral UDP, adopted in February 2000. The citation relating to Grange
Hill was further updated in 2011 with details of subsequent surveys.

Again CWT members have informed me differently and your answer seems incorrect.
Apparently a survey was carried out 2017.
As with question 3 the area manager should have received a copy of this latest 2017 survey.Can you please disclose the result .

5. Who carried out the latest survey?

The most recent survey documented on the citation was in 2007. Surveys
are likely to have been undertaken by or on behalf of Wirral
Wildlife/Cheshire Wildlife Trust, not the Council.

See question 4

6. Could you please disclose the inspection results of this
latest review?

No changes to the boundary, citation or status as an SBI have been
proposed by Wirral Wildlife as a result of these surveys. Copies of the
survey forms are not held by the Council.

See questions before. Your statement is incorrect as the survey results should be held by WBC – in this case of Grange Hill with the area manager Christine Smyth

7. When is the next inspection due?

The 2014 Cheshire Region Local Wildlife Site (LWS) Selection Criteria have
now been adopted for Wirral. It is proposed that all existing SBIs will
be reassessed against the new Cheshire LWS criteria and a new schedule of
Local Wildlife Sites complied over the next 5 years. No date has yet been
set for the review of Grange Hill SBI.

See above – incorrect reply as survey has taken place in 2017.

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

Yours faithfully,

Birgitta Kuhlmann-Muller

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Kuhlmann-Muller

 

I write further to your email of 17 November 2017 requesting an internal
review of the Council’s response to your Freedom of Information enquiry. 
Please take this as a response to your request for internal review, based
upon the individual queries you have raised.

 

3.            “Your reply re this question 3 seems incorrect.”

                The Council maintains its original position.  You should
redirect your enquiry to CWT.

 

4.            “CWT members have informed  me differently and your answer
seems incorrect.”

At the time of our original response (7 November), Wirral Council had not
received a revised citation from CWT and therefore the response provided
at that time was correct.  On 15 November the revised citation was
received and a copy is now attached.

 

5.            “Apparently a survey was carried  out 2017. ”

The information provided in response to this request is the only recorded
information held by the Council.  The attached citation confirms the last
survey was carried out in 2007. 

 

6.            “See questions before. Your statement is incorrect  as the
survey results should  be held  by WBC”

The Council maintains its original position.  Surveys are undertaken by or
on behalf of Wirral Wildlife/Cheshire Wildlife Trust. You should redirect
your enquiry to CWT.

 

7.            “See above – incorrect reply as survey has taken place in
2017.”

The information provided in response to this request is the only recorded
information held by the Council.  The attached citation confirms the last
survey dates known to Wirral Council. 

 

I am satisfied that the original response provided, together with the
additional information set out above represents a full and accurate
response to your Freedom of Information request.  If you are dissatisfied
with the outcome of this review, you then have the right to complain to
the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at
[1]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Tracy O'Hare

Information Management Officer

Business Services - Digital

Treasury Building

Cleveland Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH41 1AH

[2]Tel:0151 691 8397

[3][Wirral Borough Council request email]

 

 

[4]LGC Awards15_Winner_MIP

 

This information supplied to you is copyrighted and continues to be
protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.   You are free
to use it for your own purposes, including any non commercial research you
are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other reuse, for
example commercial publication, would require our specific permission, may
involve licensing and the application of a charge

 

 

 

 

 

 

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager.

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
2. file:///tmp/Tel:0151
3. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]