The police have complained about the road safety around the toxic waste dump school. Do you still allege my questions are vexatious?

Sheila Oliver made this Freedom of Information request to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

Waiting for an internal review by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council of their handling of this request.

Dear Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council,

On 10/10/2009 at 7.57 I sent the following email to the FoI officer and several council officers:-

"Dear Ms Naven

Thank you for your interesting reply. I note I am not vexatious, then why have I publicly been called a liar repeatedly in Stockport Council meetings and why did the Chief Executive brand me rude and offensive and ban me from asking council questions? No evidence of lies or rude or offensive behaviour were produced despite many requests.

The Council's decision to ban any FOIA questions, EIR questions and council chamber questions from the large part of three of the past four years on an issue regarding a school to be built on a still gassing toxic waste dump over which not a single contamination investigation pit has been done, regarding which issue there are anomalies of several millions of pounds - action which prevented me from raising the issue of possible lies being told to the Government regarding the compulsory purchase of land and also in respect of the need to futher CPO land in order to make the traffic arrangements safe - land which should have been CPOd all in one go but wasn't because it would take it over the 250 sq metre benchmark for public inquiries, means that the Department for Schools, Children and Families now face possibly huge legal costs in judicial review, and the Council's insurers face huge potential costs too in future. The Council admits the traffic arrangements for the school are not adequate and they will need to introduce a turning circle. As this proposed turning circle is on public open space, the CPO process for that could take years. How will the Council manage the dangerous for children traffic conditions it is bringing about in the years and years it will take to get through the CPO, if the CPO is agreed at all that is? ....."

In the light of this report regarding the school and the police's concerns about road safety around the school:-

http://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/docume...

Is the Council now willing to answer questions on this subject and to give me the very public apology I deserve? To say that my raising what have proved to be very genuine concerns about childen's safety are vexatious, in the full knowledge that I lost a child in a road accident, is defamatory.

The Defamation Act 1996, Section 2:-

Offer to make amends

(1) A person who has published a statement alleged to be defamatory of another may offer to make amends under this section

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver

alan m dransfield (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Any forthcoming public apology is/would be TOO LITTLE TOO LATE.
If the SBC issue a public apology to you they MUST hold a public inquiry into ALL your allegations of wrongdoing at the school.

FOI Officer, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear Mrs Oliver,

 

I am writing in response to your email below (ref 5165).

 

As you have been informed on a number of previous occasions, the Council
does not state that you are vexatious, but does consider that your
requests for information about the school are vexatious and manifestly
unreasonable under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental
Information Regulations 2004. This decision has been upheld by the
Information Commissioner on two separate occasions. As you are also fully
aware, the Council will and does respond to requests for information about
the school from other applicants.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Corporate Information Services

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

 

show quoted sections

alan m dransfield (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Mrs Oliver
I think you have NO OPTION other than to make a formal appeal against the original SBC/ICO decision.

Dear FOI Officer,

This is the text of an article from last week's Stockport Express:-

"Furious governors are demanding to know why their £8m super-school
is still unfinished a term after opening.

The governing body of Vale View primary school in Reddish has
written to the Council with a catalogue of 'serious concerns'.

Governors at the state-of-the art 550 pupil school - which opened
in September - have called the situation 'unacceptable'.

Last month the school was evacuated after a ceiling to an office
collapsed.

Governors now say fixtures and fittings keep falling off and IT
equipment has not been correctly installed.

They complain workmen are still on site nearly six months after
opening and slam 'a multitude of outstanding items not completed'.

Their letter says: "When can we expect an end to this situation? We
have been patient, tolerant, understanding and accommodating so
far, and appreciate all the hard work so many people have put into
getting our school up and running, but the situation is now
becoming not only untenable, but simply unacceptable."

At their latest meeting the board of governors resolved to write to
the town hall and did so shortly before Christmas.

They complain windowsills and door stoppers keep dropping off,
there are no play-ground markings, boxes of computers are still not
unpacked or installed, and the ventilation shafts do not work.

Health and safety problems are raised around the intallation of
multimedia whiteboards and IT equipment is slammed as 'inadequate
and insufficient'.

The letter adds: "Weekly neetings between staff here and the
contractors to update on what is happening are now becoming
entirely non-productive."

Coun Stuart Bodsworth, executive member for children and young
people, said: "The new school provides an exellent education
facility which benefits the Reddish community.

"We are aware there are some issues needing further work at the
building.

"However, it is common for some works to continue during a 12-month
period following completion of any building work.

"As part of their contract the builders are workingwith the school
to ensure this work is undertaken at times which are most
convenient to the school."

Defamation Act 1996 Offer to make amends:-

A person who has published a statement alleged to be defamatory of
another may offer to make amends. This must be expressed as an
offer to make amends under section 2 of the Defamation Act 1996.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sheila