Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If
you have a processing request, please ensure you quote that reference in
your emails to us.

DEAR Stephen Whiteside

Freedom of information request - FOI/6484

Subject: 19/03621/FUL - Land R/O 19 Burlington Road, Thornton Heath, CR7
8PG

We are just emailing you to update you on your open Information Request.
We are currently in the process of updating our systems and part of this
update will mean that your open Information Request has been assigned a
new reference: FOI/6484

Thank you in advanced for your patients patience and whilst we will
continue top process your request. We will issue a response or update to
you as soon as we are able.

Unfortunately, the Council is currently experiencing a delay in our
response times due to demand and resource. As an organisation we are aware
of our legal duties under the legislation and are making every effort to
improve our position and respond to requests within our statutory
timeframes as quickly as possible. All requests are being monitored and
continually reviewed to provide you with an expected date for disclosure.
London Borough of Croydon takes its role as a Data Controller seriously
and would like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding
whilst we improve our service to you.

 
Kind Regard

Information Management Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

Dear Stephen Whiteside

Request FOI/6484

Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Your request has been considered under the provisions of the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004. Please accept our apologies for the lengthy
delay in responding to you. Specifically, you have requested the following
information:

19/03621/FUL - Land R/O 19 Burlington Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 8PG

Please provide copies of the following information:

a)  anything that might explain why it took the Council seventeen (17)
months to discharge PRE-COMMENCEMENT Condition 12,

It took some time to receive the consultee comments as further information
was required.

b)  why work was allowed to continue on site, throughout that period

If a developer chooses to continue development this is at their own risk
and could result in planning enforcement action if found in breach of
planning legislation.

c)   'Construction Logistics Plan 30.06.22' and any other relevant
information submitted after April 2021, which informed Mr Grace's
recommendation and Ms Townsend's decision.

CLP attached. Some information has been redacted as it held information
relating to individuals.  Personal data is exempt from disclosure under
Regulations 12(3) and 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its
online Disclosure Log. (Any request included within this log will be
anonymised appropriately)

To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website available
here:

[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
(disclosure-log.co.uk)

If you are dissatisfied with the way the council has handled your request
under the Environmental Information Regulations you may ask for an
internal review.  This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of
this response.  You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint
by:

Email:        [2][Croydon Borough Council request email]

Writing:     Information Team

London Borough of Croydon

Bernard Weatherill House

7^th Floor - Zone B

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely 

Croydon Council

References

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1. https://croydon.disclosure-log.co.uk/
2. mailto:[Croydon Borough Council request email]

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

Dear Stephen Whiteside

Acknowledgement: Internal Review in relation to request FOI/6484
 

Thank you for your email, which was received on 20/03/2023.
 

As a result of your complaint we will be carrying out an internal review.
An officer, not involved in the original decision, will reconsider your
request for information and notify you of their decision.. 

If you have any queries regarding this matter please do not hesitate to
contact us.

Kind regards,

Information Compliance Team

Dear Mr Whiteside,

Further to your email dated 26 April 2019, in which you requested an
Internal Review of the Council’s response to your request for information,
I have now concluded this review and I am able to reply as follows.

In your request for Internal Review, you asked the Council to reconsider
your request as had not been provided with the information requested.

In your request for information dated 17 November 2023, you requested the
following information:

“19/03621/FUL - Land R/O 19 Burlington Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 8PG

As part of the permission granted for the above planning application, the
Council attached Condition 12, which states that 'Prior to the
commencement of development a Construction Logistics Plan (CLP) shall be
submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority'.

An application to discharge Condition 12 (21/01855/DISC) was received and
validated by the Council on 12 April 2021.  The application included a
Construction Logistics Plan dated 8 April 2021.

On 21 November 2021, I wrote to the Council's Head of Development
Management (Nicola Townsend) stating, "Pre-commencement ... conditions 4,
12 and 15 were breached in July 2021 when demolition of the garages began,
since which time this development has been unlawful".   No response.

I wrote to Ms Townsend again on 25 November 2021, informing her the
groundworks were about to commence.  No response.

On 29 November 2021 I wrote to 'Planning Enforcement', asking for the
'planning enforcement case file number and details of the officer
dealing'.  No response.

On 6 December 2021, I wrote to the Council's Chief Executive Officer
(Katherine Kerswell) asking that she ensure that 'officers show residents
some respect and that they provide a substantive response to my
correspondence as a matter of urgency'.  No response ... until, on 21
January 2022, I finally received an acknowledgement letter from Planning
Enforcement and a reference number, 22/00032/NCC.

All this, while work was allowed to continue on Site.

I now note that the case officer (Christopher Grace) reported the
application to a Delegated Business Meeting in the week commencing 7
September 2022.  Mr Grace's comments with regard to Condition 12 were as
follows:

"The Construction Logistics Plan is satisfactory to discharge regarding
noise and air quality. The applicants have submitted a revised document
which has been assessed and addresses previous issues of concern. Overall
officers are satisfied that sufficient information has been presented and
do not raise any objection to the discharge of this condition".

On the basis of Mr Grace's report, it was determined that Condition 12
could be discharged, with the Decision Notice (signed by Ms Townsend)
referring to 'Construction Logistics Plan 30.06.22' with regard to that
Condition.

Please provide copies of the following information:

a)    anything that might explain why it took the Council seventeen (17)
months to discharge PRE-COMMENCEMENT Condition 12,

b)   why work was allowed to continue on site, throughout that period, and

c)   'Construction Logistics Plan 30.06.22' and any other relevant
information submitted after April 2021, which informed Mr Grace's
recommendation and Ms Townsend's decision.”

The Council responded to you on the 13 March 2023 and provided the
following response:

“a) anything that might explain why it took the Council seventeen (17)
months to discharge PRE-COMMENCEMENT Condition 12,

It took some time to receive the consultee comments as further information
was required.

b) why work was allowed to continue on site, throughout that period

If a developer chooses to continue development this is at their own risk
and could result in planning enforcement action if found in breach of
planning legislation.

c) 'Construction Logistics Plan 30.06.22' and any other relevant
information submitted after April 2021, which informed Mr Grace's
recommendation and Ms Townsend's decision.

CLP attached. Some information has been redacted as it held information
relating to individuals.  Personal data is exempt from disclosure under
Regulations 12(3) and 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.”

In your request for an Internal Review dated 20 March 2023, you stated the
following:

“I am writing to request an internal review of Croydon Borough Council's
handling of my FOI request '19/03621/FUL - Land R/O 19 Burlington Road,
Thornton Heath, CR7 8PG'.

In response to my request for any information to explain why it took the
Council 17 months to discharge PRE-COMMENCEMENT Condition 12, you tell me
that "It took some time to receive the consultee comments as further
information was required".

+++   Please provide the details of the 'consultee' involved in this
unacceptable delay, and what exactly this 'further information' was. 

In response to my question as to why the Council (as Local Planning
Authority) allowed work to continue on site DESPITE this PRE-COMMENCEMENT
condition NOT being discharged, you have merely confirmed that if a
developer chooses to continue development in these circumstances, it "is
at their own risk".   But at risk of what?  What this information request
was very clearly all about, was WHAT 'planning enforcement action' did the
Council take, in the FULL KNOWLEDGE of this very blatant breach of
planning legislation.

+++   Please provide copies of any planning contravention notice,
enforcement notice, temporary stop notice, stop notice or any other
correspondence with the developer, warning them of the potential
consequences ('risk') of this KNOWN breach of Condition 12.”

On receiving your request for an Internal Review, I contacted the Planning
Service who have provided additional information in answer to the issues
raised in your Internal Review. Your request for an Internal Review has
been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

The Council is able to provide the following additional information in
respect of the delay in respect of the consultee comments and
planning/enforcement notices.

In the particular instance of Condition 12, following comments from the
Senior Network Management Officer, further details/clarification were
required on the following points:

•              Delivery times;

•              Holding areas;

•              How banksmen will control the traffic/pedestrians; and

•              How vehicles will be unloaded from the highway in terms of
management and pedestrian controls.

Although additional information to address these issues was submitted,
which was considered to be insufficient; requiring further dialogue
between the Case Officer, Senior Network Management Officer and Applicant
to agree an acceptable Delivery Management Plan (from a registered Traffic
Management company) to be included within the Construction Logistics Plan
and be agreed.

In respect of the application to discharge condition 12 (Construction
Logistics Plan), this was part of an application to discharge eight other
conditions:

•              3 (External Facing Materials);

•              4 (Arboricultural/Demolition Method Statement and Tree
Protection Plan);

•              6 (Hard and Soft Landscaping);

•              10 (Space Sharing between Vehicles and Pedestrians);

•              11 (Electric Vehicle Charging Points);

•              14 (SUDS); and

•              15 (Biodiversity Method statement). 

An application of this size involves consultation and in this case
negotiation, with many different Council services areas, all of whom have
competing demands.

Lastly at the time the application was submitted (April 2021), the
Planning service was experiencing significant backlogs and difficulties in
recruiting staff.   Unfortunately, this directly impacted the time taken
to determine applications.

Lastly no notices were served, as in this case it was considered that this
would be a disproportionate action and with the pending discharge of
conditions it was not seen appropriate to stop the work.

If you are not content with the outcome of the Internal Review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Howard Passman

020 8726 6000 ext. 27103

[1]cid:image001.png@01D95015.8FDF4650

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