1994 report on north-facing slip roads on the M11 at Loughton (junction 5)

Planning Inspectorate did not have the information requested.

Dear Planning Inspectorate,

I am writing to ask for a copy of a 1994 report about north-facing slip roads on the M11 at Loughton (junction 5).

The linked newspaper article refers to a 74-page report, by Planning inspector Brian Evans, issued following a 12-day public inquiry in May 1994. This is the report I am looking for: https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/64998...

Yours faithfully,

Adrian Wallis

PINS FOI Requests, Planning Inspectorate

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References

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1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Dunkley-Roberts, Matthew, Planning Inspectorate

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Wallis,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request on 19th April. This has been passed to me, as a member of the Customer Team, whose role is to consider and respond to requests such as this.

Your request was for a copy of a report of a 1994 report about north-facing slip roads on the M11 at Loughton (junction 5).

We do not hold the information you have requested. As demonstrated in our document retention policy, a copy of which I have attached, we hold decision letters for 5 years following the decision date. As such, due to the age of the requested document, we no longer hold any copies of the report. There is the option to contact the local Council who may still hold a copy of the requested report.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your request for information, or the way we handled your request, then you can ask for an internal review. Details of our review procedures and contact details for the Information Commissioner's Office are set out in the attached leaflet.

Kind regards,

Matt Dunkley-Roberts
Customer Team Officer
The Planning Inspectorate

Putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.
Email: [email address]
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
Twitter: @PINSgov

This communication does not constitute legal advice. Please view our Information Charter before sending information to the Planning Inspectorate

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Dear Planning Inspectorate,

Thanks for your reply to my request. But may I please ask for an internal review?

I'm not sure that retention schedule supplier would apply to the information I'm looking for. I'm not asking for a copy of a decision letter in relation to a planning application. I'm asking for a copy of a report that was made to the Secreary of State after a public inquiry. I have since found the scheme that was subsequently made under Part II of the Highways Act 1980, which may help in locating the inspector's report: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996...

I've contacted the National Archives already and they've confirmed the records of the inquiry haven't been transferred to them. I'll contact the Epping Forest District Council as well and will let you know if I hear from them, but in the meantime can you please progress the internal review?

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Wallis

Long, Martin, Planning Inspectorate

Dear Mr Wallis

Thank you for your further email. I have been asked to conduct the requested internal review.

For completeness your request is considered to be for environmental information, as defined in Regulation 2(1) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). Your request and this (Regulation 11) review has therefore been considered under the EIR rather than the Freedom of Information Act.

A copy of the EIR is available from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004.... Regulation 12(4)(a) of the EIR permits an authority to not disclose information where it is not held.

I note your grounds for requesting a review - and note that the information previously provided may not have been as helpful as it could have been. Although we hold no information to verify it, from what you say the information that you are requesting appears to be an Inspector's report to the Secretary of State (presumably for Transport) that led to the M11 Motorway (Junction 5, Loughton, Essex, North Facing Slip Roads) Scheme 1996. Where we prepared such reports (and we were primarily working with hardcopy information in 1994) then the Inspector's report and any case file of written representations that was created (if any) would have been sent to the relevant Secretary of State, both to make the decision and also for any ongoing retention purposes in respect of that decision.

Although we may have held some working information around the time of its submission to the Secretary of State, we therefore have no reason to have held, or continue to have held, the Inspector's report for some 26 years after it's apparent submission to the Secretary of State. As you'd perhaps also expect, given the passage of time the Inspector is no longer with the Inspectorate, and so we cannot contact him for any working material he may have held on the Inspectorate's behalf. To provide further advice and assistance, I can only suggest that you contact either the Department for Transport and/or the Highways Authority to see what information they may have retained.

To conclude, the Inspectorate does not hold information relevant to your request. As we do not hold any information there is no relevant public interest consideration - but I refer to the above assistance as my best suggestion for where any remaining information may be stored.

If you have any queries about this response then please let me know. Should you remain dissatisfied with the Inspectorate's compliance in answering your information request then you may now appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office. Any such appeal should be made promptly, and typically within 2 months of this decision. Further information and contact details are on their website - www.ico.org.uk.

Yours sincerely

Martin Long
Customer Team Manager

Putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.
Email: [email address]
Complaints line: 0303 444 5884

twitter: @PINSgov
web: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/plan...

This communication does not constitute legal advice. Please view our Information Charter before sending information to the Planning Inspectorate.

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Adrian Wallis left an annotation ()

The Department of Transport held this information. See here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...