Affordable Housing Viability statement for PLG development Burwash RR/2018/1787/P

The request was partially successful.

Dear Rother District Council,

Changes to the NPPF now make it necessary that viability statements for affordable housing provision are to be made publicly available.

The previous outline application for this site allowed for affordable housing provision.

The current planning application RR/2018/1787/P for" Erection of 30 market dwellings together with access, parking, open space and recreational land. Location Strand Meadow - Land to the south west of, Burwash TN19 7BS" claims that affordable housing is not viable.

No viability statement has been posted on the public web site to support the claim that affordable housing is unviable. This is in conflict with the requirements of paragraph 57 of the NPPF. which states "all viability assessments, including any undertaken at the plan-making stage, should reflect the recommended approach in national planning guidance, including standardised inputs, and should be made publicly available".

I request a copy of the viability statement provided by the developer for this application.
I also request that the viability statement is published on the planning web site.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Hurrell

foi, Rother District Council

Dear Mr Hurrell

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004

Thank you for your request received on 13 August 2018 relating to information about Viability Statement re application RR/2018/1787/P. We aim to respond to your request for information within 20 working days, in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations.

Freedom of Information Manager

Rother District Council
Town Hall
Bexhill on Sea TN39 3JX

T: 01424 787000
E: [Rother District Council request email]
W: www.rother.gov.uk

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foi, Rother District Council

Dear Mr Hurrell

 

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004

 

With reference to your request received on 13 August 2018 about Viability
Statement re application RR/2018/1787/P, the full viability assessment is
part of the application currently under consideration and is therefore
exempt from disclosure under Regulation 12(4)(d).  However, an Executive
Summary of the Viability Assessment is available on the website under the
planning application documents titled Major – Supporting Information –
Executive Summary Viability Statement.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of the request please contact us
within 60 calendar days of this response, if you wish to request an
internal review.  If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome of the
internal review you have the right to make a complaint to the Information
Commissioner.  Their details are:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Tel. 01625 545700

[1]www.ico.org.uk

 

Please note that the information provided by Rother District Council is
intended for your personal use.  If it is your intention to re-use the
information for commercial gain, you will need to apply to the Council for
a license to re-use it, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information
Regulations 2005.

 

 

Freedom of Information Manager

 

Rother District Council

Town Hall

Bexhill on Sea TN39 3JX

 

T: 01424 787000

E: [2][Rother District Council request email]

W:  [3]www.rother.gov.uk

 

[4]Follow all news stories on Twitter

[5]Visit our Website

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Dear Rother District Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Rother District Council's handling of my EIR request 'Affordable Housing Viability statement for PLG development Burwash RR/2018/1787/P'.

The grounds for refusal under EIA regulation 12(4)(d) does not apply.
12(4)(d) states ““Material in the course of completion, unfinished documents and incomplete data”.

The viability statement has been submitted as part of the planning application and will be used by the planning department to make a decision on whether affordable housing contributions are viable. The viability statement cannot therefore be considered to be a document in the course of completion or an unfinished document or incomplete data.

The viability statement is now part of a planning application and should be in the public domain as clearly stated by NPPF paragraph 57:

“"all viability assessments, including any undertaken at the plan-making stage, should reflect the recommended approach in national planning guidance, including standardised inputs, and should be made publicly available".

The refusal decision is in conflict with NPPF Paragraph 57. The whole point of NPPF Paragraph 57 is so that public scrutiny can occur before the planning decision is made. If the statement can be held back as incomplete then when do the public get to see it? After the application has been decided? If this is the case then viability statements remain secret until after the decision is made. This is clearly not the intention of the new NPPF.

The viability statement submitted with the planning application may be at the plan making stage but the NPPF states that this too must be publicly available.

If the viability statement was indeed incomplete, unfinished or with incomplete data then it should not have been accepted as consideration for this planning application. The planning application should not have passed validation until the viability statement was completed.

The executive summary posted two days after I submitted my EIR request is derived from the viability statement. If the viability statement is still incomplete then the executive summary itself must also be considered incomplete.

The refusal decision is also in conflict with the new NPPF guidelines on viability statements.

Paragraph 021 of https://www.gov.uk/guidance/viability says that :

“Any viability assessment should be prepared on the basis that it will be made publicly available other than in exceptional circumstances”.

Your reason for refusal has not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances and therefore the refusal reason is invalid.

Paragraph 021 of https://www.gov.uk/guidance/viability says that commercial sensitivity covers ongoing negotiations over land purchase, and information relating to compensation that may be due to individuals, such as right to light compensation.

None of these apply. EIA regulation 12(4)(d) is not about commercial sensitivity and therefore does not apply.

The 35% Campaign in Southwark says that EIR/FOI requests for viability assessments may be legitimately made as soon as a planning application is known about and before the viability assessment is complete so that there is time for the EIR/FOI process to complete before the decision is made. Therefore EIA regulation 12(4)(d) does not apply.

I request that this EIR request is reviewed and that I am provided with a copy of the viability statement and that the viability statement is also posted on the planning website.

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

Yours faithfully,

Chris Hurrell

foi, Rother District Council

Dear Mr Hurrell

I acknowledge receipt of your request for an Internal Review. We will respond to you as soon as this has been considered with our conclusion.

Freedom of Information Manager

Rother District Council
Town Hall
Bexhill on Sea TN39 3JX

T: 01424 787000
E: [Rother District Council request email]
W: www.rother.gov.uk

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Dear foi,

Please advise when I will receive the results of the internal review.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Hurrell

foi, Rother District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Hurrell

 

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004

 

Further to your request for an Internal Review, I apologise for the delay
in responding which has been due to requesting legal advice.  Our response
is now attached hereto.

 

If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review you
have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner.  Their
details are:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Tel. 01625 545700

[1]www.ico.org.uk

 

Please note that the information provided by Rother District Council is
intended for your personal use.  If it is your intention to re-use the
information for commercial gain, you will need to apply to the Council for
a license to re-use it, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information
Regulations 2005.

 

 

Freedom of Information Manager

 

Rother District Council

Town Hall

Bexhill on Sea TN39 3JX

 

T: 01424 787000

E: [2][Rother District Council request email]

W:  [3]www.rother.gov.uk

 

[4]Follow all news stories on Twitter

[5]Visit our Website

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Andrew Boswell left an annotation ()

Mr Hurrell

The example from the ICO has been cherry picked. Do check out

http://www.hackneysociety.org/page/goods...

this gives all the necessary wording etc to take this forward. You are completely right and this information should not be withheld.

Dr Andrew Boswell
Norwich

Sarah Shepherd, Rother District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Hurrell

 

Further to your enquiry I am now able to forward a copy of the Viability
Report associated with this application. It should appear on the public
website for the application tomorrow.

 

You will note that private details have been redacted along with two
figures that are accepted to be commercially sensitive data.

 

Kind regards

 

Mrs S Shepherd MRTPI, BA(Hons)

Development Management Team Leader

Strategy and Planning

Rother District Council

Town Hall

Bexhill-on-Sea

TN39 3JX

 

Tel: 01424 787607

Email: [email address

[1]www.rother.gov.uk

 

[2]Follow all news stories on Twitter

[3]Visit our Website

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Lynda Crawford, Rother District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Hurrell

 

Further to our previous email, I can advise that the Viability Statement
is now available on the planning application page.

 

Freedom of Information Manager

 

Rother District Council

Town Hall

Bexhill on Sea TN39 3JX

 

T: 01424 787000

E: [1][Rother District Council request email]

W:  [2]www.rother.gov.uk

 

From: foi
Sent: 26 October 2018 10:00
To: Chris Hurrell ([FOI #509538 email])
Subject: Internal Review

 

Dear Mr Hurrell

 

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004

 

Further to your request for an Internal Review, I apologise for the delay
in responding which has been due to requesting legal advice.  Our response
is now attached hereto.

 

If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review you
have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner.  Their
details are:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Tel. 01625 545700

[3]www.ico.org.uk

 

Please note that the information provided by Rother District Council is
intended for your personal use.  If it is your intention to re-use the
information for commercial gain, you will need to apply to the Council for
a license to re-use it, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information
Regulations 2005.

 

 

Freedom of Information Manager

 

Rother District Council

Town Hall

Bexhill on Sea TN39 3JX

 

T: 01424 787000

E: [4][Rother District Council request email]

W:  [5]www.rother.gov.uk

 

[6]Follow all news stories on Twitter

[7]Visit our Website

show quoted sections

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