Thank you for your enquiry, please accept this as auto acknowledgement of
your email.

We are currently receiving large volumes of correspondence; these are
being dealt with in date order and you will receive a response as soon as
possible. There is no need to contact us again in respect of this matter.

Further information that may help to answer your query in the meantime,
may be located on our website [1]Stratford-on-Avon District Council

Missed bins must be reported within the 2 days of the schedule collection
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Processing Freedom of Information Request
Freedom of Information #25074
Dear Trevor Storey,

We have started processing your Freedom of Information request. A response
may take up to 20 working days. If you have not received a response after
15/08/2024 , please contact the council ([email address]).

Your Freedom of Information reference number is #25074.

Regards,

Freedom of Information Officer
Stratford-on-Avon District Council

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Stratford on Avon District Council,

Can I please have a copy of the following for the Old Stour Estate and
Public Open Spaces at Alderminster :
1) Infiltration Tests along with any recommendations as existing to date
2) The surface water drainage survey along with any recommendations as
existing to date

Dear Mr Storey,

Thank you for your request, which is as follows:

Dear Stratford on Avon District Council,

Can I please have a copy of the following for the Old Stour Estate and
Public Open Spaces at Alderminster :

1) Infiltration Tests along with any recommendations as existing to date

2) The surface water drainage survey along with any recommendations as
existing to date

We are currently in the process of collating a response. Before we are
able to respond, we require some clarification from you. Please could you
specify which site you are requesting this information in relation to? If
you are also able to provide planning reference number, this would be
helpful. If you are able to confirm this, we can fully respond to your
request for information.

In reply to this message, please can you clarify the above. Please note
that the statutory timeframe for the Council to provide a response to this
part of your request does not start until clarification is provided. If we
have not heard from you by a week today (Friday 26th July 2024) then the
Council will close this part of the request, you will still receive a
response to the rest of your request. Naturally, you may clarify your
request at a later date, and this will be regarded as a new request for
information.

Kind regards

Information Governance Team

Law and Governance

Stratford on Avon District Council, Elizabeth House, Church Street,
Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6HX.  Switchboard +44 (0)1789
267575, web [1]www.stratford.gov.uk

This e-mail is confidential and may contain legally privileged
information. You should not disclose its contents to any other person. If
you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately.

Whilst the Council has taken every reasonable precaution to minimise the
risk of computer software viruses, it cannot accept liability for any
damage which you may sustain as a result of such viruses. You should carry
out your own virus checks before opening the e-mail (and/or any
attachments).

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the contents of this e-mail represent
only the views of the sender and do not impose any legal obligation upon
the Council or commit the Council to any course of action.

For details on how we handle and process personal data, please visit
www.stratford.gov.uk/privacy to view our privacy notice.

References

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Freedom of Information Response
#25074
Dear Trevor Storey

Further to your request, please see the following response:

We have not yet received the final version of the reports. When we have
fully considered the reports we may choose to release the information at a
later stage with the author’s consent.

Also, there is currently a live planning enforcement investigation in
relation to this site. We consider that the information cannot be released
as this relates to a live enforcement case and it is reasonably considered
that disclosure into the public domain of information in relation to live
enforcement cases is considered to meet EIR exception 12. (5) (b)- the
course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a fair trial or the
ability of a public authority to conduct an inquiry of a criminal or
disciplinary nature.

This is because disclosure of information in relation to live enforcement
cases can reasonably result in outside interference in the Council's fair
undertaking of such investigations by individuals who are the subject of
such investigations, or other members of the public. There is an
established need for Council investigations to be conducted fairly, and
disclosing any information in relation to live cases would be reasonably
considered to adversely affect the ability of the Council to conduct such
investigations.

All EIR exceptions are subject to the public interest test. It is
recognised that there is some public interest in disclosure of the
information. This interest lies in ensuring that the Council are
transparently conducting investigations fairly and in line with law and
established Council procedures. However, this public interest in
transparency with Council investigations is not considered to come at the
expense of the Council's very ability to conduct investigations fairly in
the first place. In all circumstances, the public interest in withholding
the requesting information is considered to outweigh the public interest
in disclosure in this case.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. An internal review request should be
submitted in writing within 40 working days of receiving the original
reply and should be addressed to:

Information Governance Department,
Stratford-on-Avon District Council,
Elizabeth House,
Church Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon,
Warwickshire
CV37 6HX.

You may make a request for an Internal Review in direct reply to this
message.

If you are dissatisfied with The Council's response to an internal review
you have requested, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Information Commissioner's Office. You can contact the ICO using the
information below;

Tel: 0303 123 1113
Live chat: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Regards,

Freedom of Information Officer
Stratford-on-Avon District Council

Thank you for your enquiry, please accept this as auto acknowledgement of
your email.

We are currently receiving large volumes of correspondence; these are
being dealt with in date order and you will receive a response as soon as
possible. There is no need to contact us again in respect of this matter.

Further information that may help to answer your query in the meantime,
may be located on our website [1]Stratford-on-Avon District Council

Missed bins must be reported within the 2 days of the schedule collection
day, these can be reported via:

[2]Report a missed bin collection

[3]Home | Stratford-on-Avon District Council

References

Visible links
1. https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
https://www.stratford.gov.uk/
2. https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
https://www.stratford.gov.uk/online-form...
3. https://www.stratford.gov.uk/

Processing Internal Review (FOI/EIR) Request
Internal Review (FOI/EIR) #25103
Dear Trevor Storey,

We have started processing your Internal Review (FOI/EIR) request. A response may take up to 40 working days. If you have not received a response after 20/09/2024 , please contact the council ([email address]).

Your Internal Review (FOI/EIR) reference number is #25103.

Regards,

Freedom of Information Officer
Stratford-on-Avon District Council

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Stratford on Avon District Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Stratford on Avon District Council's handling of my FOI request 'Alderminster Infiltration Testing and Drain Surveys'.

My request for an Internal Review is based on the following welcomed statement contained within the Head of Planning's email dated 3rd July 2024 (almost 3 weeks ago) :

"Just to update you, we are awaiting the final version of the survey report from the engineers this week. Once received we will be sending it to the developer and LLFA for comment. Obviously, we will need to digest and interpret the findings and until the LLFA have seen the report, I don’t have timescale for that. Under the circumstances, I’m happy to also share with yourself and residents."

It is accepted that it will take time to digest recommendations but it has been known for years how there have been major problems of installation (SDC Planning have stated this). Further SDC have freely provided fragmented previous surveys carried out by the Developer (which do not include the entire surface drainage system).

Having regards to the cooperation of SDC in the past I trust you will agree how there is no reason to withhold the results of the Infiltration Tests or the Complete Surface Water Drainage Survey.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Internal Review (FOI/EIR) Response
#25103
Dear Trevor Storey

Further to your request for an internal review, the Council has considered
your points raised and will address them in turn.

With regards to the CCTV and Infiltration surveys, the Council
commissioned our own surveys after repeated requests for copies of the
developer drainage surveys were fruitless. We have now received these
surveys, which John Careford, Head of Development, has agreed to share.
However, in due diligence, we are currently waiting for Warwickshire
County Council to sign off these surveys and approve them. We have not yet
received confirmation from the County Council, and therefore we could not
share these in response to your original request. We can confirm that we
have prompted the County Council to act on this. Once both surveys have
been signed off, we will share the surveys with the residents of
Alderminster and the Parish Council as previously agreed.

I will now address the withholding of the surface water drainage survey,
this was withheld under EIR exemption 12(5)(b) - Disclosure could
adversely affect the course of justice, the ability of a person to receive
a fair trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an enquiry of
a criminal or disciplinary nature. As part of this internal review, I have
examined whether the exemption was applied correctly in this case.
Firstly, I must decide if the information withheld to an enquiry of a
criminal or disciplinary nature. The Information Commissioner's Office
(ICO) advises that EIR regulation 12(5)(b) is relevant to planning
decisions and planning enforcement investigations which the authority
carries out. In this case, there is currently a live planning enforcement
investigation into the matter you are seeking information about. I am
therefore satisfied that the material relates to an enquiry of a criminal
or disciplinary nature.

I must now consider whether the disclosure of the surface water drainage
survey into the public domain would outweigh the reasons for withholding
it. The ICO recommends that this regulation permits authorities to refuse
to disclose information if it would negatively impact their ability to
conduct an inquiry of a criminal or disciplinary nature. This would mean
that harm would be caused to the inquiry if the information was released
into the public domain.

As part of this planning enforcement investigation, the Council has to
consider how the drainage affects the open space and levels. Naturally,
the surface water drainage surveys would be relevant to inquiries made by
the Council into whether there had been a planning breach. Disclosure of
this into the public domain would, therefore, potentially affect the
Council’s ability to conduct such an inquiry, and the course of justice
more generally. Due to the live and open nature of the investigation,
there is a risk of revealing information about our line of investigation.
The ICO also acknowledges that there is a need to protect information
acquired during investigations, especially when an investigation is still
open.

The Council acknowledges that there is strong public interest in the
administration of justice and how we conduct our investigations. However,
it is vital that we do not undermine the current proceedings and final
outcome of our investigations by releasing information into the public
domain before such enquiries have concluded. In view of this, the public
interest in disclosure the information does not outweighs the reasons for
withholding it. I am satisfied that the surface water drainage survey was
correctly withheld under EIR exemption 12(5)(b).

On a related note, the planning department has stated that they need to
rectify and resolve the drainage to then resolve the open space and
levels. Once we know what drainage system has been installed, the Council
can remedy this.

We hope this has explained how the Council reached their original
decision.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of the internal review, you have
the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office.
You can contact the ICO using the information below;

Tel: 0303 123 1113
Live chat: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Regards,

Freedom of Information Officer
Stratford-on-Avon District Council