Bognor Regis Kite Festival 2018

The request was partially successful.

Dear Arun District Council,

The organisers of the BR Kite Festival have been informed that their application to hold the event on August bank Holiday 2018 in West Park has been refused.

Please confirm or otherwise the following:

- representation was made to the Council by the organisers of the Seafront Lights in Bognor
- if so, please provide the reasons given by the SFL organisation
- representations were made by Cllr Wells and Cllr Oppler -
- if so, were these made at the November 2017 meeting of the Council only?
- if made in addition to the Nov meeting, please state when, by whom and what grounds were advanced by them?
- having received representation by or on behalf of the Seafront Lights organisation, has there been other subsequent communication with its representatives, including email, phone calls, meetings, and when?
- why has there been no consultation with the Kite Festival organisation, just an email informing them of a refusal?
- in an email to the Kite Festival contact, you have stated that the Lights organisation's seniority was the reason for your decision - please quote any Council rule or policy that incorporates such a principle
- knowing there has been some perception of a problem as stated only by one party, why has the Council taken the side of that party without any effort whatsoever to find out the view of the other party leading to what appears to any reasonable person to be an arbitrary and unfair decision?
- did the two Councillors declare an interest at the Nov Council meeting as regards their shared membership of the Liberal Democrat Party with the organiser of the Seafront Lights?
Finally, was any consideration given to a) seeking the views of BRTC as a main funder of both events, and also were the views of ADC Councillors in the BR Town area sought - Messrs Maconachie, Brooks, Rapnik, Daniels, etc. If not why not?

Please provide copies of emails from and to BR Seafront Lights, Cllrs Wells and Oppler on this issue to date.

Yours faithfully,

Jan Cosgrove

Infomanagement, Arun District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Cosgrove

 

Thank you for your Information Request received on 6 December 2017,
apologies for the delay.

 

REQUEST:

 

The organisers of the BR Kite Festival have been informed that their
application to hold the event on August bank Holiday 2018 in West Park has
been refused.

 

Please confirm or otherwise the following:

 

 1. representation was made to the Council by the organisers of the
Seafront Lights in Bognor

 

 2. if so, please provide the reasons given by the SFL organisation

 

 3. representations were made by Cllr Wells and Cllr Oppler -

 

 4. if so, were these made at the November 2017 meeting of the Council
only?

 

 5. if made in addition to the Nov meeting, please state when, by whom and
what grounds were advanced by them?

 

 6. having received representation by or on behalf of the Seafront Lights
organisation, has there been other subsequent communication with its
representatives, including email, phone calls, meetings, and when?

 

 7. why has there been no consultation with the Kite Festival
organisation, just an email informing them of a refusal?

 

 8. in an email to the Kite Festival contact, you have stated that the
Lights organisation's seniority was the reason for your decision -
please quote any Council rule or policy that incorporates such a
principle

 

 9. knowing there has been some perception of a problem as stated only by
one party, why has the Council taken the side of that party without
any effort whatsoever to find out the view of the other party leading
to what appears to any reasonable person to be an arbitrary and unfair
decision?

 

10. did the two Councillors declare an interest at the Nov Council meeting
as regards their shared membership of the Liberal Democrat Party with
the organiser of the Seafront Lights?

 

11. Finally, was any consideration given to a) seeking the views of BRTC
as a main funder of both events, and also were the views of ADC
Councillors in the BR Town area sought - Messrs Maconachie, Brooks,
Rapnik, Daniels, etc.  If not why not?

 

12. Please provide copies of emails from and to BR Seafront Lights, Cllrs
Wells and Oppler on this issue to date.

 

 

 

RESPONSE:

 

 1. No

 

 2. Not Applicable

 

 3. None

 

 4. Please refer to Arun District Council’s Full Council Minutes of 08
November 2017 – Minute 276 using the following website link:

 

[1]https://www.arun.gov.uk/full-council

 

 5. No

 

 6. No

 

 7. The decision on use of Arun District Council’s land is a Council
decision

 

 8. Arun District Council currently does not have a policy that identifies
this; however a draft policy is stating that where an event has
occurred in the past this will be taken into account in any decision

 

 9. There is no information relating to the query.  The decision has been
taken to avoid the unnecessary disruption caused by two events being
held at the same time.

 

10. Yes, please see Arun District Council’s Full Minutes of 08 November
2017 – Item 276 – the last 2 paragraphs of this Minute.

 

11. No, there is no suggestion that the events would not take place, but
that they would not take place on the same week end.

12. See attached pdf

 

 

You will note that certain information has been redacted within the
document.  This information is considered to be third party personal data
and has therefore been redacted in accordance with the Data Protection Act
1998.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can write asking for a review of the Council’s response,
within the next two months, to the Information Management Team at: Arun
District Council, Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, West
Sussex, BN17 5LF (email [2][Arun District Council request email]).

 

If, having exhausted our review procedure, you remain dissatisfied with
the handling of your request or complaint, you will have a right to appeal
to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 0303
123 1113; website [3]www.ico.org.uk).  There is no charge for making an
appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Information Management Team

Arun District Council

 

 

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Information Management Team  |  [4]Arun District Council | |
| Location: First Floor, |
| |
| Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, BN17 5LF |
| |
| Internal: 37709 | External: +44 (0) 1903 737709 | E-mail: |
| [5][Arun District Council request email] |
| |
| Visit Arun's web site at [6]www.arun.gov.uk  P Save the environment - |
| think before you print. |
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[7]http://www.arun.gov.uk
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References

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Dear Infomanagement,

Thank you.

I note some anomalies in your response so seek clarifications.

3. This cannot be correct as minute 276 actually states that Cllr Wells asked officers to intervene and that Cllr Oppler supported this. Are you saying there was no further communication from or to them by officers on this matter prior to the letter to Jan Malpas refusing the Kite Festival August Bank Holiday this year?

4. Indeed you contradict your answer in 3 here

5. You appear to be saying that this refusal was made without further representations from either of the 2 cllrs or anyone else. Is this the case?

I feel the need to seek answers to supplementary questions:

5A There was no further communication from or to either or both Cllrs Wells and Oppler prior to refusal?
5B Was there any communication from or to the organisers of the Seafront Lights/Gala organisation prior to refusal?
5C Confirm there was no communication/discussion with Kite Festival organisers prior to refusal.
5D Was there any representation received from local residents prior to refusal?
5E Did officers contact local residents to survey their views prior to refusal?
5F What records does Arun have of any representations?

7. That response could be regarded as unreasonable by any reasonable person. I am seeking as an elected member of a council a clear justification for your action/decision in this matter and so far that eludes me. As a council and as public servants you are accountable and I expect a reasoned answer. Please make the effort.

8. So confirm this was a decision made on no policy basis at the time of decision, When was this draft policy considered to be necessary? If after the matter was raised at council that would seem post-hoc. If you cannot provide more detail as to the precise sources of concern and where these came from, that would seem to be arbitrary decision-making?

9. An EXTRAORDINARY answer, that the decision was not made on the basis of information???? That somehow the situation was 'divined' by officers? It was decided without representation, survey or discussion with both organisers that the Kite Festival would not get the date again this year?

10. No, neither discloses a personal interest re the Liberal Democrat Party. BTW Cllr Wells is NOT a member of BRTC.

11. I did not ask that at all, please answer what I did ask!

12, Most revealing as it shows officer asking seafront lights people for application for 2018 yet no similar copy for Kite. The email is 7 days after the date of the Council meeting. Is it the case, therefore, that the decision to deny the Kite Festival Aug Bank Hol this year had been taken in those 7 days? Without further representation from anyone, without local enquiry/survey, or actual evidence and without discussion with Kite organisers or even Gala organisers?

Forgive me, unless you can provide adequate clarification, to date I cannot ascertain any sound reasons for your decision on this matter?

Yours sincerely,

Jan Cosgrove

Infomanagement, Arun District Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Cosgrove

 

Thank you for your email relating to our response to your Information
Request Dec17_08.  Please see attached original request and our response
for information.

 

REQUEST:

 

I note some anomalies in your response so seek clarifications.

 

3.   This cannot be correct as minute 276 actually states that Cllr Wells
asked officers to intervene and that Cllr Oppler supported this.  Are you
saying there was no further communication from or to them by officers on
this matter prior to the letter to Jan Malpas refusing the Kite Festival
August Bank Holiday this year? 

 

RESPONSE:

 

That is correct - other than at Full Council no further communication was
received.

 

REQUEST:

 

4.  Indeed you contradict your answer in 3 here

 

RESPONSE:

 

Please see above response to Question 3.

 

REQUEST:

 

5.   You appear to be saying that this refusal was made without further
representations from either of the 2 cllrs or anyone else.   Is this the
case?

 

RESPONSE:

 

Please see above response to Question 3.

 

REQUEST:

 

I feel the need to seek answers to supplementary questions:

 

5A    There was no further communication from or to either or both Cllrs
Wells and Oppler prior to refusal?

 

RESPONSE:

 

Correct.

 

REQUEST:

 

5B     Was there any communication from or to the organisers of the
Seafront Lights/Gala organisation prior to refusal?

 

RESPONSE:

 

No further communication.

 

REQUEST:

 

5C    Confirm there was no communication/discussion with Kite Festival
organisers prior to refusal.

 

RESPONSE:

 

No further communication.

 

REQUEST:

 

5D    Was there any representation received from local residents prior to
refusal?

 

RESPONSE:

 

No

 

REQUEST:

 

5E    Did officers contact local residents to survey their views prior to
refusal?

 

RESPONSE:

 

No

 

REQUEST:

 

5F    What records does Arun have of any representations?

 

RESPONSE:

 

None

 

REQUEST:

 

7.  That response could be regarded as unreasonable by any reasonable
person.   I am seeking as an elected member of a council a clear
justification for your action/decision in this matter and so far that
eludes me.   As a council and as public servants you are accountable and I
expect a reasoned answer.   Please make the effort.

 

RESPONSE:

 

The decision on use of Arun District Council’s land is a Council decision,
please see below Question 8.

 

REQUEST:

 

8.  So confirm this was a decision made on no policy basis at the time of
decision, when was this draft policy considered to be necessary?   If
after the matter was raised at council that would seem post-hoc.  If you
cannot provide more detail as to the precise sources of concern and where
these came from, that would seem to be arbitrary decision-making?

 

RESPONSE:

 

The draft policy commenced during 2017 prior to any decisions regarding
the use of West Park Aug 2018.

 

Please see the following extracts from the draft policy:

 

       7.1 Granting permission for the use of Council Land.

 

The Council encourages events whereby the event benefits the development
of the local area. Event organisers in applying to the Council to use its
land are expected to engage positively and proactively with the local
community. This will include undertaking measures such as not advertising
their event without prior consent of the landowner (The Council).

 

The Council as the land owner has the final decision in respect of which
events may be held on Council owned or controlled land. 

 

The Council takes into consideration a series of factors when reviewing
event applications. Event organisers are also asked to consider these
factors when planning events. In most cases historical performance of
established events (with the exception of circuses and funfairs) will take
precedent when considering availability of dates for an event. Where by
historically an established event has used the same event date for over a
5 year period without any previous incidents.  In other cases the Council
will operate a first come first served basis with each application being
considered on an event by event basis.

 

REQUEST:

 

9.   An EXTRAORDINARY answer, that the decision was not made on the basis
of information????   That somehow the situation was 'divined' by
officers?   It was decided without representation, survey or discussion
with both organisers that the Kite Festival would not get the date again
this year?   

 

RESPONSE:

 

Comment noted

 

REQUEST:

 

10.  No, neither discloses a personal interest re the Liberal Democrat
Party.   BTW Cllr Wells is NOT a member of BRTC.

 

RESPONSE:

 

Comment noted

 

REQUEST:

 

11.   I did not ask that at all; please answer what I did ask!

 

Question:

Was any consideration given to a) seeking the views of BRTC  as a main
funder of both events, and also were the views of ADC  Councillors in the
BR Town area sought - Messrs Maconachie, Brooks,  Rapnik, Daniels, etc. 
If not why not?

 

RESPONSE:

 

No, the explanation of this is: - there is no suggestion that the events
would not take place, but that they would not take place on the same week
end.

 

REQUEST:

 

12,  Most revealing as it shows officer asking seafront lights people for
application for 2018 yet no similar copy for Kite.  The email is 7 days
after the date of the Council meeting.   Is it the case, therefore, that
the decision to deny the Kite Festival Aug Bank Hol this year had been
taken in those 7 days?   Without further representation from anyone,
without local enquiry/survey, or actual evidence and without discussion
with Kite organisers or even Gala organisers?

 

RESPONSE:

 

Correct as identified in above answers.   Please note: original request
was for the following:

 

Please provide copies of emails from and to BR Seafront Lights, Cllrs
Wells and Oppler on this issue to date.

 

 

BR Seafront Lights email provided in previous response, no correspondence
with Cllrs Oppler and Wells.

 

REQUEST:

 

Forgive me, unless you can provide adequate clarification, to date I
cannot ascertain any sound reasons for your decision on this matter?

 

RESPONSE:

 

Comment noted

 

 

 

 

Please be advised that Arun District Council continues to work with the
Kite Festival on an alternative location for holding this event on the
August Bank Holiday week end.  A location has been agreed; it is
anticipated that the event will go ahead.

 

This completes your Information Request.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can write asking for a review of the Council’s response,
within the next two months, to the Information Management Team at: Arun
District Council, Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, West
Sussex, BN17 5LF (email [1][Arun District Council request email]).

 

If, having exhausted our review procedure, you remain dissatisfied with
the handling of your request or complaint, you will have a right to appeal
to the Information Commissioner at: The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF (telephone: 0303
123 1113; website [2]www.ico.org.uk).  There is no charge for making an
appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Information Management Team

Arun District Council

 

 

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Information Management Team  |  [3]Arun District Council | |
| Location: First Floor, |
| |
| Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, BN17 5LF |
| |
| Internal: 37709 | External: +44 (0) 1903 737709 | E-mail: |
| [4][Arun District Council request email] |
| |
| Visit Arun's web site at [5]www.arun.gov.uk  P Save the environment - |
| think before you print. |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

 

[6]http://www.arun.gov.uk
NLPG UPRN 100062237016 
DX 57406 Littlehampton

Important Notice This e-mail is intended exclusively for the addressee and
may contain information that is confidential and/or privileged. If you are
not the intended recipient (or authorised to receive it for the
addressee), please notify the sender and delete the e-mail immediately;
using, copying, or disclosing it to anyone else, is strictly prohibited
and may be unlawful. Any views, opinions or options presented are solely
those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Arun
District Council. The information in this e-mail may be subject to public
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, therefore we cannot
guarantee that we will not provide the whole or part of this e-mail to a
third party. The Council reserves the right to monitor e-mails in
accordance with relevant legislation. Whilst outgoing e-mails are checked
for viruses, we cannot guarantee this e-mail is virus-free or has not been
intercepted or changed and we do not accept liability for any damage
caused. Any reference to "e-mail" in this disclaimer includes any
attachments.
**********************************************************************

References

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