Bristol Arena decision delays

The request was partially successful.

Dear Bristol City Council,

Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Mayor Marvin Rees has delayed several times his decision about whether Bristol’s arena will be completed on the site popularly known as Arena Island at Temple Meads.

Please provide information held by or on behalf of Bristol City Council, between 5th May 2016 and the present day, about:
- the dates given by the Mayor or his representatives for when the decision would be announced, and where he intended to make the announcement (e.g. full council, cabinet meeting etc)
- the reason(s) given for each delay

In relation to each delay, please also provide all available information held by or on behalf of Bristol City Council, from 5th May 2016 to the present day, including:
- copies of all emails and attachments, and any other correspondence or advice, relating to the decision to delay the announcement, between the Mayor and others working for, or within, Bristol City Council (including the Mayor’s advisors, officers, cabinet members and councillors). Where an email has been identified please disclose the full thread for context.
- copies of all emails and attachments, and any other correspondence or advice relating to the decision to delay the announcement, between the Mayor or his advisors and any outside agencies, organisations or individuals. Where an email has been identified please disclose the full thread for context.
- dates of any meetings at which a decision to delay the announcement was discussed, either internal to Bristol City Council, or between representatives of Bristol City Council and external organisations or individuals, together with associated information including:
(a) the location of the meeting;
(b) the identity of all persons in attendance;
(c) the agenda and any notes of the meeting;
(d) who met the costs associated with the meetings, including a breakdown of the costs.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Yours faithfully,

S Thomas

Freedom of Information, Bristol City Council

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References

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1. https://services.bristol.gov.uk/foi

No Reply @ Bristol, Bristol City Council

Dear S Thomas Thomas 
This is a courtesy email to let you know your Public Information
Request has been received on : 20/08/2018. 
Your unique reference number is "CRN00183809 ". Please keep this
number safe, as you may be required to provide it in the future. 
If you need to add further information concerning your case or
require an update about your response date, please email
[email address
Regards,
Customer Relations Team

"Customer Relations Team" <complaints.feedback@bristol.gov.uk>, Bristol City Council

You sent us a Freedom of Information request on 20/08/2018

Your request number is CRN00183809

We’ve looked at your request and you should receive a reply on or before 18/09/2018 This will be 20 working days since your original request.

The request

From: S Thomas [mailto:[FOI #511304 email]]
Sent: 19 August 2018 19:53
To: Freedom of Information
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Bristol Arena decision delays

Dear Bristol City Council,

Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Mayor Marvin Rees has delayed several times his decision about whether Bristol’s arena will be completed on the site popularly known as Arena Island at Temple Meads.

Please provide information held by or on behalf of Bristol City Council, between 5th May 2016 and the present day, about:
- the dates given by the Mayor or his representatives for when the decision would be announced, and where he intended to make the announcement (e.g. full council, cabinet meeting etc)
- the reason(s) given for each delay

In relation to each delay, please also provide all available information held by or on behalf of Bristol City Council, from 5th May 2016 to the present day, including:
- copies of all emails and attachments, and any other correspondence or advice, relating to the decision to delay the announcement, between the Mayor and others working for, or within, Bristol City Council (including the Mayor’s advisors, officers, cabinet members and councillors). Where an email has been identified please disclose the full thread for context.
- copies of all emails and attachments, and any other correspondence or advice relating to the decision to delay the announcement, between the Mayor or his advisors and any outside agencies, organisations or individuals. Where an email has been identified please disclose the full thread for context.
- dates of any meetings at which a decision to delay the announcement was discussed, either internal to Bristol City Council, or between representatives of Bristol City Council and external organisations or individuals, together with associated information including:
(a) the location of the meeting;
(b) the identity of all persons in attendance;
(c) the agenda and any notes of the meeting;
(d) who met the costs associated with the meetings, including a breakdown of the costs.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Yours faithfully,

S Thomas

Additional Information (if any)

If you don’t hear from us by this time please contact us quoting your request number CRN00183809 at  [1][email address
Contact details we have for you
S Thomas Thomas
[FOI #511304 email]

 

Thanks

Bristol City Council

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

Dear Customer Relations Team,

Please will you update me on the following FOI request:

Bristol Arena decision delays
Freedom of Information request number CRN00183809

Yours sincerely,

S Thomas

Dear Bristol City Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Bristol City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Bristol Arena decision delays'.

This request is long overdue without any explanation for the delay.

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

Yours faithfully,

S Thomas

"Customer Relations Team" <complaints.feedback@bristol.gov.uk>, Bristol City Council

Dear Mr Thomas

We acknowledge that we have not dealt with this request in accordance
with the statutory timeframes. Due to the complexity and volume of
the information requested it has been impracticable either to comply
with the request within the original 20 working day period or to make
a decision to refuse to do so. We further acknowledge that we did not
respond as required within the 20 day period to let you know that we
were extending the deadline up to 40 working days to consider the
public interest test in relation to the qualified exemptions relating
to s.43(2) prejudice to commercial interests and s.36 prejudice to
effective conduct of public affairs. We acknowledge that this
deadline has also now passed. We confirm that we will respond to your
request on or before 12^th November. We apologise for this additional
delay and thank you for your patience.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Bristol City Council 

Customer Relations Team

"No Reply @ Bristol" <noreply@bristol.gov.uk>, Bristol City Council

You sent us a Freedom of Information request on 20/08/18

Your request number is CRN00183809

Our reply to your request is:  
 
Dear Mr Thomas
 
The formal decision regarding the use of Temple Island has only been
postponed once. An item ‘Arena Update’ was added to the 4th June forward
plan for a decision at the cabinet meeting on the 3rd July:
[1]https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgListP...
 
 
This report was deferred to give officers the time to consider points made
at the Extraordinary Scrutiny and Overview Committee session on June 20th
by representatives of Buckingham Group. The deferral was discussed within
the Mayor’s office and there are no records of this discussion.
 
On August the 6th the Forward plan was published including ‘Arena Update’
to be considered at the 4th September  Cabinet meeting:
[2]https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgListP...
 
 
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting on 4^th September 2018.
 
In November 2017, Bristol City Council decided to commission KPMG to
undertake a value for money review regarding the use of Temple Island. At
this time Bristol City Council did comment that it expected a decision to
be made by Cabinet in January 2018. However on 3^rd January 2018 the Mayor
clarified the Council’s position and stated publically on BBC Points West
"The arena is due to be discussed by cabinet at their next meeting on 23
January but it’s not true that we will be making a final decision on its
location on this date. Cabinet will be hearing the findings from the value
for money study and agreeing next steps."
 
This response should answer your request in full.

If you’re not satisfied with our response, or if you want to appeal
against any exemptions:
Email: [3][Bristol City Council request email]  
Write to: Customer Relations (100TS), PO Box 3176, Bristol, BS3 9FS

If you’re still not satisfied with our response:

You can complain to the Information Commissioner. 
Find out how to do this on the Information Commissioner Office website
 (link to [4]http://ico.org.uk/concerns)
 
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Copyright may be owned by the council or by a third party.
 
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If you want to copy or use the information in any way you should ask us
for permission in writing first. We can’t give permission if it is from a
third party.
 
Kind regards
Bristol City Council
 

This response should answer your request in full.

If you’re not satisfied with our response, or if you want to appeal
against any exemptions:

Email: [5][Bristol City Council request email]
Write to: Customer Relations (100TS), PO Box 3176, Bristol, BS3 9FS

If you’re still not satisfied with our response:

You can complain to the Information Commissioner. 
Find out how to do this on the Information Commissioner Office website
 (link to [6]http://ico.org.uk/concerns)

Copyright

You do not own the copyright to any of the information we give you.
Copyright may be owned by the council or by a third party.

You are not allowed to:

·         make a copy of the information

·         use the information commercially

If you want to copy or use the information in any way you should ask us
for permission in writing first. We can’t give permission if it is from a
third party.

 

Kind regards

Bristol City Council

References

Visible links
1. https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgListP...
2. https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgListP...
3. mailto:[Bristol City Council request email]
4. http://ico.org.uk/concerns
5. mailto:[Bristol City Council request email]
6. http://ico.org.uk/concerns