Dear Sir/Madam

I acknowledge receipt of your email which is receiving attention.

I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.

Yours sincerely

Jacqueline Keachie
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Working from home
Contact by email

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Dear
Sir/Madam

Request for Information

I refer again to your e‑mail of 16 September 2020 seeking information in
relation to the closure of the through road at Strathclyde Park.

Having regard to the nature of your request it appears to me that it is
governed by the provisions of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 rather than the Freedom of Information Legislation and it
is in terms of these Regulations that my response is made. 

Returning to your request and having investigated, I regret to advise you
that your request for all documents, emails, consultations, reviews
relating to the closure of the through road at Strathclyde Park encompases
a very large amount of information.  Accordingly, I must advise you in
terms of Regulation 10(4)(b) of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 that the cost of complying with your request would be
manifestly unreasonable, and in all the circumstances of the case, it has
been concluded that the public interest in disclosing the information is
outweighed by that in maintaining the exemption.

To be of some assistance, the service have set out below some background
information which provides some context for the temporary closure.

On 28 April, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and
Connectivity wrote to all 32 Local Authority Chief Executives outlining a
£10m fund that is available for the implementation of temporary measures
to provide more space for cycling and walking.  In order to secure some of
the available funding, the Council had to quickly develop a wide range of
measures that could potentially be implemented across our communities in
North Lanarkshire.  This was a massive undertaking, and our four initial
applications, which included Strathclyde Park were submitted to Sustrans
in mid-May.  Unfortunately, it was not possible to undertaken
consultations on these applications, given the wide geographic area they
covered and the short timeframe we were working to in order to secure
funding.

For situations such as Strathclyde Park, we are required to advertise
temporary road closures for the whole period that we may potentially
require them.  Given the circumstances and the urgency, it was not
possible to follow usual consultation processes.

I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the
provisions of Regulation 16 of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004, has established a procedure whereby any person who has
requested information in terms of those Regulations, may make
representations if it appears to the applicant that the authority has not
complied with any requirements of the Regulations in relation to the
applicant’s request.  Any such representations require to be made in
writing and received by the Council not later than 40 working days after
either the date that the applicant receives any decision or notification
which the applicant believes does not comply with these Regulations or the
date by which such a decision or notification should have been made, or
any other action should be taken by the authority, but was not made or
taken.  Any such representations should be addressed to the Head of Legal
and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell,
ML1 1AB.  Accordingly, if you wish to seek a review, please write to the
Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions.

I would advise, also, that in terms of Regulation 17 of the Environmental
Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, a person who is dissatisfied with
a notice given by the local authority under Regulation 16(4) of the
Regulations - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local
authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice -
may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a
decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the
request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt
with in accordance with the Regulations.  Such an application must be made
within six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another
form which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being
used for subsequent reference.  The application must state the name of the
applicant and provide an address for correspondence.  The application must
also specify the request for information to which the requirement for
review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s
dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the
matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the
decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local
authority to issue such a decision.  The Scottish Information Commissioner
can be contacted as follows:-

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St. Andrews

KY16  9DS

email: [1][email address]

Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online
via the following link: -

[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose.  If, however, you
require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please
let me know.

Yours sincerely

Angelene Kirkpatrick

For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator

North Lanarkshire Council

Civic Centre

Windmillhill Street

Motherwell

ML1 1AB

Working from home

Please contact via email

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Dear Mr. Henderson

I refer to your email of 12 October 2020 sent to my colleague Angelene
Kirkpatrick, following the response she provided to your request for
information dated 16 September 2020.

In response to your request for an estimate of costs, I can advise that in
excess of 1,000 e-mails have been identified regarding the road closure at
Strathclyde Park.

All of these emails/email chains would have to be scrutinised and at
minimum, redacted to remove 3^rd party personal data. This would include
redacting the names of non-senior council employees. The projected effort
in undertaking this work is estimated at 70 hours which would be
excessive, manifestly unreasonable and not in the public interest to
divert officer resource to such a task.

I am sorry I cannot be more helpful on this occasion.  However, if you can
think of a way to narrow the scope of your enquiry then we will of course
consider such a reduced request.

Alternatively, if you disagree with the application of Regulation 10(4)(b)
to your request as currently framed, then you are entitled to seek a
Review as outlined in my colleagues email of 12 October.

If you wish to seek such a Review, please let me know.

Yours sincerely

Neil McKay

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator

North Lanarkshire Council

Democratic and Legal Services

Working From Home

Please contact by email

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