Details of £50,000 council spent buying out sea front covenenats

The request was partially successful.

Dear East Devon District Council,

Background.
At a meeting held in Exmouth last night (14/6/2012), an East Devon District Councillor confirmed to the 140+ persons present, that EDDC had recently spent approximately £50,000 buying out covenants that Clinton Devon Estates had held in regard to land adjacent to the seafront in Exmouth.
There seemed however, to be some doubt on the part of the council as to whether the purchase was strictly necessary in order to to enable the councils plans for the seafront to proceed.
It is believed that the said covenants may have protected various interests of the public in retaining and protecting their benefit of the use of certain lands adjacent to the Exmouth seafront.

Questions.
1.What covenants have been bought out by East Devon District Council in the Exmouth seafront vicinity in recent years?
2.From whom have they been bought and what was the price, including legal fees, paid.
3.What was the precise wording of each of the covenants?
4.Who suggested the purchase of these covenants?
5.Was legal opinion sought as to the necessity of purchase of said covenants, if so from whom and at what cost.
6.Who authorised the purchase?
7.Was the purchase debated at any council meeting? If so details please.
As usual, I advise you that is there is any doubt as to the nature of my request, you should contact me for clarification at an early stage

Yours faithfully,

tim todd

East Devon District Council

Thank you for submitting a request for information. We will respond to your request as quickly as possible, within the 20 working day statutory deadline under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

For updates on this case, please quote your unique reference number 101000258781 .

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Customer Service Centre
East Devon District Council
Web: www.eastdevon.gov.uk

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Kate Symington, East Devon District Council

1 Attachment

Mr Todd

 

Apologies for the delay in responding to your request.

 

You asked for information regarding convenants on Exmouth seafront.

 

Please find attached deed of release document which includes the
information you have requested.

 

I hope this information is helpful and am sorry, once again, for the delay
due to a high volume of information requests being processed at this point
in time.

 

Should you have any queries about this information, or if you are unhappy
with the way we have responded to your request, please contact me or write
to [1][email address] or fill in our online complaint
form at [2]www.eastdevon.gov.uk/making_a_complaint

 

You may also approach the Information Commissioner’s office for further
advice [3]www.ico.gov.uk 0303 123 1113

 

Regards

 

Information and Complaints Officer

East Devon District Council

 

01395 517417

www.eastdevon.gov.uk

 

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http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/email_discla...
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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/making_a_com...
3. http://www.ico.gov.uk/

Dear East Devon District Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of East Devon District Council's handling of my FOI request 'Details of £50,000 council spent buying out sea front covenants'.

Your reply does not answer my enumerated questions in full.
The copy of the document provided in PDF form refers to land marked on an attached map. No copy of map is included and without it the reply is meaningless.

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

Yours faithfully,

tim todd

Kate Symington, East Devon District Council

Mr Todd

A copy of the map referred to in these title deeds can be obtained from the Land Registry http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/

Information and Complaints Officer
East Devon District Council

01395 517417
www.eastdevon.gov.uk

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Dear Kate Symington,
I am still waiting for a reply to my request for a review, and a copy of the map.

Yours sincerely,

tim todd

tim todd left an annotation ()

This request is now the subject of a formal complaint to Information Commissioner.

Denise Lyon, East Devon District Council

Dear Mr Todd

 

I am sorry you feel dissatisfied with our handling of your request for
information. The  deed of  release document which details the release of
covenants on the seafront of Exmouth has been provided to you and the
accompanying map has been on our website now for some time.
[1]http://exmouthvision.com/2012/12/07/deta...

 

In summary, EDDC paid a fee of £50,000 to Clinton Devon Estates in May
2010 to release all the restrictive covenants on Exmouth Seafront. This
issue of the covenants had arisen at an earlier point when a different
landowner had been exploring potential development.

 

The Council’s legal advice at the time was that it was better from a
financial and practical point of view to pay a one-off fee to get all
Covenants relating to the seafront lifted rather than have to pay a fee
each time any landowner wanted to do their own work.  This would have cost
not only a release fee but also officer and legal time (and costs) on each
occasion.

 

EDDC decided to take the initiative and get all the covenants released to
facilitate the regeneration of Exmouth.

 

I trust this provides you with the information you need but I should
remind you that you do have the right to refer this matter to the
Information Commissioner if you remain dissatisfied [2]www.ico.gov.uk 0303
123 1113.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Denise Lyon

Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer

East Devon District Council

Tel: 01395 516551 x2680

 

Direct dial: 01395 517480

Web: [3]www.eastdevon.gov.uk

 

_____________________________________________________________________
http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/email_discla...
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References

Visible links
1. http://exmouthvision.com/2012/12/07/deta...
2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
3. http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/

Mark Hawkins left an annotation ()

Who at EDDC was involved in this decision making process? Surely there must be some due process and a vote by councillors. Was there any EDBF involvement?

tim todd left an annotation ()

It is particularly worrying that this fob off comes from the monitoring officer. On the face of it, there seems to have been no debate, by council or with the community, on the issue of removing the public protection to the right of enjoyment of the seafront. Such a decision has massive potential, as we are now seeing, yet by all accounts nobody questioned whether it was in the public interest. There will be many more questions asked until we get to the bottom of this.

Dear Denise Lyons
I acknowledge receipt of your reply, dated 15th February 2013, to my FOI enquiry about the removal of covenants that once afforded protected rights of enjoyment in respect of Exmouth seafront.

I am especially disappointed that someone in your position, trusted with ensuring that the rules are obeyed, has apparently failed to carry out your duties as a reviewer of the facts.

I will summarise this request and how it has been dealt with but let me first explain how important this issue is and why it has become of such interest to the local community and the newly formed East Devon Alliance.

The covenants, it transpires, are the key to all developments along the Exmouth seafront yet we only really found out anything about them when a councillor let slip in June 2012. They, and the protection they afforded were not made known as part of the Exmouth master plan consultation of 2011 . They have historically protected the seafront from commercial exploitation and preserved the rights of users to peacefully enjoy the area. Taking away that protection is a matter that has the potential to have what seems likely to be the greatest ever repercussions in the seafront's history. Given the importance of the seafront to Exmouth, its residents, business people and visitors, one would have a reasonable expectation that the removal of protection should have been the subject of wide informed debate and consultation. EDDC makes claims as to consultation on major issues but seems completely lacking in this most important case.My FOI question included elements to determine whether such debate had ever taken place. It seems, if you have answered it correctly, that no such debate has ever taken place. Such a situation cannot go unquestioned.

1. On 15th June 2012 I asked a series of questions concerning the covenants, what they were, what they cost to purchase, what debate took place about the decision to buy them, who authorised the purchase etc. The FOI Act requires that you supply the information "promptly and within 20 working days" By my reckoning, at the very latest I should have received a reply by 12th July 2012.

2. On 24th July 2012, well after the latest due date, I received a part answer in the form of a copy of the covenant document. It did not contain the map identifying the land concerned.

3. On 26th July I contacted you to point out the absence of the map. I also advised that all my requests had not been met and asked for a review.

4. On 2nd August 2012, you advised that a copy of the map could be obtained from Land Registry. You did not address the unanswered questions. That, to my mind was nothing less than obstruction and shear bloody mindedness on EDDC's part.

5. On 15th October 2012 I sent a further chase up.
6. On 5th December I advised that the matter was now subject of a complaint to the Information Commissioner.

7. On 1st February 2013 you were sent a letter concerning this request by the Information Commissioner and advised to carry out your duties with regard to a review. You were also advised of the consequences of failure to carry out your FOI duties.

8. On 15th February 2013, you, Denise Lyons, responded advising that the deed of covenant had been provided (correct) and pointed out that the map had been on Exmouth Vision for some time (correct but not relevant to your failure to provide as part of your reply) . You added that the council's legal advice had been that it was better from a financial and practical point of view to buy out all the covenants rather than deal on a one by one basis. You say EDDC took that initiative based upon the economic and practical argument.

You have still not answered the question (2) as to the details of the legal fees which have not been provided and which you now acknowledge were a consideration.

In addition, your failure to provide the map, put together with the subsequent suggestion it be obtained from Land Registry, and the advice that it was subsequently published on a website, is suggested as a satisfactory way of dealing with that part of the FOI. I regard it as obstruction plain and simple and will be asking the Information Commissioner if he thinks it may breach the most serious part of the Act.

Further, and perhaps now most importantly, you have failed completely to answer the questions about whether the purchase debated at any council meeting and who (which officers/members) authorised the purchase (Qs 5 and 6)

I am astounded that you have so obviously failed in this regard. On the face of it, if your information is as complete as it should be, then the buying up of the covenants was never the subject of a council debate. Given that it is one of the most important issues affecting Exmouth Beach users how can this situation have arisen when their are duties upon you to consult the community?

As I doubt that you will explain the council's conduct in this matter, by way of fully answering this FOI question, I shall be submitting further questions to determine more detailed aspects of how the decision was made and who was, and was not, involved.

You should be aware that a multi-complaint investigation of EDDC by the Ombudsman, as detailed in his report of 20th January 2004, resulted in a finding of maladministration causing injustice against EDDC and that he, the ombudsman, made a number of recommendations to EDDC including a review of record keeping by planning officers , namely to ensure that proper records are kept so that those affected may see how a particular decision has been reached. As every user of Exmouth seafront has lost the protection afforded by the covenants, there seems little doubt that we have all been affected and that we should be able to see how such a momentous decision was made and by whom.

I should point out that you have a duty under the FOI Act to provide the fullest information and that this default position is only not applied in circumstances where information maybe protected. You have not suggested that any of this matter should be regarded as protected.

You are also expected to be proactive publishing information which is in the public interest. I must comment that I am also astounded at the short sightedness of EDDC and how they create situations which lead the public to speculate about the propriety of EDDC's conduct. Given your duties to make information available, your reluctance to be 'Open and Honest' (remember how that was once you buzz phrase) creates a situation whereby thinking people will wonder just what is going on and why ? Given that Clinton Devon are landowners who make significant planning applications, and are members of the East Devon Business Forum a body you will know is currently being 'looked at', I cannot understand why you would not have taken the initiative to publish every element of the covenant issue to show you have been completely above board. It simply is not enough, as in the case of Cllr Diviani and JLL's connections with Premier Inns for example, just to say that you are satisfied as to propriety. You seem to go to great lengths to create conditions that give rise to questions about EDDC's conduct which in turn creates distrust and a lot of work for the public who want to know the facts, and council staff who have to be reactive to requests.

You do yourselves no favours.

I must now come to what is to happen to this request. A significant, indeed, in the circumstances the most significant part part remains unanswered. You will appreciate by now that I am not going to drop my search for the facts and that I will bring outside pressure to bear if that is what is needed.

You have also failed to offer any explanation why it has taken SEVEN months so far - and the matter is self-evidently still not settled. I do intend to ask the Information Commissioner to apply what sanctions he thinks appropriate both in this matter and a good few others. You will perhaps be aware that the question of EDDC being placed under close supervision has been raised.

I should like you to advise me whether or not you consider this matter closed, in which case I will get straight back to the Information Commissioner, or whether you wish to reconsider your answers and try again. If you choose the latter path then please do not attempt another fob off.

I should like you to clarify an aspect about how this matter has, and may be, dealt with. It is self-evident that EDDC has failed to comply with the FOI legislation. To my mind the Information Commissioner will only deal with a certain element of those failings. I consider that it should also be a separate complaint that may likely end up with the Local Government Ombudsman. Perhaps you will confirm that action by the Information Commissioner is not a bar to a separate complaint to council.

Yours sincerely,

tim todd

Denise Lyon, East Devon District Council

I'm sorry you have received this automated reply but I will be out of the
office until 25 February 2013.   Jill Sentance is available if you need an
answer before then. 

 

Denise Lyon

Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer

01395 517480

[1]www.eastdevon.gov.uk

_____________________________________________________________________
http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/email_discla...
_____________________________________________________________________

References

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1. file:///tmp/www.eastdevon.gov.uk

Denise Lyon, East Devon District Council

Dear Mr Todd,
I'm not sure there's anything I can add to previous correspondence on this. I think you are aware of everything in this link, but I am including it just in case: http://exmouthvision.com/2012/12/19/lift...

Yours sincerely,

Denise Lyon
Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer
East Devon District Council
Tel: 01395 516551 x2680

Direct dial: 01395 517480
Web: www.eastdevon.gov.uk

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