Discussions and Workshops with Barry Biomass
Dear Vale of Glamorgan Council,
I am requesting full details of the regular discussions with The Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Biomass Plant on Woodham Road, Barry apparently designed to keep you updated on activities taking place at site as well as working closely with you to ensure compliance with all relevant permissions and permits. It appears there have been numerous meetings and workshops with the Vale of Glamorgan Council to proactively address any outstanding concerns. As this information is clearly 'environmental' in nature this request is also made pursuant to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. You will appreciate that this will cover any recorded information you hold that falls within the definition of ‘environmental information’. It is not limited to official documents or information you create – it can cover, for example, drafts, emails, notes, recordings of telephone conversations and CCTV recordings.
This request is limited to all matters after April 2019
Yours faithfully,
dennis clarke
Dear Dennis Clarke
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - INFORMATION REQUEST
Thank you for your request for information about: Discussions and
Workshops with Barry Biomass
Your request was received on 10/02/2021 and is being handled under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Your query has been given the reference 00202062
For this request a fee will be payable, we will calculate the cost and a
fees notice will be issued to you, you will be required to pay before we
will proceed to deal with your request.
You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. I will write to you in any event.
If you have any requirements regarding the format any information should
be supplied in, e.g. the language to be used, audio, large print and so
on, then if you have not already done so please let me know.
If you have any queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact
me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
Further information about your rights is also available from the
Information
Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office - Wales
Second Floor, Churchill House
Churchill Way,
Cardiff
CF10 2HH
029 20678400 / Fax:029 20678399
Yours sincerely
Information Governance Officer
Democratic Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address]
[email address]
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir
angen.
Visit our Website at [1]www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Ewch i'n gwefan yn [2]www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk
[3]Find us on Facebook / Cewch ddod o hyd i ni ar Facebook
[4]Follow us on Twitter /Dilynwch ni ar Twitter
Correspondence is welcomed in Welsh or English / Croesewir Gohebiaeth yn y
Gymraeg neu yn Saesneg.
References
Visible links
1. http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/
2. http://www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk/
3. http://en-gb.facebook.com/valeofglamorga...
4. http://twitter.com/vogcouncil
Dear Vale of Glamorgan Council,
thank you for your reply. Please confirm how any fee requested complies with the rule for environmental requests.
Yours faithfully,
dennis
Hi Dennis,
Please see the following link to the ICO website which outlines the charging process under regulation 8 of the Environmental Information Act:
https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
In line with the regulation we charge a fee of £25 per hour of staff time spent collating the information relating to the request.
Please confirm if you would like us to proceed and issue you with a fee notice.
Regards
FOI Team
Democratic Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or [email address]
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir angen.
Visit our Website at www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Ewch i'n gwefan yn www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk
Dear FOI Unit,
thank you for the clarification.
please note that i will attend to view the material as allowed under regulation 8(2). Let me know time and place and what precautions you would like me to follow.
as there should be no staff time involved i would hope this can be achieved quite soon.
Yours sincerely,
dennis clarke
Hi Dennis,
This part of the regulation relates to information that is already publicly available or already in prepared for viewing (for example a link to an online register or a physical document already in existence and ready for public viewing), if such a document exists and is readily available then in this instance we would not charge for your request, however if no such document exists a charge will still apply for preparing the information.
We will confirm with the appropriate service area if the information is already collated and/or in the public domain, if this is not the case we will look to issue you a fee notice for the work.
FOI Team
Democratic Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or [email address]
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir angen.
Visit our Website at www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Ewch i'n gwefan yn www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk
Dear FOI Unit,
thank you for this quick turnaround.
all this information should be available in a single file. Some might imagine that the request should be unnecessary as it should all be on the planning portal.
With a bit of luck we will not need to debate the finer points of disclosure of environmental information when you receive your response. If anybody suggests that there needs to be any work carried out to allow inspection you might like to ask them what work and why? That will move things along a bit quicker for you and me.
An important issue like the incinerator will have warranted careful filing on the part of officers dealing.
I look forward to hearing from you again.
Yours sincerely,
dennis
Dear Dennis Clarke,
I am writing regarding your request for information, which was received on
10/02/2021. In this case, a fee is payable to the Council before the
Council can provide you with the information. This fee of £37.50 covers
the costs of [i.e. retrieving and extracting the information plus putting
it into the required format] and has been calculated in accordance with
the relevant legislation.
We are unable to continue processing your request until this fee is paid.
If you wish to continue with your request you should pay the fee requested
within three calendar months (by 09/06/2021). Payments are to be made
payable to the Vale of Glamorgan Council and sent to the address at the
foot of this letter marked for the attention of the Information
Manager(Lawyer). If payment of the fee is not received by this date, it
will be assumed you do not wish to pursue this request and the request
will be closed. If you change your mind or wish to proceed at a later
date you will need to make a new request.
Payment can also be made over the phone by calling 01446 700111, please
quote reference FOI Team 00202062 when paying this way.
You can also make payment online via the Vale of Glamorgan website, please
let us know if you wish to make payment this way and we will send you a
link and instructions.
If you have any queries about this notification, please contact the
Information Manager (Lawyer) on the contact details set out below. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and/or wish to make a complaint and/ or request a review of the
decision, you should write to the Monitoring Officer, Legal Services,
Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, CF63 4RU.
If subsequently you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint,
you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for
a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Vale of Glamorgan
Council, (in other words unless you have raised your concern with the
Monitoring Officer and received a reply). The ICO can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Officer
FOI Team
Democratic Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or
[email address]
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir
angen.
Visit our Website at [1]www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Ewch i'n gwefan yn [2]www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk
References
Visible links
1. http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/
2. http://www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk/
Dear Vale of Glamorgan Council,
i will be making payment via telephone but please not this is under protest and i will ask the Information Commissioner's Office to advise on the charges.
I will be looking to make payment some time today.
Yours faithfully,
dennis
Dear Vale of Glamorgan Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Vale of Glamorgan Council's handling of my FOI request 'Discussions and Workshops with Barry Biomass'.
This request is now well out of time . Could I have the response please.
Dennis
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...
Yours faithfully,
dennis
Hi Dennis,
We have put your case forward for review, we will write to you in due course.
Thanks
FOI Team
Dear FOI Unit,
it has been more than 3 months since the request was made and the only progress seems to be your request for payment and payment made by me.
Could i have some sort of response that explains the reasons for delay in dealing with the FOI and for the continuing delay in respect of my 'complaint' about delay as to date the only focus from the Vale seems to be on getting a payment from me with nothing else forthcoming.
I am writing in case the requests have been misfiled and may need to be dug our and actioned.
Yours sincerely,
dennis
Dear Dennis Clarke
Thank you for your request for information on 10th February about:
Discussions and Workshops with Barry Biomass
Apologies for the delay in our response, we extended our initial searches
to other areas of the council including the Planning department and were
awaiting return of all responses.
We have been advised that all records relating to the Biomass are now
available via the following portal link (see link below), the data in
the link is continually being updated as part of ongoing process:
[1]http://vogonline.planning-register.co.uk...
If you use the planning search function on site you can find all of the
Biomass related data by searching under the following references outlined
below:
Planning applications
2015/00031/OUT
2016/00187/RES
2017/01080/FUL
2015/00031/1/2/3/CD
If you have any trouble using the search or locating any information
please contact us and we will further assist.
Additionally our Environmental department advised that NRW (Natural
Resources Wales) who have been involved with the Biomass may also hold
data, here is a link to their FOI request page:
[2]https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/...
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to: The Monitoring Officer, Civic
Offices, Holton Road, Barry, CF63 4RU.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office - Wales
Second Floor, Churchill House
Churchill Way,
Cardiff
CF10 2HH
Yours sincerely
FOI Team
Democratic Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or
[email address]
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir
angen.
Visit our Website at [3]www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Ewch i'n gwefan yn [4]www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk
References
Visible links
1. http://vogonline.planning-register.co.uk...
2. https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/...
3. http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/
4. http://www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk/
Dear Vale of Glamorgan Council,
Thank you for the update but i believe i would be correct to say that i am dissatisfied with the response for the following reasons.
The Vale appears to have accepted that it was yet again in error in not keeping the public register updated. My FOI should not have been necessary. This leads to two outstanding queries that were not addressed:
1 Why was there the continuing failure to keep the public register updated and
2 why have i been charged for the Vale's failure to update the register when it should now be clear that my FOI should not have been necessary - although it has apparently assisted to throw up failures within the internal processes. No refund has been offered for taking a payment that ought never have been requested and no apology for the inconvenience of having to deal with payment and get involved in this time-consuming process.
Could i hear from you again to deal with the outstanding matters.
Yours faithfully,
dennis
Hi Dennis,
In response to your email we can advise that as far as we are aware our Planning department have been continually updating the information and documents on the public section of the planning page over time, however the department in question would be able to offer greater detail of the frequency of the updates.
Additionally we can advise that EIRs (Environmental Information Requests) are chargeable, the outline for charges include the time taken to search for data, in this instance additional searches were carried out by staff in other departments to check for any information held due to the broad scope of your request.
We hope this response offers some further insight into your request handling.
We advise that if you wish to pursue this further then this falls outside of the remit of the FOI Team and therefore we include a link below detailing how to raise a complaint with the authority should you wish to do so:
https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/ou...
Regards
FOI Team
Democratic Services
Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
tel / ffôn: 01446 700111
mob / sym:
e-mail / e-bost: [email address] or [email address]
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
Ystyriwch yr amgylchedd. Peidiwch ag argraffu'r neges hon oni bai fod gwir angen.
Visit our Website at www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Ewch i'n gwefan yn www.bromorgannwg.gov.uk
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