Environmental information relating to any concerns raised about the location of Traveller sites in hazardous or polluted locations
Dear Orkney Islands Council,
Please could you provide the following information on socially rented Traveller sites in your local authority area for the five full calendar years between 2017 and 2021. This includes all sites owned and managed by the local authority or by a housing association, but not private sites. For any 'yes' answers, please specify in your answer which site the answer refers to, e.g. 'Mary Street, Bradford', or 'Esholt Site, Bradford'.
For the purposes of this request, this is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
For more information: https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio... https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui...
If you are unable to provide five years of information within the FOI/EIR cost limits, please prioritise 2021 and work backwards in reverse chronological order.
1a. Have you received any environmental complaints from residents or other parties, including council officers, between 2017 and 2021? Please respond with a 'Yes' or 'No' answer for each of the five years.
1b. For any 'Yes' answers, please list how many complaints you received by type for each calendar year. For example: 2017 - Total: 18 - 8 complaints for vermin, 2 from odour from refuse dump, 1 for noise, 3 for insects, 1 for dust, 2 for air pollution, 1 for flooding etc
2a. Between 2017 and 2021, has the council measured air or noise pollution, or taken soil samples to test for contamination? Please respond with a 'Yes' or 'No' answer for each of the five years for air, soil and noise separately. For example: 2017 - Noise pollution - Yes; Soil - No; Air pollution - Yes.
2b. For any 'Yes' answers, please state whether or not pollution or contamination exceeded legal or recommended levels, or was higher than the local authority area average on the site at any point through each year. Please give as much detail as you can, such as the month the breach occurred. For example: 2017 - Noise pollution exceeded legal or recommended levels in March; air pollution exceeded legal level.
Yours faithfully,
Katharine Quarmby
Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED
Dear Madam
Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 – Request for Information
Thank you for your information request dated 13 April 2022 and received on 13 April 2022. Our reference is EIR 2022-0312. This is being dealt with in terms of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
The Regulations allow 20 working days to deal with your request from the date that we received it. We hope to give you the information you are looking for at an earlier date where possible.
The Council is under significant pressure to deliver only essential services whilst the current social isolation measures are in place within the UK. Whilst we have a legal obligation to respond to FOIs, EIRs and SARs, we are unlikely to be able to respond at present within the normal timescales and there will inevitably be some delays. We apologise for any inconvenience, although we are sure that you will fully understand the situation.
Kind regards
Katy Russell-Duff
Administrative Officer/FOI Co-ordinator
Corporate Services
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Working from home on Tuesdays and Fridays
Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED
Dear Madam
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information
I refer to your email dated 13 April 2022 and received on 13 April 2022, our reference is FOI 2022-0312.
There are no 'socially rented traveller sites' in Orkney and therefore the following questions do not apply.
Under FOISA, if you are dissatisfied with our response, you may ask the Council to review its handling of your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your request for review within 40 working days of receiving this email. Please make your request for review to Head of Legal Services, Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY or email to [Orkney Islands Council request email]. Your request must be in permanent form (letter, email, audio tape etc) and should state:
That you are asking for a review of this decision, and
Why you are unhappy with the response you have received.
We will issue a full response to your request for review within 20 working days of our receiving it.
Where the outcome of the review fails to resolve the matter to your complete satisfaction, you then have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision. You have six months in which to do so following receipt of our review outcome – see www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal.
Regards
Emma Findlay
Solicitor
Chief Executive’s Service
Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Telephone: 01856 873535
www.orkney.gov.uk
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