Dear East Devon District Council,

I would like to make a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am also making this Request under the Environmental Impact Regulations 2004.

The council's plans for Exmouth Seafront, and in particular the Queens Drive development, includes provision for retail. On the basis that two of the three retail outlets at the adjacent 'Ocean' building have never been occupied since they were built, and that the third, which was occupied for a while but has now relocated, I question the business case for provision of retail, food and cinema in an adjacent Splash area.

Will you please supply me with the fullest details of any and all research that has been carried out to determine the business case for further provision of retail outlets.

Will you also provide the evidence that supports a need for a cinema and for additional food outlets.

Yours faithfully,

tim todd

Dear East Devon District Council,

Thank you for your reply.

Yours faithfully,

tim todd

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 'Evidence of need of more retail along Exmouth seafront'.

When this request was made, your answer, that "Developers undertake their own research into these matters." was widely, and reasonably, interpreted as meaning that research had indeed been undertaken by developers- the alternative, that of promoting such a development without anyone having done research would amount to gross incompetence by council. Elsewhere it was reported, from council sources, in respect of the cinema, that an operator in the cinema field had done research and established a need for a further cinema.

At the council meeting last night (24/2/2016) Councillor Moulding, in an answer to a member of the public, gave an answer that seemed to mean that the sole basis for the said (unidentified operator) had ONLY based the 'need' of a presumption (from unknown sources) that every town of 35,000 could support two cinemas. It therefore seems likely that said anonymous cinema operator may never have carried out any local research but relied on the 35k population supports two cinemas theory. If this is the case then I believe that you have provided a thoroughly misleading response to my initial request.

To clarify the situation, will you therefore provide details of all the information council holds about what research the operator has carried out and specifically, whether it goes beyond the theory stage. What, if any information did they give EDDC as to the type of research done and that Cllr Moulding appears to find an adequate basis for concluding that the volume of cinema traffic would wish to avail themselves of the many eating, drinking and retail facilities proposed.

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

Yours faithfully,

tim todd