Gilroy Scrape protection

The request was partially successful.

Birgitta Kuhlmann-Muller

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

Local residents have been promised an update re the status / future of " gilroy scrape"
already in January this year. This however hasn't happened. Could you please let us know :

1. Have you been in touch with the RSPB this year, and has the RSPB now appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature Reserve? What is the progress of negotiations with the RSPB?

2.Has there been any progress on the designation of the site as a Local Wildlife Site?

3. When is the next Local Wildlife Sites partnership meeting and will Gilroy Scrape be on the Agenda?

4. Has there been any progress in looking at funding options fro the RSPB proposals (e.g Dong Community Fund / Biffa award etc)

5. has there been any progress in negotiations with the landowner?

Yours faithfully,

Birgitta Kuhlmann-Müller

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Kuhlmann-Muller
 
Further to your recent Freedom of Information enquiry regarding Gilroy
Scrape, please see below the Council’s response to your enquiries.
 
1. Have you been in touch with the RSPB this year, and has the RSPB now
appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature Reserve?
What is the progress of negotiations with the RSPB?
The Council and the RSPB have held a meetings this year and yes the RSPB
have appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature
Reserve.
 
2.Has there been any progress on the designation of the site as a Local
Wildlife Site?
The issue remains under review.  
 
3. When is the next Local Wildlife Sites partnership meeting and will
Gilroy Scrape be on the Agenda?
At the time of writing a meeting date has not been scheduled.  
 
4. Has there been any progress in looking at funding options fro the RSPB
proposals (e.g Dong Community Fund / Biffa award etc)
The Council has written to a wide range of potential funding partners and
this issue is the subject of the discussions referred to above.
At the time of writing there has been one response unfortunately stating
that the undertaking of feasibility studies is not an eligible funding
item but the Council awaits the other responses.    
 
5. has there been any progress in negotiations with the landowner?
Not to date.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Lynette Paterson
Senior Information Management Officer
Business Services - Digital
 
Treasury Building
Argyle Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH41 1AH
 
[1]Tel: 0151 691 8201
[2][Wirral Borough Council request email]
 
 
 
 
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Birgitta Kuhlmann-Muller

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Gilroy Scrape protection'.

1. Have you been in touch with the RSPB this year, and has the RSPB now
appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature Reserve?
What is the progress of negotiations with the RSPB?
The Council and the RSPB have held a meetings this year and yes the RSPB
have appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature
Reserve.

You haven't answered my question re the content / progress of the meeting.
Can you please provide minutes of the meeting,?

2.Has there been any progress on the designation of the site as a Local
Wildlife Site?
The issue remains under review.

The answer doesn't give any indication whether the site is now officially registered as a local wildlife or not.
Who are the persons reviewing the issue? What studies and surveys have been undertaken so far?
When will the review be completed?

3. When is the next Local Wildlife Sites partnership meeting and will
Gilroy Scrape be on the Agenda?
At the time of writing a meeting date has not been scheduled.

I am surprised that you can't give a date - who is responsible for setting a date and arranging the agenda? On which dates have meetings taken place last year, and who decided the dates and agenda previously?

4. Has there been any progress in looking at funding options fro the RSPB
proposals (e.g Dong Community Fund / Biffa award etc)
The Council has written to a wide range of potential funding partners and
this issue is the subject of the discussions referred to above.
At the time of writing there has been one response unfortunately stating
that the undertaking of feasibility studies is not an eligible funding
item but the Council awaits the other responses.

Can you please provide me with a list a potential funding partners who have been approached ?
I would also like to see a copy of the funding bid letter, please.
Can you disclose a copy of responses?

5. has there been any progress in negotiations with the landowner?
Not to date.

Has a meeting taken place and if yes with which council officers / parties and when?

Yours sincerely

Birgitta Kuhlmann-Müller

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

8 Attachments

 

Dear Ms Kuhlmann-Muller

 

Further to your request of 18 ^ April 2018 for an internal review of the
Council’s response to your Freedom of Information enquiry regarding
protection for Gilroy Scrape.  Please see below in bold the Council’s
comments in response to your areas of concern (highlighted in italics).

 

 

1. Have you been in touch with the RSPB this year, and has the RSPB now
appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature Reserve?

What is the progress of negotiations with the RSPB?

The Council and the RSPB have held a meetings this year and yes the RSPB
have appointed a replacement site manager for the Dee Estuary Nature
Reserve.

 

You  haven't  answered  my question re the content / progress of the
meeting.

Can you please provide  minutes of the meeting,?

 

It was an informal meeting which was not minuted, the main purpose of
which was to meet and brief the new RSPB site manager for the Dee Estuary.
 

  

 

2.Has there been any progress on the designation of the site as a Local
Wildlife Site?

The issue remains under review.  

 

The answer doesn't  give any indication  whether  the site  is now
officially  registered as a local  wildlife or not.

Who are the persons  reviewing  the issue? What studies and surveys have
been undertaken  so far?

When will the review  be completed?

 

The current status of Hoylake Langfields is as an ‘alert site’ or
potential local wildlife site and it is shown as such on our hazards
system and any planning application within the boundary will trigger a
consultation to Wirral Wildlife.  The formal designation as a Local
Wildlife Site, including reviewing the evidence, is a matter for the
Wirral Local Sites Partnership as a whole, who work to the procedures
adopted last July which can be viewed [1]here.  It is understood that the
birds using the area move around a lot in response to changes in ground
conditions, and therefore further bird count data (which is collected and
administered by volunteers) would help confirm the boundary and basis for
designation.  It should be remembered that as the area is ‘functionally
linked’ to the internationally-designated Dee Estuary and North Wirral
Foreshore, any planning application will also be potentially subject to
the requirements of the Habitats Regulations which provides a higher level
of protection than the Local Wildlife Site designation.        

 

 

3. When is the next Local Wildlife Sites partnership meeting and will
Gilroy Scrape be on the Agenda?

At the time of writing a meeting date has not been scheduled. 

 

I am surprised  that you can't give a date  - who is responsible  for
setting  a date and arranging  the agenda? On which dates have meetings 
taken place last year, and who decided  the dates and agenda previously?

 

The Wirral Local Sites Partnership meetings are administered and hosted by
the Council.  The terms of reference reported to Members last July (which
can be viewed [2]here) allow for quarterly meetings, including an annual
review of whether sites are in positive management, but in practice,
decisions on the frequency of the meetings and scope of the agenda is a
matter for the Partnership as a whole and is very dependent on the
availability of attendees (many of whom are volunteers) and the urgency of
any local issues arising which require a meeting or decision of the full
Partnership.  As this is a busy time of year for volunteer local wildlife
groups conducting field surveys etc.,  meetings are generally scheduled to
avoid the summer months, so I would expect the next meeting will take
place in the autumn unless notified of any urgent business. Meetings were
held last year in January and September.

 

 

4. Has there been any progress in looking at funding options fro the RSPB
proposals (e.g Dong Community Fund / Biffa award etc) The Council has
written to a wide range of potential funding partners and this issue is
the subject of the discussions referred to above.

At the time of writing there has been one response unfortunately stating
that the undertaking of feasibility studies is not an eligible funding
item but the Council awaits the other responses.    

 

Can you please provide  me with a list of potential funding partners who
have been approached ?

 

The list is as follows;

 

RSBP

Biffa Landfill Community Fund

Burbo Bank Extension Community Fund

Natural England

Mersey RiversTrust

Environment Agency

Wildfowl and Wetland Trust

 

I would  also like to see  a copy  of the funding bid letter, please.

 

See the attached copy.

 

Can you disclose  a copy  of responses?

 

See the response below.

 

 

Thank you for your enquiry.  Unfortunately Biffa Award is unable to help
as we don’t fund feasibility studies as they are excluded from funding. 
Please visit our website, [3]www.biffa-award.org for more information on
what we can fund.

 

I wish you all the best in your fundraising endeavours.

 

Best wishes

 

Katrina Dines  

Grants Officer Assistant
 
 

 
[4][IMG] The Wildlife Trusts, [6][IMG]

The Kiln, Mather Road,  

Newark, Nottinghamshire [7][IMG]

NG24 1WT  

 

01636 670050

[5]www.biffa-award.org

 

 

5. has there been any progress in negotiations with the landowner?

Not to date.

 

Has a meeting taken place and if yes with which council  officers /
parties and when?

 

As stated previously no firm progress can be reported. Meetings with the
landowner have not taken place.    

 

 

We trust this answers your queries in full.  If you remain dissatisfied
with the Council’s response you should complain to the Information
Commissioner, whose contact details can be found at [8]www.ico.gov.uk.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Lynette Paterson

Senior Information Management Officer

Business Services - Digital

 

Treasury Building

Argyle Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH41 1AH

 

[9]Tel: 0151 691 8201

[10][Wirral Borough Council request email]

 

 

[11]LGC Awards15_Winner_MIP

 

 

This information supplied to you is copyrighted and continues to be
protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.   You are free
to use it for your own purposes, including any non commercial research you
are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other reuse, for
example commercial publication, would require our specific permission, may
involve licensing and the application of a charge

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager.

References

Visible links
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2. http://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/ieDecisio...
3. http://www.biffa-award.org/
4. http://www.biffa-award.org/
5. http://www.biffa-award.org/
6. http://www.twitter.com/biffaaward
7. http://www.facbook.com/biffaaward
8. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
9. file:///tmp/Tel:0151
10. mailto:[Wirral Borough Council request email]