Information regarding Supermarket development in Machynlleth
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to request a record of all meetings held between Tesco and its representatives, and any officers or members of Powys County Council, regarding the proposed Tesco development in Machynlleth.
Included in this, is a request for information on when the meetings took place and what was said and negotiated.
This request is made under the freedom of information act.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Bond
August 26, 2009
Person Dealing: Andrea Hughson
Direct Dial: 01597 829418
Dear Mr. Bond,
Reference No: E-2009-00338
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
Thank you for your request for Information, received at this office on August 26, 2009, in which you requested details of the following:
A record of meetings held between Tesco representatives and any officers or members of Powys County Council RE: Proposed Tesco development in Machynlleth
Your request relates to Environmental Information and will be processed in accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the regulations, subject to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third party. In some circumstances Powys County Council may be unable to achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.
There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you. If you choose not to make a payment then your request will remain unanswered.
Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.
The due date for responding to this request for information is September 24, 2009.
Should you need to discuss this further please contact the officer dealing with your request as identified at the beginning of this letter or Information Management on 01597 825013.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in Powys County Council.
Yours sincerely,
Gwen Middleton
Senior Records Assistant
pp:Andrea Hughson
Rheolwr Cofnodion a Chydymffurfiaeth
Records & Compliance Manager
__________________________________________
Powys County Council
Information Management
Unit 29,
Ddole Road Enterprise Park
Llandrindod Wells
Powys
LD1 6DF
01597 825013
September 23, 2009
Person Dealing: Andrea Hughson
Direct Dial: 01597 829418
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
Reference No: E-2009-00338
Dear Mr. Bond,
Thank you for your request for information dated August 26, 2009
requesting a record of all meetings held between Tesco and its
representatives and any officers or members of Powys County Council,
regarding the proposed Tesco development in Machynlleth.
I am writing to advise you that, I have established that no meetings have
been held with Tesco’s or its representatives since receipt of the
planning application (Planning Application Reference P/2009/0746) in
connection with the development in Machynlleth . Powys County Council
therefore does not hold any information that satisfies your request at
this time.
I regret we are unable to satisfy your information requirements at this
time. If you wish to discuss this further, please contact the officer
dealing with your request as identified above, or Information Management
on 01597 829418 / 825013.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Powys County Council.
Yours sincerely,
Andrea Hughson
Rheolwr cofnodion a Chydymffurfiaeth
Records & Compliance Manager
If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received in relation to
your request and wish to make a complaint, please contact Information
Management. Our complaints procedure is available on request or on our
website.
If you are still not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to
the Information Commissioner, who is the statutory regulator. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Powys Council's handling of my FOI request 'Information regarding Supermarket development in Machynlleth'.
My request was not for information on meetings held between Officers and Members and representatives of Tesco after submission of the Planning Application.
The request is for information regarding ALL meetings held between officers and/or members and representatives of Tesco regarding this proposed development. Whenever they took place.
The response does not address the period before the application.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/in...
Yours faithfully,
Mark Bond
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
Reference E-2009-00338
Dear Mr. Bond,
With reference to your request for an internal review of the Council's
handling of your request.
I regret that you are dissatisfied with the response provided in
connection with your request and would like the opportunity to offer
Informal Resolution in accordance with Stage 1 of the Councils Freedom of
Information, Environmental Information Regulations and Data Protection Act
Complaints Procedure.
( http://www.powys.gov.uk/index.php?id=923... )
In view of the additional information you have provided to clarify your
request I would like the opportunity to reconsider your request and
provide a response, subject to the information not being exempt.
If you are agreeable to this resolution please could you let me know, in
order that your request can be progressed.
If you are not willing or unable to accept informal resolution, your
request will be passed to the Chief Information Officer for review.
Should you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact
me, meanwhile I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely
Andrea Hughson
Rheolwr Cofnodion a Chydymffurfiaeth
Records & Compliance Manager
__________________________________________
Powys County Council
Information Management
Unit 29,
Ddole Road Enterprise Park
Llandrindod Wells
Powys
LD1 6DF
01597 825013
Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your letter regarding my request.
Your suggestion to reconsider the request in the light of my clarification is excellent - and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Could you give me an idea of the timescale?
Thank you again for your time dealing with this.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Bond
Person Dealing: Andrea Hughson
Direct Dial: 01597 829418
Dear Mr. Bond,
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
Reference No: E-2009-00338
With reference to your request for information, and further to the
clarification received in respect of your request, received at this office
on September 23, 2009, in which you seek the following information:
Details of all meetings held between Officers and/or Members of
Powys County Council and representatives of Tesco*s regarding the proposed
development in Machynlleth (to include details of meetings prior to the
submission of the Planning Application). To include when the meetings took
place and what was said and negotiated.
Your request relates to Environmental Information and will be processed in
accordance with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response as
soon as possible but in any case within the statutory timescale of 20
working days as defined by the regulations, subject to the information not
being exempt or containing a reference to a third party. In some
circumstances Powys County Council may be unable to achieve this deadline.
If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at
the earliest opportunity.
There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you choose not to make a payment then your request will
remain unanswered.
Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.
The due date for responding to this request for information is October 21,
2009.
Should you need to discuss this further please contact the officer dealing
with your request as identified at the beginning of this letter or
Information Management on 01597 829418 / 825013.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Powys County Council.
Yours sincerely,
Andrea Hughson
Rheolwr Cofnodion a Chydymffurfiaeth
Records & Compliance Manager
__________________________________________
Powys County Council
Information Management
Unit 29,
Ddole Road Enterprise Park
Llandrindod Wells
Powys
LD1 6DF
01597 825013
Dear Andrea,
Regarding my request under the Freedom of Information act request ref: E2009 - 00338.
I am disappointed not to have had a reply to this request within the statutory time period.
My initial request was made over 40 days ago, and although there seems to have been some confusion within your department on the exact nature of the initial request, you have still failed to answer, even after clarification and a further 20 days.
I would like to request an internal review of the handling of this application.
I would welcome comment, in the review, on whether the miss-understanding of the initial request was reasonable; whether the extension of the time frame for response to 40 days from the initial request was reasonable; and analysis of the reasons that no response has been forthcoming even after 40 days.
Manwhile, I look forward to receiving your reply to the FOI request.
Regards,
Mark Bond
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
Reference: E-2009-00338
Officer Dealing: John Witcher
Direct Dial; 01597 829453
Dear Mr. Bond,
I acknowledge receipt of your official complaint dated 23rd October 2009,
in which you express dissatisfaction with the way in which you request for
information has been handled.
This matter has been referred to the Chief Information Officer for review.
Your complaint will be considered and you will receive a response within
20 working days as defined by the Council’s Freedom of Information
Complaints Policy. In some circumstances we may be unable to achieve this
deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised
time-scale at the earliest opportunity.
Should you need to discuss this further please contact the officer dealing
with your complaint as identified at the beginning of this letter or
Information Management on 01597 829418 / 825013.
Yours sincerely,
Andrea Hughson
Rheolwr Cofnodion a Chydymffurfiaeth
Records & Compliance Manager
__________________________________________
Powys County Council
Information Management
Unit 29,
Ddole Road Enterprise Park
Llandrindod Wells
Powys
LD1 6DF
01597 825013
November 3, 2009
Person Dealing: Andrea Hughson
Direct Dial: 01597 829418
Dear Mr. Bond,
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004
Reference No: E-2009-00338
With reference to your request for information dated August 26, 2009
requesting details of meetings held between Tesco representatives and
Powys County Council in relation to the Tesco Development at Machynlleth.
Please accept my apologies for the delay you have experienced with this
request. Unfortunately, the Officer who attended the meeting with the
Tesco representatives has had a period of annual leave and had been unable
to provide a response. I acknowledge that we have failed in our
obligations to provide a response to this request within the statutory
timescale of 20 working days. I can confirm that the handling of your
request is currently being reviewed by the Chief Information Officer and
you will receive a response in due course.
I can provide the following information in response to your request:
A pre-application meeting was held between Officers from Powys County
Council and Tesco representatives (DPP) on the 23rd December 2008.
DPP introduced the proposed scheme and asked what information would be
required to be submitted with the planning application. The following
information was requested by Powys County Council’s Planning Services:
Retail Impact Assessment;
Transport Impact Assessment;
Ecology Assessment;
Noise Assessment;
Landscape Assessment;
Design and Access Statement;
Heritage Statement;
Archaeological Assessment;
Contaminated Land Assessment;
Flood Consequence Assessment;
Lighting Scheme and Light Management Scheme;
Sustainability Statement.
There are no minutes of a pre application meeting held by the Council.
I trust we have met your information requirements at this time. This
request is now complete and shall be closed immediately. Should any
further information be requested regarding this topic, a separate request
will need to be submitted.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Powys County Council.
Yours sincerely,
Andrea Hughson
Rheolwr Cofnodion a Chydymffurfiaeth
Records & Compliance Manager
If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received in relation to
your request and wish to make a complaint, please contact Information
Management. Our complaints procedure is available on request or on our
website.
If you are still not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to
the Information Commissioner, who is the statutory regulator. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Dear Mark
I am writing concerning the request for information dated 26th August 2009 concerning meetings between Tesco and Powys County Council and a proposed development in Machynlleth.
I understand that the Records and Compliance Manager has recently sent extra information on to you but I will forward my findings as well.
I have been asked to review the case under the councils Freedom of Information policy and have now completed by research.
The request was handled under the Environmental Information Regulations which clearly indicates how authorities should respond and how long it should take.
The original request asked for all information concerning meetings between the council and Tesco's and a proposed development in Machynlleth. The response sent on Sept 23rd 2009 only dealt with meeetings subsequent to the official planning application. In your E mail of 23rd Sept 2009 you reiterated the request for all information concerning meetings and requested a review of the case.
After reviewing the documentation and discussing with officers concerned I uphold your complaint for two reasons
Firstly the initial response did not answer the request fully which is not acceptable under the EIR legislation which clearly lays down the requirement to understand the request fully and respond comprehensively.
Secondly the regulations clearly lay down response times for respondindig to requests and in this case we did not meet the required time scales.
The Records and Compliance Manager indicated to the department concerned their statutory responsibility to provide a full response under EIR and within the required time scale and I understand that this has now been provided.
Powys has up to now a good record in fulfilling its requirements under the act with prompt response times and I hope that future requests will be met within the times laid down under the legislation
If you require any further details please contact me at the address below
John Witcher
Information Manager / Rheolwr Gwasanaethau
Information Management / Gwybodaeth
Powys County Council / Cyngor Sir Powys
Modern Records Unit
Unit 29, Ddole Road Enterprise Park
LLANDRINDOD WELLS
Powys
LD1 6DF
Tel / Ffôn 01597 829453
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