Dear Simon Loring

Thank you for your Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulation request, which was received by South Oxfordshire District Council on 16 January 2024

Please accept this email as confirmation that your request has been received and is being considered by the relevant department and that a response will be sent to you within 20 working days, subject to the information not being exempt and subject to any need for clarification.

The deadline for this will be 13 February 2024

The reference number for this request is South 23/1117

I trust that this email is sufficient to assure you that your request is being dealt with. However, should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI team at [South Oxfordshire District Council request email]

Kind regards

Information Governance Team

Legal & Democratic Services
South Oxfordshire District Council
www.southoxon.gov.uk

We’ve moved – our address is now:

Abbey House
Abbey Close
Abingdon
OX14 3JE
Please update your records.

To find out more about how the council holds, uses and stores your personal data, please click on the link below
South Oxfordshire District Council

show quoted sections

Dear Simon Loring

 

Thank you for your request for information which was logged under 23/1117
SOUTH and passed to me to respond accordingly.

Part of your request falls within the definition of the Freedom of
Information Act and part of your request falls within the definition of
the Environmental Information Regulations.

 

Request for information which falls under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act

You have requested the following.

 

“Dear South Oxfordshire District Council,

 

Please send any information requested below that is not on the planning
portal.

 

Current and past survey information for the land which SODC has owned
since 14 April 1972.

 

Including boundary information (who owns and maintains the boundary walls
and fences)

 

Any restrictions or conditions on the land and its use including pre
existing rights of access.

 

Any access agreements or right of access information to adjacent property
(licences contracts  and charges)

 

The information on the planning portal is not clear in terms of boundary
ownership and any historic access to adjoining property , or the right of
the land owner to licence access and charge for this , please provide any
information to clarify the situation, and any evidence that indicated
historic access was not in place prior to SODC ownership of the land .”

 

Freedom of Information Act Response

 

Under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 2000 Act) you
are entitled to be informed in writing whether the council holds the
information specified in your request and, if that is the case, to have
that information communicated to you unless any of the statutory
exemptions apply. I have considered your request and can confirm we do
hold some of the information asked. However, I believe one of the
statutory exemptions applies to part of your request.

 

The district council does not hold any current or past survey information
regarding the site.

 

Boundary information is exempt from disclosure under section 21 -
Information reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means. This is
because boundary information is already publicly available from Land
Registry.

 

Restrictions, covenants, and rights of access are available publicly at
the Land Registry by downloading the individual deeds. Therefore, this
information is exempt from disclosure under Section 21 – information
already reasonably accessible.  The council does hold a copy of the 1964
conveyance which is not available at Land Registry. Therefore, this is
attached redacted of third-party personal data, in-line with section 40(2)
of the Act.

 

Please find attached 6 licence agreements in relation to access
agreements. However, please note, these have been redacted under the
exemption Section 40(2) – Personal information. 

 

Please find attached a copy of the internal notes held within our
Strategic Property Team.

 

Request for information which falls under the terms of the Environmental
Information Regulations

 

You have also requested the following.

 

“Dear South Oxfordshire District Council,

 

Please send any information requested below that is not on the planning
portal.

 

Planning and conservation consent  information on the car park layout ,
lighting , etc

Information

 

Any information on the boundary and licence  agreements for planning
P03/W0961and P96/W0651 (to allow the disposal of 12 High Street of
independently of The Old Bakery without providing a separate parking
facility) and any charges.

 

Any information on the boundary and licence  agreements for planning
P99/W0103/LB and P99/W0111 and any charges.

 

Environmental Information Regulations Response

 

Under Part 2 Regulation 5 of the Environmental Information Regulations
2004, you are entitled to information which is in the authority’s
possession or is held by another person on behalf of the authority unless
any exceptions apply (Part 3 Regulation 12). I have considered your
request and can confirm we do hold some of the information asked and I do
not believe any of the statutory exemptions apply to your request.
Therefore, please find below our answers to your questions below.”

The planning applications relating to the car park all pre-date the
designation of the conservation area. Therefore, conservation consent was
not required.

 

Everything the councils hold in relation to the four planning applications
above is available to view on our website as follows:

[1]P03/W0961

[2]P96/W0651

[3]P99/W0103/LB

[4]P99/W0111

 

Boundaries changes would only come through the planning department if the
boundary treatment required planning permission. Licencing agreements do
not form part of planning applications but please see above for licence
agreements in relation to access.  

 

Please treat this as the councils’ formal response to your request.  If
you are not satisfied with the response we have provided to your request,
under Environmental Information Regulation 11 and under the Freedom of
Information Act, you may make a request for an internal review within 40
working days of receiving this response by emailing
[5][South Oxfordshire District Council request email] and [6][email address].  If you remain
dissatisfied after following that procedure, you have the right to
complain to the Information Commissioner. You can contact the Commissioner
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (telephone
number: 0303 123 1113). You can also find further information at
[7]www.ico.org.uk.

 

Kind regards

 

Information Governance Team

 

Legal & Democratic Services
South Oxfordshire District Council

[8]www.southoxon.gov.uk 

 

To find out more about how the council holds, uses and stores your
personal data, please click on the link below

[9]South Oxfordshire District Council

 

 

show quoted sections