Letters supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High School Site

The request was refused by Mid Ulster District Council.

Dear Mid Ulster District Council,

In a previous FOI request ("Communication with businesses regarding locating to the former Maghera High School site") Council issued a blanket refusal to all parts of my request under Regulation 12(e), and Regulation 12(5)(e) of the Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) 2004. Council declined to disclose any information for reasons of personal data protection, commercial sensitivity and protection of legitimate economic interests. Council also withheld the information from release under Regulation 12(5)(f) with respect the interests of the person(s) who provided the information held by the Council and those referred within Regulation 12(4)(b).

Part four of this request is not covered by the above clauses.

These letters were instrumental in the final purchase of the Former Maghera High School site, presented at Council meeting of 10 March 2015 in which this was confirmed as supporting the purchase and encouraging the economic development of the site. Copies were circulated to Councillors and committee members.

The letters have subsequently been referred to by Councillors and Council Officers as constituting support for the development of this site from Maghera businesses.

The nature of these letters is entirely different to the correspondence requested in parts 1-3 of my intitial request and should not been subject to the blanket application of Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 clauses. It is in the public domain that letters were sent to Council from Burns & Co., Maghera, BSG Civil Engineering Ltd, Maghera and F P McCann and Knockloughrim Quarry supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High School Site. They were previously disseminated to Council and should be ( though are not) included in the associated documents alongside the online meeting minutes.

Letters supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High School Site from the above businesses in 2015 cannot reasonably be considered to be commercially sensitive nor a threat to the protection of legitimate economic interests. They are a matter of public record therefore should pose no threat to personal data or the interests of the person(s) who provided the information, but any personal data included could simply be redacted to provide the substance of the letters.

These letters were solicited by Council to support the purchase of this site with £400,000 of public money. It is therefore unquestionably in the public interest that these letters are made available.

I am therefore requesting:

A copy of letters submitted to Magherafelt District Council from Burns & Co., Maghera, BSG Civil Engineering Ltd, Maghera and F P McCann and Knockloughrim Quarry supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High School Site, circulating to Council members in early 2015.

A full history of the previous FOI request is available at the following link:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Ryan O'Reilly

Mid Ulster Info, Mid Ulster District Council

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Philip Moffett, Mid Ulster District Council

Dear Ryan O'Reilly,

Thank you for your request for information submitted with Mid Ulster
District Council on 26/05/2020 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(the Act) regarding the above.

Your request has been referred to the relevant Council Officers and a
response will be issued to you as soon as a response becomes available, in
accordance with the Act.

Yours Sincerely

Head of Democratic Services

Mid Ulster District Council

Tel: 03000 132 132

 

 

From: Ryan O'Reilly [mailto:[FOI #667212 email]]
Sent: 26 May 2020 10:08
To: Mid Ulster Info <[Mid Ulster District Council request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Letters supporting the purchase
of the former Maghera High School Site

 

Dear Mid Ulster District Council,

In a previous FOI request ("Communication with businesses regarding
locating to the former Maghera High School site") Council issued a blanket
refusal to all parts of my request under Regulation 12(e), and Regulation
12(5)(e) of the Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) 2004. Council declined to disclose any information for
reasons of personal data protection, commercial sensitivity and protection
of legitimate economic interests. Council also withheld the information
from release under Regulation 12(5)(f) with respect the interests of the
person(s) who provided the information held by the Council and those
referred within Regulation 12(4)(b).

Part four of this request is not covered by the above clauses.

These letters were instrumental in the final purchase of the Former
Maghera High School site, presented at Council meeting of 10 March 2015 in
which this was confirmed as supporting the purchase and encouraging the
economic development of the site. Copies were circulated to Councillors
and committee members.

The letters have subsequently been referred to by Councillors and Council
Officers as constituting support for the development of this site from
Maghera businesses.

The nature of these letters is entirely different to the correspondence
requested in parts 1-3 of my intitial request and should not been subject
to the blanket application of Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
2004 clauses. It is in the public domain that letters were sent to Council
from Burns & Co., Maghera, BSG Civil Engineering Ltd, Maghera and F P
McCann and Knockloughrim Quarry supporting the purchase of the former
Maghera High School Site. They were previously disseminated to Council and
should be ( though are not) included in the associated documents alongside
the online meeting minutes.

Letters supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High School Site
from the above businesses in 2015 cannot reasonably be considered to be
commercially sensitive nor a threat to the protection of legitimate
economic interests. They are a matter of public record therefore should
pose no threat to personal data or the interests of the person(s) who
provided the information, but any personal data included could simply be
redacted to provide the substance of the letters.

These letters were solicited by Council to support the purchase of this
site with £400,000 of public money. It is therefore unquestionably in the
public interest that these letters are made available.

I am therefore requesting:

A copy of letters submitted to Magherafelt District Council from Burns &
Co., Maghera, BSG Civil Engineering Ltd, Maghera and F P McCann and
Knockloughrim Quarry supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High
School Site, circulating to Council members in early 2015.

A full history of the previous FOI request is available at the following
link:
[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Ryan O'Reilly

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Philip Moffett, Mid Ulster District Council

Dear Mr Ryan O'Reilly

Thank you for your information request, submitted with Mid Ulster District
Council under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act)
on 26/05/2020 00:00 for provision of copy of letters submitted to
Magherafelt District Council from Burns & Co., Maghera, BSG Civil
Engineering Ltd, Maghera and F P McCann and Knockloughrim Quarry
supporting the purchase of the former Maghera High School Site,
circulating to Council members in early 2015. 

The council has considered your request and notes that it is similar to a
part of a previous request (particularly Q4) entitled 'Communication with
businesses regarding locating to the former Maghera High School site',
which the Council responded to on Friday 22nd May 2020.  We are in receipt
of an Internal Review (in two parts) from you for the previous request
(our reference no. FOI01262).  I have therefore referred this request to
the senior officer, the Director of Leisure & Outdoor
Recreation, undertaking the Internal Review and is being considered as
part of that process. A response will be issued directly from the senior
officer undertaking the Internal Review.

I hope this is of assistance.  If you are not happy with the way in which
your request has been handled, you have the right to ask for an internal
review. This review, should be requested within 2 months of the date of
this response and should be sent to:

Chief Executive
Mid Ulster District Council
Dungannon Office
Circular Road
DUNGANNON BT71 6DT

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you can
ask the Information Commissioner for a decision on whether the Council has
complied with its responsibilities under the Act. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place
BELFAST BT7 2JB

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Yours Sincerely

Philip Moffett

Head of Democratic Services

Mid Ulster District Council

Tel: 03000 132 132

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