We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Kerry Jones please sign in and let everyone know.

List of empty Properties

We're waiting for Kerry Jones to read recent responses and update the status.

Dear Conwy County Borough Council,

I am looking for a list of long term empty property lists within your Council area. Would you please be able to supply me with these under the Freedom of Information Act? A spreadsheet will suffice and I require no personal information; simply the property address including postcode.

If possible will you also be able to identify whether the properties are residential (I am only really interested in residential properties) and their ownership. By ownership, I would like to know whether they are Council, Housing Association or privately owned.

Yours faithfully,

Kerry Jones

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost. Os ydych yn gofyn am fynediad at wybodaeth
dan delerau Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 cewch ymateb o fewn ugain
niwrnod gwaith.

Thank you for your email. If you are requesting access to information
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you will receive a
response within twenty working days.

[1]Sefyllfa Bresennol Gwasanaethau'r Cyngor   |   [2]Council Services
Current Situation

[3][USEMAP]

show quoted sections

Dear Conwy County Borough Council,

Further to my original request, I would only like to request the street address (including number, street and postcode) of empty properties in Conwy County that are residential please. I do not require commercial details.

Could they please be coded by long term empty and short term empty? It would be preferable if the dates they became empty could also be supplied please.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Kerry Jones

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost. Os ydych yn gofyn am fynediad at wybodaeth
dan delerau Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 cewch ymateb o fewn ugain
niwrnod gwaith.

Thank you for your email. If you are requesting access to information
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you will receive a
response within twenty working days.

[1]Sefyllfa Bresennol Gwasanaethau'r Cyngor   |   [2]Council Services
Current Situation

[3][USEMAP]

show quoted sections

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Dear Requester,

Thank you for your enquiry.

In light of the unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic please be aware that we will continue to make every effort to comply with any relevant timescales that might apply to your enquiry, however the safety and security of the public remains the primary concern and it is with this in mind please be aware that some slippage might occur with regards to the timely provision of any response.

This will be kept to a minimum wherever possible and the Council will review its position in line with directions from Government and Public Health organisations as and when required.

Please ensure all email correspondence is sent to the [Conwy Council request email] email address.

Thanking you in advance for your understanding and patience.

Uned Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth/ Information Governance Unit Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol CONWY County Borough Council E-Bost / E-Mail: [Conwy Council request email]

show quoted sections

Dear Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit,

I should have received a response to my request by 18th February. This date has now passed. Please could you respond?

Yours sincerely,

Kerry Jones

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Diolch am eich neges e-bost. Os ydych yn gofyn am fynediad at wybodaeth
dan delerau Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 cewch ymateb o fewn ugain
niwrnod gwaith.

Thank you for your email. If you are requesting access to information
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you will receive a
response within twenty working days.

[1]Sefyllfa Bresennol Gwasanaethau'r Cyngor   |   [2]Council Services
Current Situation

[3][USEMAP]

show quoted sections

Uned Llyw-Gwyb / Info-Gov Unit, Conwy County Borough Council

Dear Sir/Madam

Your information request regarding vacant properties (our reference:
0708-20)

I write in response to your email of 21 Jan 2021 in which you requested a
list of long term empty property lists within your Council area (‘the
Council’).

Response:

 

I have considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000(FOIA) and I can confirm that the Council does hold the information
requested.

Please note that any information released under FOIA is public
information– it is not only released to the requester but to ‘everyone’.
When deciding to release information we have to consider whether it is
suitable to be released into the public domain.

The First Tier Tribunal ruled in Voyias v Information Commissioner and LB
Camden (Case No. EA/2011/0007) that the public interest lies in
withholding the addresses of empty properties:

[1][1]http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DB...

Under section 31(1)(a) FOIA, we are permitted to withhold information if
disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the prevention and
detection of crime. We believe that the disclosure of addresses of empty

properties in the borough would likely lead to squatting and other
criminal activity in and/or around these properties.

If a list of empty properties were to be disclosed then these properties
would become more vulnerable to potential squatters and other criminal
acts such as theft and vandalism.

Section 31 is a qualified exemption so the Act requires us to consider
whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in
maintaining the exemption. We recognise that there is a significant public

interest in the disclosure of Council information in the interest of
transparency and accountability. Certainly the Council are accountable for
empty properties in the Borough and we understand that information may be
requested to help bring these properties back into use, which would be in
the financial and commercial interest of the public.

However, we believe that there is a strong argument in avoiding the likely
prejudice to the prevention of crime. It is in the public interest to
protect property and to avoid the considerable public expense that would

be incurred dealing with crime associated with empty properties.
Furthermore, we feel that public interest lies in preventing the distress
that is caused to victims of crime. Residents who live in close proximity
will also be affected by crime committed in the area and they will have a
reasonable expectation of feeling secure in their homes.

Although there is a strong public interest in bringing empty properties
back into use, our immediate concern is the protection of property and the
well-being of residents. Therefore we have decided that the public

interest in avoiding prejudice to the prevention of crime outweighs the
public interest in disclosure.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of this response and
should be sent to the address below.

 

Please ensure all email correspondence is sent to the
[Conwy Council request email] email address.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, or if you
are unhappy with this response you may appeal to the Information
Commissioner’s Office – Wales, 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way,
Cardiff, CF10 2HH.

 

Uned Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth/ Information Governance Unit

Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol CONWY County Borough Council

E-Bost / E-Mail: [Conwy Council request email]

 

show quoted sections

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Kerry Jones please sign in and let everyone know.