Public rights of access to the Thames riverside path
Dear Tower Hamlets Borough Council,
In June 2016 I requested you to provide the information that you were said to be gathering on public rights of access to the Thames riverside path. Your reference number was 5017965 and the request is recorded on WhatDoTheyKnow at the following URL:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
Your response was that the information was expected to be ready by October 2016. However, a few matters subsequently occupied my attention and I never got around to requesting an update. As seven years have now elapsed, I hope that the information is indeed ready.
Therefore, please provide the information that you stated you were gathering. This may include excerpts from S106 agreements or other planning documents, Land Registry title documents, maps, plans, and any other diagrammatic and/or textual material illustrating or describing public rights of way or zones of permissive access along the riverside. Please also include: any documents you have produced that were published or are intended for publication on the topic, even if only in draft status; and correspondence with land owners in any cases where access rights have been found to be unclear.
Kind regards,
Scott Martin.
Information request
Our reference: 48160950
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Scott Martin
Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations
2004
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 17
November 2023 requesting:
In June 2016 I requested you to provide the information that you were said
to be gathering on public rights of access to the Thames riverside path.
Your reference number was 5017965 and the request is recorded on
WhatDoTheyKnow at the following URL:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
Your response was that the information was expected to be ready by October
2016. However, a few matters subsequently occupied my attention and I
never got around to requesting an update. As seven years have now elapsed,
I hope that the information is indeed ready.
Therefore, please provide the information that you stated you were
gathering. This may include excerpts from S106 agreements or other
planning documents, Land Registry title documents, maps, plans, and any
other diagrammatic and/or textual material illustrating or describing
public rights of way or zones of permissive access along the riverside.
Please also include: any documents you have produced that were published
or are intended for publication on the topic, even if only in draft
status; and correspondence with land owners in any cases where access
rights have been found to be unclear.
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and we aim to send a
response by 15 December 2023.
In some case, a fee may be payable. If we decide a fee is payable, we will
send you a fee notice and we will require you to pay the fee before
proceeding with your request.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 may restrict the release of some or all of the
information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment and if
any exceptions and exemptions apply to some or all of the information
then we might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if
this is the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal
review and to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
Yours faithfully
Robi Rajib
Information Governance Officer
Information Governance
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Information request
Our reference: 48160950
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Scott Martin
Your request for information has been considered under the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I can confirm that the information requested is held by Tower Hamlets
Council and is attached to this email.
The information has also been put on the [1]Council's Disclosure Log,
where you can also search for information supplied on other topics.
The Council's website www.towerhamlets.gov.uk contains a section on the
Freedom of Information Act that lists other publications readily available
from the Council under its Publication Scheme.
Conditions for the re-use of information where the copyright is owned by
the London Borough of Tower Hamlets can be found on our website.
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 the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to:
Complaints and Information
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Road
London
E1 1BJ
[email address]
If you are still dissatisfied with the Council's response after the
internal review you have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner
at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Website: www.ico.gov.uk
Yours faithfully
Jane Jones
Information Governance Officer
Legal Services
020 7364 2197
[email address]
References
Visible links
1. https://towerhamletsportal.icasework.com...
Dear Jane Jones,
Thank you for this response, however it is incomplete. In the document you provided called "Thames Path interim report 2018", the author wrote:
"Agreements
I am collecting via Laserfiche the historic agreements relating to the walkway. As the agreements aren’t all the same and were created under different acts I’m also collecting that information (as it may have an implication to holding a developer accountable to their obligations under the agreement). As of 01/05/2018 I’m at Mast House Terrace in terms of the collection of agreements. I aim to have collected all agreements to Leamouth by July 2018.
Land Registry Documents
I have reached Narrow Street in collecting the Land Registry details for the ownership of each development. ...
GIS
Once all the information regarding ownership, obligations the information will be given to the GIS team to map to create a live layer. "
This information wasn't included in your response to my request, which for reference again was:
"...please provide the information that you stated you were gathering. This may include excerpts from S106 agreements or other planning documents, Land Registry title documents, maps, plans, and any other diagrammatic and/or textual material illustrating or describing public rights of way or zones of permissive access along the riverside."
Please provide the information gathered by the author of the interim report. If Tower Hamlets doesn't have a publicly-accessible GIS system where the map layer referred to is available to see, please include it as a static export of some kind, such as PDF.
Kind regards,
Scott.
Dear Jane Jones,
It's been a month since I wrote to you asking that you provide the information that was missing from your response to my request. Please update me on this.
Kind regards,
Scott Martin.
Dear Martin,
We apologies for the delay in getting back to you, I have gone to the
officer and they have said they have provided all the information to you
already and there is no further information held.
Many thanks
Information Governance Officer
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: [FOI #1048924 email]
Sent: 18/01/2024 11:15
To: [email address]
Subject: Re: Information request - Freedom of Information request - Public
rights of access to the Thames riverside path (ref: 48160950)
(Attachments:) Email (original message) from
[FOI #1048924 email] received on 18/01/2024.eml,
Email from [FOI #1048924 email] - Re: Information
request - Freedom of Information request - Public rights of access to the
Thames riverside path .txt
Dear Tower Hamlets Borough Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Tower Hamlets Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Public rights of access to the Thames riverside path'. A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
In a response to my request, I was provided a document titled "Thames Path interim report 2018". In it, the author (no name given) wrote:
"Agreements
I am collecting via Laserfiche the historic agreements relating to the walkway. As the agreements aren’t all the same and were created under different acts I’m also collecting that information (as it may have an implication to holding a developer accountable to their obligations under the agreement). As of 01/05/2018 I’m at Mast House Terrace in terms of the collection of agreements. I aim to have collected all agreements to Leamouth by July 2018.
Land Registry Documents
I have reached Narrow Street in collecting the Land Registry details for the ownership of each development. ...
GIS
Once all the information regarding ownership, obligations the information will be given to the GIS team to map to create a live layer. "
All of this material was included in the scope of my request, but not provided. When I wrote back to request that it was, I was responded to by "Information Governance Officer" (no name given) who said:
"We apologies [sic] for the delay in getting back to you, I have gone to the officer and they have said they have provided all the information to you already and there is no further information held."
This is unacceptable. It is clear that six years ago the author of the interim report engaged in a significant amount of research to gather information from somewhere called Mast House Terrace to place on file at somewhere called Leamouth. I do not believe that it has all somehow just vanished, or that there are no copies held of the work of the author of the interim report. As part of your review of my request, please determine who the author was, where the files they collated went, and make them available to me; as well as investigating how it was possible for someone to send me this response.
Yours faithfully,
Scott Martin.
The contents of this email are secure and we will send you a password to
access it shortly.
[1]Once you have received your password, click here to access the email.
Please note that this link will remain valid for 7 days only.
References
Visible links
1. https://towerhamletsportal.icasework.com...
I have sent a restricted email to the email address you provided. The
password to access it is: Riblucki46+
Dear N Khanum,
Thank you for your response. For your information, I'm conducting this FOI request via whatdotheyknow.com as it's a matter of public interest. It can be seen at:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
I'm not sure why your response to me required accessing a password-protected web page which will expire in 7 days, which isn't in keeping with the principles of transparency and the public record. Therefore below I'm copying the message which it contained, so that it will be retained in public with the rest of this correspondence.
Yours sincerely,
Scott Martin.
----
To
[email address]
Subject
Information request - internal review
From
London Borough of Tower Hamlets <[email address]>
Information request
Our reference: 48160950
Dear Scott Martin
Thank you for your request for a review received on 18 March 2024. I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to provide you with a response by 17 April 2024.
Yours faithfully
N Khanum
Records manager
Information governance
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
About this request
Issued by
Tower Hamlets Council
Complaints and Information
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Road
London
E1 1BJ
Status
Submitted on 12/04/2024 10:57
Request reference
G157267616
Information request
Our reference: 48160950
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Scott Martin
Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations
2004
Thank you for your request for a review received on 18 March 2024.
I write to you to inform you that we have applied a further 20 day
extension to the deadline for this request. The reason for this is due to
the time taken to review the documents in question.
Please be advised that the new deadline has been set to 15 May 2024. I
apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please note I will
endeavour to respond as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
N Khanum
Records manager
Information governance
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Dear N Khanum,
In your previous message you applied a further 20 day extension to the deadline for my request for a review, setting it to 15 May 2024. It's now almost a month past that deadline. Consequently I've made a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office regarding your handling of this matter.
Kind regards,
Scott Martin.
I have sent a restricted email to the email address you provided. The
password to access it is: Outhanda23%
The contents of this email are secure and we will send you a password to
access it shortly.
[1]Once you have received your password, click here to access the email.
Please note that this link will remain valid for 7 days only.
References
Visible links
1. https://towerhamletsportal.icasework.com...
Dear N Khanum,
As I previously informed you in our correspondence, the issuance of your replies via a password-protected, time-limited system is not in keeping with the principles of freedom of information and as such I am quoting your reply below to be placed on the public record.
Regarding your reply: I have little interest in the identity of the author of the report, so let us dismiss that aspect of my request.
You wrote: "All the information related to this project has been shared, we do not hold any further records on this project that was undertaken in 2016. The action referred to was not carried out."
Please explain this assertion, which is in direct contradiction of the statements made by the author of the 2018 interim report, by providing the documentary records on which you have relied to make it. This includes any internal correspondence which has taken place as part of your response to my request, which is necessarily included under the request's scope.
Please also provide any similar documentation which relates to relevant parties of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets deciding to renege on the following public commitment which was made to a reporter from The Guardian in 2015:
“We are carrying out a thorough investigation of rights of access to the riverside path and we will publish our findings later in the year so that residents and visitors to our borough can continue to enjoy the river at every opportunity.”
(Source: http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/f...)
You also wrote: "a separate audit was carried out in 2023 assessing landowner compliance with planning agreements relating to access to the Thames Path." Please provide that audit and any associated documents from its planning and execution, including correspondence, with names removed in accordance with Regulation 13 of the EIR Act 2004 as applicable.
Kind regards,
Scott Martin.
----
To
[email address]
Subject
Information request - internal review
From
London Borough of Tower Hamlets<[email address]>
Information request
Our reference: 48160950
Dear Scott Martin,
Thank you for your request for a review received on 18 March 2024. I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request under the under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations(EIR) 2004.
I have considered your request for an internal review under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and EIR 2004 and can confirm that we are unable to disclose the information of the Author of the report under Regulation 13 of the EIR act 2004. This exemption applies because the identification of the individuals involved would contravene the first Data Protection Principle. The requested information is therefore exempt from disclosure.
All the information related to this project has been shared, we do not hold any further records on this project that was undertaken in 2016. The action referred to was not carried out. However, a separate audit was carried out in 2023 assessing landowner compliance with planning agreements relating to access to the Thames Path. Subsequently, officers have been taking appropriate action as and when required in response to reported breaches of these access agreements.
If you are still dissatisfied with the Council's response after the internal review, you have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone:01625 545 700
www.ico.org.uk
Further information about the operation of the act is available from the council's website www.towerhamlets.gov.uk and the information leaflet in public reception areas in Council Buildings.
Yours faithfully
N Khanum
Records manager
Information governance
Yours sincerely,
Scott Martin
Information request
Our reference: 52995949
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Scott Martin
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 18 June
2024 requesting:
1. "All the information related to this project has been shared, we do not
hold any further records on this project that was undertaken in 2016. The
action referred to was not carried out."
- Please explain this assertion, which is in direct contradiction of the
statements made by the author of the 2018 interim report, by providing the
documentary records on which you have relied to make it. This includes any
internal correspondence which has taken place as part of your response to
my request, which is necessarily included under the request's scope.
2. Please also provide any similar documentation which relates to relevant
parties of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets deciding to renege on the
following public commitment which was made to a reporter from The Guardian
in 2015:
"We are carrying out a thorough investigation of rights of access to the
riverside path and we will publish our findings later in the year so that
residents and visitors to our borough can continue to enjoy the river at
every opportunity."
(Source:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/f...)
3. You also wrote: "a separate audit was carried out in 2023 assessing
landowner compliance with planning agreements relating to access to the
Thames Path." Please provide that audit and any associated documents from
its planning and execution, including correspondence, with names removed
in accordance with Regulation 13 of the EIR Act 2004 as applicable.
Scott Martin.
(br /)Title: Thames Path Riverside walking route
1. "All the information related to this project has been shared, we do not
hold any further records on this project that was undertaken in 2016. The
action referred to was not carried out."
- Please explain this assertion, which is in direct contradiction of the
statements made by the author of the 2018 interim report, by providing the
documentary records on which you have relied to make it. This includes any
internal correspondence which has taken place as part of your response to
my request, which is necessarily included under the request's scope.
2. Please also provide any similar documentation which relates to relevant
parties of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets deciding to renege on the
following public commitment which was made to a reporter from The Guardian
in 2015:
"We are carrying out a thorough investigation of rights of access to the
riverside path and we will publish our findings later in the year so that
residents and visitors to our borough can continue to enjoy the river at
every opportunity."
(Source:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/f...)
3. You also wrote: "a separate audit was carried out in 2023 assessing
landowner compliance with planning agreements relating to access to the
Thames Path." Please provide that audit and any associated documents from
its planning and execution, including correspondence, with names removed
in accordance with Regulation 13 of the EIR Act 2004 as applicable.
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 16 July 2024.
In some case, a fee may be payable. If we decide a fee is payable, we will
send you a fee notice and we will require you to pay the fee before
proceeding with your request.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information then we
might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if this is
the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal review and
to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
Yours faithfully
Robi Rajib
Information Governance Officer
Information Governance
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Information request
Our reference: 52995949
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Scott Martin
Your request for information has been considered under the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.
Please find attached our response to your request.
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 the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to:
Complaints and Information
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Road
London
E1 1BJ
[email address]
If you are still dissatisfied with the Council's response after the
internal review you have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner
at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Website: www.ico.gov.uk
Yours faithfully
N Khanum
Records manager
Information governance
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
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