Public Rights of Way GIS Data
Dear Coventry City Council,
Under the Environmental Information Regulations, I would like to request a copy of:
1/ The digitised version / working copy of your Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way as stored for use in a GIS software application or interactive online map. My preferred format for this GIS data would be one of KML, GeoJSON, MapInfo or Shapefile. If the data is in more than one file, please provide the files in a zip file. I realise that this data is not the actual Definitive Map, but just an unofficial representation of it, which may contain errors. But that is fine for my purposes.
2/ Your Definitive Statements of Public Rights of Way, assuming these are held in digital form (either scanned copies or native digital versions). I would prefer the information in a re-usable (computer readable) format. If the full Statement information is already contained in the GIS data supplied for part 1, then that will satisfy this part of the request, and there is no need to provide anything separately. If the statements are only held in paper form, then I'm not asking you to scan them. If there is an electronic working copy, then I would be happy to receive a copy of that instead.
3/ An explanation for any formatting of a Right of Way’s reference number, if applicable. For example, if any abbreviations are used in the reference, please detail their expansions and what they refer to (e.g. parish name). Could you also confirm if these references are used on the legal Definitive Map and Statement, or if they're just for convenience in the electronic versions? If the Definitive Map and Statement use a different style of reference / name for each Right of Way, could you please provide details?
Secondly, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations, I would like to request permission to re-use the information above under the Open Government Licence v3. The purposes for which the information is to be re-used are: (a) to help improve the mapping of Rights of Way in OpenStreetMap, and (b) to convert the datasets to a more convenient format, and then make them available for others to re-use under an open licence.
Yours faithfully,
Nathan Case
Dear Nathan,
Please find a copy of the Freedom of Information request that you have
sent us:
Title: Public Rights of Way GIS Data
Request details:
Under the Environmental Information Regulations, I would like to request a
copy of:
1/ The digitised version / working copy of your Definitive Map of Public
Rights of Way as stored for use in a GIS software application or
interactive online map. My preferred format for this GIS data would be one
of KML, GeoJSON, MapInfo or Shapefile. If the data is in more than one
file, please provide the files in a zip file. I realise that this data is
not the actual Definitive Map, but just an unofficial representation of
it, which may contain errors. But that is fine for my purposes.
2/ Your Definitive Statements of Public Rights of Way, assuming these are
held in digital form (either scanned copies or native digital versions). I
would prefer the information in a re-usable (computer readable) format. If
the full Statement information is already contained in the GIS data
supplied for part 1, then that will satisfy this part of the request, and
there is no need to provide anything separately. If the statements are
only held in paper form, then I'm not asking you to scan them. If there is
an electronic working copy, then I would be happy to receive a copy of
that instead.
3/ An explanation for any formatting of a Right of Way’s reference number,
if applicable. For example, if any abbreviations are used in the
reference, please detail their expansions and what they refer to (e.g.
parish name). Could you also confirm if these references are used on the
legal Definitive Map and Statement, or if they're just for convenience in
the electronic versions? If the Definitive Map and Statement use a
different style of reference / name for each Right of Way, could you
please provide details?
Secondly, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations, I
would like to request permission to re-use the information above under the
Open Government Licence v3. The purposes for which the information is to
be re-used are: (a) to help improve the mapping of Rights of Way in
OpenStreetMap, and (b) to convert the datasets to a more convenient
format, and then make them available for others to re-use under an open
licence.
The case number for this request is FOI417546086 and we will reply by
23/05/2022 17:00.
Please note that if we need further information, we will contact you and
place your request on hold until you provide the additional information.
This may alter the date by which we give our completed reply.
Kind regards,
Information Governance Team
Coventry City Council
PO Box 15
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Telephone: 024 7697 5408
Email: [1][email address]
[2]Coventry UK City of Culture 2021
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1. mailto:[email address]
2. file:///tmp/www.coventry2021.co.uk
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please see the attached letter in response to your recent request for
information.
If you have any queries, then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Information Governance Team
Coventry City Council
PO Box 15
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Telephone: 024 7697 5408
Email: [email address]
[1]Coventry UK City of Culture 2021
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you have received this
e-mail in error, you are requested to contact the sender All e-mails are
monitored by Coventry City Council's ICT Security, using Mimecast. The
views contained in this e-mail are those of the author and not necessarily
those of Coventry City Council.
References
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1. file:///tmp/www.coventry2021.co.uk
Dear Coventry City Council,
Thank you for your response to my request. However, I am disappointed by your response and request a review of it.
I asked you to provide the public rights of way data in a specific format which would include the geographical information (i.e. route coordinates) and allow for re-use. You are required to provide this, in the format I requested, under regulation 6 of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
You do not specifically state the reason why you have not provided me with this information. You instead just state that it is available to view online - but, as you note, it is not available to download. I assume, therefore, that you are relying on an exemption under EIR 6(1)(b).
However, your (presumed) use of an exemption through EIR 6(1)(b), in that (some of) the information has been provided in an online map, has previously been ruled as erroneous by the Information Commissioner's Office. See: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak... (particularly paragraphs 20 - 23).
You therefore you cannot rely on an exemption under 6(1)(b) in providing me with the data I requested.
You also state that I should contact you if I wish to "use the information for any other purposes" (other than private study and non-commercial research). I made clear the purpose I would like to reuse this information for in my original request (namely incorporating the data into OpenStreetMap).
Additionally, as the ICO notes (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui...), you "may impose conditions on re-use but the conditions must be as open and non-restrictive as possible. The easiest way to do this is to use the Open Government Licence." I have requested you make this data available under the OGL. Please, therefore, confirm you will make this data available under the OGL.
Yours faithfully,
Nathan Case
Dear Nathan Case,
Thank you for your email requesting a review of our response to your
request information under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
which the Council received on 19 May 2022. Your request will be processed
under the terms of the Regulations.
Your request has been logged under the reference IG2223_006, please use
this in any future correspondence.
In line with the EIR, we will respond to you within 20 working days of the
date that we received your request however, we will endeavour to provide
you a response as soon as possible. If there are any problems with this
request that may delay the response, we will contact you immediately.
Kind Regards,
Information Governance Team
Coventry City Council
PO Box 15
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Tel: 024 7697 5408
Information Governance Team: 024 7697 5408
Click [1]here to access the Council's FOI/EIR Disclosure Log
[2]THINK_PRIVACY001 - small
For facts and figures about Coventry, look at the following: [3]Facts
about Coventry | Coventry City Council
From: Nathan Case <[FOI #856651 email]>
Sent: 19 May 2022 15:39
To: Information Governance <[Coventry City Council request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Public Rights
of Way GIS Data
Dear Coventry City Council,
Thank you for your response to my request. However, I am disappointed by
your response and request a review of it.
I asked you to provide the public rights of way data in a specific format
which would include the geographical information (i.e. route coordinates)
and allow for re-use. You are required to provide this, in the format I
requested, under regulation 6 of The Environmental Information Regulations
2004.
You do not specifically state the reason why you have not provided me with
this information. You instead just state that it is available to view
online - but, as you note, it is not available to download. I assume,
therefore, that you are relying on an exemption under EIR 6(1)(b).
However, your (presumed) use of an exemption through EIR 6(1)(b), in that
(some of) the information has been provided in an online map, has
previously been ruled as erroneous by the Information Commissioner's
Office. See:
[4]https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...
(particularly paragraphs 20 - 23).
You therefore you cannot rely on an exemption under 6(1)(b) in providing
me with the data I requested.
You also state that I should contact you if I wish to "use the information
for any other purposes" (other than private study and non-commercial
research). I made clear the purpose I would like to reuse this information
for in my original request (namely incorporating the data into
OpenStreetMap).
Additionally, as the ICO notes
([5]https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui...), you
"may impose conditions on re-use but the conditions must be as open and
non-restrictive as possible. The easiest way to do this is to use the Open
Government Licence." I have requested you make this data available under
the OGL. Please, therefore, confirm you will make this data available
under the OGL.
Yours faithfully,
Nathan Case
Good afternoon,
Please find attached our response to the internal review regarding EIR
request reference FOI417546086 - Public Rights of Way GIS Data.
We apologise for the delay.
Kind regards
Information Governance
Coventry City Council
Room 57 Council House
Earl Street
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Tel: 024 7697 5408
Functional Mailbox: [1][email address]
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you have received this
e-mail in error, you are requested to contact the sender.
All e-mails are monitored by Coventry City Council's ICT Security, using
Mimecast.
The views contained in this e-mail are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Coventry City Council.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Information Governance,
Thank you for the correspondence from Sarah Harriott, your Corporate Governance Solicitor.
In Ms Harriot's response, she invited me to request a re-review of the case (before contacting the ICO). I would like to take the opportunity to do so.
I believe Sarah has missed the key aspect of this case: that the council's online map does not provide the full geographical data (i.e. entire route co-ordinates) I am asking for and thus the Decision Notice I linked to is very much applicable.
I have uploaded a full response to Sarah: https://files.whatdotheyknow.com/request...
I would be grateful if she reads this before she undertakes her re-review.
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Case
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your email requesting a review of our response to your
request information under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
which the Council received on 27^th June 2022. Your request will be
processed under the terms of the Regulations.
Your request has been logged under the reference IG2223_012, please use
this in any future correspondence.
In line with the EIR, we will respond to you within 20 working days of the
date that we received your request however, we will endeavour to provide
you a response as soon as possible. If there are any problems with this
request that may delay the response, we will contact you immediately.
Kind regards,
Information Governance Team
Coventry City Council
PO Box 15
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Telephone: 02476975408
Email: [1][email address]
This document and any attachment may be privileged and confidential. They
should not be copied or distributed to any person or entity (either within
or outside the Council) without the sender's permission. If you have
received this document in error please notify the sender and delete it in
its entirety.
Click [2]here to access the Council's FOI/EIR Disclosure Log
[3]THINK_PRIVACY001 - small
For facts and figures about Coventry, look at the following: [4]Facts
about Coventry | Coventry City Council
[5]cov2
From: Nathan Case <[FOI #856651 email]>
Sent: 24 June 2022 16:24
To: Information Governance <[email address]>
Subject: IG2223_012 Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Public Rights of Way GIS Data
Dear Information Governance,
Thank you for the correspondence from Sarah Harriott, your Corporate
Governance Solicitor.
In Ms Harriot's response, she invited me to request a re-review of the
case (before contacting the ICO). I would like to take the opportunity to
do so.
I believe Sarah has missed the key aspect of this case: that the council's
online map does not provide the full geographical data (i.e. entire route
co-ordinates) I am asking for and thus the Decision Notice I linked to is
very much applicable.
I have uploaded a full response to Sarah:
[6]https://files.whatdotheyknow.com/request...
I would be grateful if she reads this before she undertakes her re-review.
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Case
Dear Information Governance,
I have not yet received a response to my request for an internal review. Under the Environmental Information Regulations, this should have been carried out within 40 working days of my request - which has now passed.
Could you please confirm the status of my request?
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Case
Dear Nathan,
Thank you for your email.
Please accept our apologies for the delay. We confirm that our colleagues
are currently finalising a response which should be completed by the end
of next week.
If you have any queries, then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards
Information Governance
Coventry City Council
Tel: 024 7697 5408
Email: [1][email address]
From: Nathan Case <[FOI #856651 email]>
Sent: 23 August 2022 11:03
To: Information Governance <[email address]>
Subject: RE: IG2223_012 Internal review of Freedom of Information request
- Public Rights of Way GIS Data
Dear Information Governance,
I have not yet received a response to my request for an internal review.
Under the Environmental Information Regulations, this should have been
carried out within 40 working days of my request - which has now passed.
Could you please confirm the status of my request?
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Case
Good afternoon,
Please find attached our response to your review as requested. We
sincerely apologise for the delay.
Kind regards
Information Governance
Coventry City Council
Tel: 024 7697 5408
Email: [1][email address]
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you have received this
e-mail in error, you are requested to contact the sender.
All e-mails are monitored by Coventry City Council's ICT Security, using
Mimecast.
The views contained in this e-mail are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Coventry City Council.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Nathan Case left an annotation ()
After a second refusal from the council, a complaint was lodged with the Information Commissioner's Office on 02 September 2022.
Nathan Case left an annotation ()
During the course of the ICO's investigation, Coventry City Council withdrew reliance on regulation 6(1)(b) and the exceptions quoted. The Commissioner therefore decided that the council had "breached regulations 5(1) and 5(2) of the EIR in its handling of the request" and requires the council to release the data requested "within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice" (2 March 2023).
Dear Sir/Madam,
Please find attached our letter and accompanying attachments in response
to the above referenced Environmental Information Regulation request.
Kind regards
Information Governance Team
Coventry City Council
PO Box 15
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Telephone: 024 7697 5408
Email: [1][Coventry City Council request email]
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you have received this
e-mail in error, you are requested to contact the sender.
All e-mails are monitored by Coventry City Council's ICT Security, using
Mimecast.
The views contained in this e-mail are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Coventry City Council.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Coventry City Council request email]
Dear Information Governance,
Thank you for supplying the requested Public Rights of Way information.
As per my initial request, and as per the The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, I would like to request that this data be released under the Open Government Licence (version 3.0).
Could you confirm that you release this data under OGL (v3.0)?
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Case
Dear Mr Case,
Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in getting back to
you.
We can confirm that the information provided to you has been released
under the terms of the Open Government Licence (v.3.0).
Kind regards
Information Governance Team
Coventry City Council
PO Box 15
Coventry
CV1 5RR
Telephone: 024 7697 5408
Email: [1][Coventry City Council request email]
From: Nathan Case <[FOI #856651 email]>
Sent: 10 March 2023 13:01
To: Information Governance <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Request ID: IG2223_012 (Review of FOI417546086 & IG2223_006)
Dear Information Governance,
Thank you for supplying the requested Public Rights of Way information.
As per my initial request, and as per the The Re-use of Public Sector
Information Regulations 2015, I would like to request that this data be
released under the Open Government Licence (version 3.0).
Could you confirm that you release this data under OGL (v3.0)?
Yours sincerely,
Nathan Case
Nathan Case left an annotation ()
For completeness, the ICO has now published its decision notice relating to this request: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...
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WhatDoTheyKnow left an annotation ()
We at WhatDoTheyKnow cooperated with the requester here to upload their internal review request to our server. This isn't something we generally do but made an exception here, as an experiment.