Public Rights of Way GIS Data
Chris Andrew made this Freedom of Information request to Wiltshire Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Wiltshire Council,
Some time ago, you kindly supplied a copy of your Public Rights of Way GIS data to www.rowmaps.com, along with permission to reuse it under the Open Government Licence [1]. I would now like to request an update to the this data-set. Specifically:
1/ Under the Environmental Information Regulations [2], please supply me with an updated copy of the GIS data for the working (unofficial) version of your Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way. My preferred format for this would be one of KML, GeoJSON, MapInfo or Shapefile. (If a different format is more convenient for you, I'm happy to discuss this.)
2/ Under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations [3], please grant permission to re-use the information in that data-set under the Open Government Licence v3 [4]. The purposes for which I wish to re-use the data are (a) to help improve the representation of Rights of Way in OpenStreetMap and (b) to make the data-set available to others under an open licence in convenient open formats.
3/ In compliance with the final bullet point on page 1 of the ICO's Model Publication Scheme [5] (which you are required to have adopted) I would like to request that you arrange to pro-actively publish updates to your PRoW GIS data on your website going forward. I would suggest that quarterly updates would be reasonable. Alternatively, live data could be made available by enabling public access to a WFS server, if you have one. (Please don't let your consideration of this part slow down your response to the first two requests. I am more than happy for you to take longer to consider this part, as long as I get a prompt response to requests 1 and 2.)
Yours faithfully,
Chris Andrew
[1] http://www.rowmaps.com/datasets/WT/
[2] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004...
[3] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015...
[4] https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/...
[5] https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
Mr Chris Andrew.
Freedom of Information Request Case ID 202000948
Thank you for your request for information received on 01 December 2020.
Your request is being processed under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and you will receive a response within 20 working days of receipt of your request.
Regards,
Kyle McCormack
Information Governance Team
Legal and Governance
Wiltshire Council
[Wiltshire Council request email]
Dear Mr Andrew,
Request for Information
Thank you for your request for information dated 01 December 2020, in which you asked for the following information:
1/ Under the Environmental Information Regulations [2], please supply me with an updated copy of the GIS data for the working (unofficial) version of your Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way. My preferred format for this would be one of KML, GeoJSON, MapInfo or Shapefile. (If a different format is more convenient for you, I'm happy to discuss this.)
2/ Under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations [3], please grant permission to re-use the information in that data-set under the Open Government Licence v3 [4]. The purposes for which I wish to re-use the data are (a) to help improve the representation of Rights of Way in OpenStreetMap and (b) to make the data-set available to others under an open licence in convenient open formats.
3/ In compliance with the final bullet point on page 1 of the ICO's Model Publication Scheme [5] (which you are required to have adopted) I would like to request that you arrange to pro-actively publish updates to your PRoW GIS data on your website going forward. I would suggest that quarterly updates would be reasonable. Alternatively, live data could be made available by enabling public access to a WFS server, if you have one. (Please don't let your consideration of this part slow down your response to the first two requests. I am more than happy for you to take longer to consider this part, as long as I get a prompt response to requests 1 and 2.)
Under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) the Council is obliged to make information available to the public by publication or when requested, unless an exception to disclosure under EIR applies.
In accordance with regulation 5(1) of EIR I can confirm that Wiltshire Council holds some of the information you have requested. However the information is already publicly available and the response to your request is excepted by virtue of the following regulations of EIR:
In accordance with regulation 4(1) (Dissemination of environmental information) - The working (unofficial) version of the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way is available to view on our website here - http://wiltscouncil.maps.arcgis.com/apps...
It is updated automatically whenever a change is made to the dataset.
In accordance with regulation 6(1)(b) (already publicly available and easily accessible to the applicant in another form or format) - we are not required to provide information already publicly available in a different format.
If you are dissatisfied with the above response you have a right to request a review of your request for information. Details of the complaints and review procedure are below.
Yours sincerely
Kyle McCormack
Information Governance Officer
Email: [email address]
Environmental Information Regulations Complaints & Review Procedure
Any person who has requested information from Wiltshire Council, which has been dealt with under the Environmental Information Regulations is entitled to complain and request an internal review of their request for information if they are dissatisfied with the response they have received.
Requests for review of Environmental Information Regulations requests must be made in writing (includes email) to:
Freedom of Information Lead
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN
Email [email address]
Please include the reference number, date of your request and details of why the review is being requested. Requests for review should be brought to the attention of the Freedom of Information Lead within 40 days of the response to the original request.
Any request for review will be acknowledged in writing confirming the reasons for the review. The Freedom of Information Lead will allocate the review to someone who is independent of the original decision. The person conducting the review will set a target date for a response with the intention to complete the review within 20 working days. In more complex cases the review may take up to 40 working days.
The reviewer will conduct a full review of the handling of the request for information and of decisions taken, including decisions taken about where the public interest lies in respect of exempt information where applicable. The review enables a re-evaluation of the case, taking into account any matters raised by the requestor.
On completion of the review the reviewer will reply to the requestor with the result of the review. If the requestor is still dissatisfied following the review they should contact the Information Commissioner to appeal the decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted using the following details:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)
01625 545 745 (national rate)
Email: [email address]
Dear Kyle,
Thank you for your response, but I dispute your response.
A similar request was made to Cambridgeshire County Council, and ended in a favourable ICO ruling:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
The online map is only a summary / approximation of the full detail (i.e. precise coordinates) that would be stored in their GIS database.
The ICO makes it clear in paragraph 20 of
https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...
that in such a case the authority cannot rely on EIR 6(1)(b) to refuse to provide the information.
It seems that you haven't responded to my re-use request. You claim that the information is
available to me, but if this is the case, how will my request to be able to re-use it be handled?
Can I suggest so that this is compliant with 'The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015', that the information is provided in a computer-readable format, under RoPSIR r11(1)(b):
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015...
I look forward to moving this forward, towards a positive outcome.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Andrew
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your email.
A review request has been created, this will be handled by Josie Convery (Senior Information Officer), who will be in contact with you directly regarding this.
Yours sincerely,
Information Governance Team
Wiltshire Council
Leagal & Governance
Information Governance Team
County Hall – 1st Floor,
Trowbridge,
Wiltshire, BA14 8JN
[Wiltshire Council request email]
Web: www.wiltshire.gov.uk
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Dear Mr Andrew,
Please find my acknowledgement letter attached.
Kind Regards,
Josie
Josie Convery
Senior Information Governance Officer – FOI and Records
Information Governance
Legal and Governance
Tel: 01225 712612
Email: [1][email address]
Web: [2]www.wiltshire.gov.uk
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Dear Mr Andrew,
Please find my review response plus attachment enclosed.
Kind Regards,
Josie
Josie Convery
Senior Information Governance Officer – FOI and Records
Information Governance
Legal and Governance
Tel: 01225 712612
Email: [1][email address]
Web: [2]www.wiltshire.gov.uk
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Dear Josie,
Thank you, all.
Apologies for my delayed response; I will try to look at this properly, in the next 24hrs.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Andrew
Josie,
Many thanks for your response, and the Shape file that you attached.
With regard to the 'Re-use request', could you confirm the licence that the data can be re-used under? Forgive me if I missed this in your response.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Andrew
Dear Mr Andrew,
It would be under the Open Government Licence. You are able to re-use that data in accordance with the disclaimer outlined in my review letter.
Kind Regards,
Josie
Josie Convery
Senior Information Governance Officer - FOI and Records
Information Governance
Legal and Governance
Tel: 01225 712612
Email: [email address]
Web: www.wiltshire.gov.uk
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Sign up to Wiltshire Council's email news service
Monday is a non-working day
Hi, Josie!
Thank you so much for your reply, and apologies for the delay in mine. Work is ridiculously busy, since Covid.
With regard to my request, specifically part 3, are you able to make the data publicly available?
3/ In compliance with the final bullet point on page 1 of the ICO's Model Publication Scheme [5] (which you are required to have adopted) I would like to request that you arrange to pro-actively publish updates to your PRoW GIS data on your website going forward. I would suggest that quarterly updates would be reasonable. Alternatively, live data could be made available by enabling public access to a WFS server, if you have one. (Please don't let your consideration of this part slow down your response to the first two requests. I am more than happy for you to take longer to consider this part, as long as I get a prompt response to requests 1 and 2.)
Yours sincerely,
Chris Andrew
Dear Mr Andrew,
Thank you for your email.
I have asked the service directly about the subject of publication. I am wating for a response and will get back to you as soon as I can.
Kind Regards,
Josie
Josie Convery
Senior Information Governance Officer - FOI and Records
Information Governance
Legal and Governance
Tel: 01225 712612
Email: [email address]
Web: www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Follow Wiltshire Council
Sign up to Wiltshire Council's email news service
Monday is a non-working day
Hi, Josie!
Thank you for moving this forward, you've done a good job to get it to this stage, and I think the end might be in sight:
The data is there with permission to re-use it, which is really good, and the public will be thankful for this.
Mindful of the current Covid situation, i'm not going to get too excited about regular publication of the data at this time, as increasing your workload is probably not a good idea ; I would expect it in the future, though.
I look forward to an update to your query to 'the service', dated 12 Feb 21 (above).
Many thanks, Josie.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Andrew
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