Request for communications 2
Dear Maidstone Borough Council,
In reference to the "Land north of Marden, Maidstone Road" garden settlement proposals. Freedom of Information request EIR 7867 contains the attachment "Attachment Plans from KCC Meeting 15 February.pdf" which confirms the land ownership and landowner names of the proposed site. Therefore I am requesting that you send me all pertinent email communications related to this development including:
Copies of emails sent by or received by Maidstone Borough Council planning agents (“Planning Department”) and EACH of the following landowners:
J A CARPENTER;
R H CARPENTER;
E W WINGROVE;
B E WINGROVE; and
B J REID;
in regards to this proposal between 1st January 2018 and the date of this request.
I am making this request under the EIR as it clearly involves the potential development of land and would remind the Council that under the Regulations, most exceptions are also subject to the public interest test.
Yours faithfully,
David Windham
Dear Maidstone Borough Council,
Please confirm you are treating my two FoI/EIR requests as separate at your earliest convenience.
Yours faithfully,
David Windham
Dear Mr Windham
Ref: FOI 7952
I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your query and any inconvenience this causes. As your requests are similar, we have aggregated them so that they may be considered as a single request, as it is for substantially similar information. This is done for the purposes of estimating whether the appropriate time or cost limit is likely to be exceeded by complying with a request. The current limit is 18 hours of staff time, or £450.
If the request does not exceed the limit, we will provide all records that the Council holds. We will also ensure that the information you have sought is clearly separated, so it is as useful to you as possible.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Your sincerely,
Alex
Complaints & FOI Team
Policy & Information Team
Maidstone Borough Council, King Street, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6JQ
e [email address] w www.maidstone.gov.uk
Dear Complaints & FOI (MBC),
I asked for them to be treated as 2 separate requests for this reason. Again, I am politely requesting that you treat them as 2 separate requests.
Yours sincerely,
David Windham
Dear Mr Windham,
I understand your reasons for wanting to keep the requests separate. This is however being dealt with as a single request, and you will receive a single response with any information we hold, but they can be provided in separate appendices. To separate the requests would require additional administration, and the splitting of requests which are significantly similar could also allow requestors to avoid their requests being considered 'unreasonable' on the grounds of cost or diversion of resources. We have aggregated them so that we can consider this as they are for significantly similar information.
Again I would like to reassure you that unless an exemption applies, you will be provided with the information and it will be clearly split into appendices relating to each of the points of your requests. I hope this clarifies the situation and provides assurance that you will receive the information in a useful format.
Yours sincerely,
Alex
Complaints & FOI Team
Policy & Information Team
Maidstone Borough Council, King Street, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6JQ
e [email address] w www.maidstone.gov.uk
Date: 09/05/2019
Ref: EIR 7952
Dear David Windham
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST
You wrote to us requesting information on email communications between
Maidstone Borough Council planning agents and DHA Planning Ltd, Alan
Firmin Ltd, Countryside Properties PLC, J.A. Carpenter, R.H. Carpenter,
E.W. Wingrove, B.E. Wingrove, and B.J. Reid.
I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and
electronic records, I have established that the information you requested
is not held by this Council. This is because there have been no email
communications between Maidstone Borough Council planning agents and any
of the above companies or individuals relating to the Land North of Marden
garden settlement proposal. The only communications between these groups
have been outlined in our response to EIR 7867 (attached).
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference above in any future communications.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to request a review of our decision, please respond to
this email and I will pass it on to Mid Kent Legal Services to conduct a
review. Please ensure you outline your reasons for requesting a review.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely
FOI Team
Policy and Information
Maidstone Borough Council, Maidstone House King Street, Maidstone, Kent
ME15 6JQ
t []01622 602640 w [1]www.maidstone.gov.uk
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