Rookwood Golf Course – Assessment and information for inclusion in the 2020 Local Plan

The request was successful.

Dear Horsham District Council,

Horsham District Council propose to build on Rookwood Golf Club and the site is being considered by the Planning Authority whether to include this as a strategic site in the Local Plan.
Please provide all the evidence, data, information and correspondence submitted to Horsham District Council by the developer (HDC) and being considered by Strategic Planning that the Planning Authority is using to assess the viability and justification of Rookwood for the inclusion, or otherwise in the 2020 Local Plan.
Please provide all evidence, reports and correspondence on previous decisions not to include this site in previous Local Plans.

Yours faithfully,

Philip Ayerst

Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 / Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) 2004 / Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018

Thank you for your information request which is being dealt with under the
terms of the relevant legislation.

FOI and EIR requests will be answered within twenty working days. EIR
requests may require an extension of time to 40 working days where the
complexity and volume of the information requested means that it is
impracticable either to comply with the request within the earlier period
or to make a decision to refuse to do so.

GDPR and Data Protection Act - Subject Access Requests will be answered
within 1 month, unless the request is a complex one requiring the Council
to extend the deadline for up to 3 months. Other requests under the DPA
will be answered within 10 working days.

If you have any queries about this request please contact us via
[Horsham District Council request email] quoting the reference number in the subject line of
this email.

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Team

FOI, Horsham District Council

Dear Mr Ayerst

 

Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) 2004-  Request

 

Further to our acknowledgement, I confirm that we are dealing with your
request in accordance with our ‘duty to make available environmental
information on request’ under part 2 (5) Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (EIRs), which entitles you to be provided with a copy of
any information ‘held’ by a public authority. The requested information
relates to neighbourhood plans, including site surveys and therefore it is
environmental within the meaning of Regulation 2(1) of the EIRs.

 

Under Regulation 7 of the EIRs,  the public authority may extend the
period of 20 working days in which to respond to 40 working days if it
reasonably believes that the complexity and/or volume of the information
requested means that it is impracticable either to comply with the request
within 20 working days or to make a decision to refuse to do so.

 

Please note that, due to the nature of your request, we require additional
time under Regulation 7 in order to provide you with a substantive
response. We will provide this as soon as possible and within the next 20
working days.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Diane Lambert [3]Horsham
Information Governance Officer District
Council
[1]http://satellite.horsham.gov.uk/images/e... logo
 

 
Horsham District Council, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12
1RL
Telephone: 01403 215100 (calls may be recorded)   [4]www.horsham.gov.uk  
Chief Executive: Glen Chipp

From: Philip Ayerst <[FOI #667827 email]>
Sent: 30 May 2020 12:18
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Rookwood Golf Course –
Assessment and information for inclusion in the 2020 Local Plan

 

Dear Horsham District Council,

Horsham District Council propose to build on Rookwood Golf Club and the
site is being considered by the Planning Authority whether to include this
as a strategic site in the Local Plan.
Please provide all the evidence, data, information and correspondence
submitted to Horsham District Council by the developer (HDC) and being
considered by Strategic Planning that the Planning Authority is using to
assess the viability and justification of Rookwood for the inclusion, or
otherwise in the 2020 Local Plan.
Please provide all evidence, reports and correspondence on previous
decisions not to include this site in previous Local Plans.

Yours faithfully,

Philip Ayerst

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #667827 email]

Is [Horsham District Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Horsham District Council? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[5]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[6]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

FOI, Horsham District Council

9 Attachments

Dear Mr Ayerst,

 

Environmental Information Regulations 2004

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 30 May 2020 concerning
Rookwood Golf Course – Assessment and information for inclusion in the
2020 Local Plan.

 

This request has been handled under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 because it relates to land development and  therefore it
is environmental within the meaning of Regulation 2(1) of the EIRs.

 

In your email of 30 May  you asked for the following information to which
we have added our responses below:

 

·        Please provide all the evidence, data, information and
correspondence submitted to Horsham District Council by the developer
(HDC) and being considered by Strategic Planning that the Planning
Authority is using to assess the viability and justification of Rookwood
for the inclusion, or otherwise in the 2020 Local Plan.

 

We confirm that we hold information within the scope of your request.
However, we consider that the exceptions at Regulation (12) (4) (d) and
Regulation 12(4) (e) apply. These exceptions allow information to be
withheld if it relates to material which is still in the course of
completion and/or unfinished documents or to incomplete data and to
internal communications respectively.

 

Exceptions under Regulation 12 of the EIRs are subject to the public
interest test. In applying these exceptions we have had to balance the
public interest in withholding the information against the public interest
in disclosure, applying the presumption in favour of disclosure in EIR
Regulation 12(2).

 

Public interest arguments in favour of disclosing the information

We recognise that the decisions Council staff make have a significant
impact on the lives of citizens and there is a public interest in this
process being transparent. We also recognise that greater transparency
makes local government more accountable and increases trust. There is a
public interest in providing the public with the information it needs to
satisfy itself that the process by which local government makes decisions
is of a high quality. This particularly applies to the potential
development of a site.  Disclosure of the requested information could
assist public understanding of how development planning decisions are made
which enables them to understand more clearly what proposals and
considerations are in relation to the land at Rookwood.

 

Public Interest arguments in favour of withholding the information-
Regulation (12) (4) (d)- material still in the course of completion

We are still considering options regarding the site and the documents and
considerations  are still in early stage draft form. It is important that
Council staff retain the ability to engage, gather in views, debate issues
and consider emerging evidence relating to proposed land development
freely and in confidence, before reaching a final decision and reflecting
that in a final set of published documents. The information contained
within existing documents is work in progress and reflects initial
thinking at an early stage which is still in the course of completion.

 

Public Interest arguments in favour of withholding the information-
Regulation (12) (4) (e)- internal communications

The points above regarding Council staff retaining the ability to put
forward views and debate issues relating to land development proposals
freely and in confidence refer. In addition, if Council staff knew or
thought that their communications and views in arriving at that point were
to be disclosed, they might be less candid in expressing their views at
the time. This would detract from the full and frank exchange of views
that is necessary during decision making and would jeopardise the ability
of staff to take decisions based on full advice and consideration of all
the options.

 

Taking the above into account, we consider that the balance of the public
interest lies in applying the Regulation (12) (4) (d) and Regulation 12(4)
(e) exceptions and withholding the information.

 

 

·        Please provide all evidence, reports and correspondence on
previous decisions not to include this site in previous Local Plans.

Please see the attached documents which we made public as part of the
preparation of earlier local plans.

 

However, we emphasise that these documents and the evidence data they
contain are out of date. They therefore have no current weight in planning
terms. Additionally, there is now a completely new planning system- the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)- which requires us to look at
different issues.  We have now placed an FAQ on our website to this
effect:
[1]https://www.horsham.gov.uk/planning/loca...

 

If you wish to re-use the information supplied for any purpose other than
personal or non-commercial use you will need to make a written application
to the relevant department of the Council or author of the material
concerned.

 

Any information which you receive which is not subject to Horsham District
Council copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the
person, or organisation, from which the information originated. You must
ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any third party
(non HDC) information.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been
handled you should write to the Reviewing Officer, Legal & Democratic
Services, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1RL or by email
to [2][Horsham District Council request email]

 

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response.  Any such request
received after this time will be considered at the discretion of the Head
of Legal Services team.

 

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have the right to
appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.  Further details of this process are available on the
ICO website at [3]www.ICO.org.uk. There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Diane Lambert [6]Horsham
Information Governance Officer District
Council
[4]http://satellite.horsham.gov.uk/images/e... logo
 

 
Horsham District Council, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12
1RL
Telephone: 01403 215100 (calls may be recorded)   [7]www.horsham.gov.uk  
Chief Executive: Glen Chipp

From: Philip Ayerst <[FOI #667827 email]>
Sent: 30 May 2020 12:18
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Rookwood Golf Course –
Assessment and information for inclusion in the 2020 Local Plan

 

Dear Horsham District Council,

Horsham District Council propose to build on Rookwood Golf Club and the
site is being considered by the Planning Authority whether to include this
as a strategic site in the Local Plan.
Please provide all the evidence, data, information and correspondence
submitted to Horsham District Council by the developer (HDC) and being
considered by Strategic Planning that the Planning Authority is using to
assess the viability and justification of Rookwood for the inclusion, or
otherwise in the 2020 Local Plan.
Please provide all evidence, reports and correspondence on previous
decisions not to include this site in previous Local Plans.

Yours faithfully,

Philip Ayerst

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #667827 email]

Is [Horsham District Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Horsham District Council? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[10]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections