1,000 signatures reached
To: Sunderland City Council
Freedom of Information Request Illegally Refused by Sunderland Council
On the 23rd July 2014 Rhiannon Hood; Assistant Head of Law and Governance replied to a freedom of information request regarding the sale of land on Marine Walk. (Sunderland City Council (SCC) ref: 14-05-62.)
SCC hold a file which has the information requested regarding the sale of the land but for over a year have repeatedly refused to release it for the public to view. SCC have stated if released for the public to view the contents may be misinterpreted and misrepresented.
SCC have by their own admission spent thousands of pounds of rate payers money and many man hours refusing a simple request to view the details of a land sale.
We request Sunderland City Council release the information held on the sale of land on Marine Walk Roker Sunderland
SCC hold a file which has the information requested regarding the sale of the land but for over a year have repeatedly refused to release it for the public to view. SCC have stated if released for the public to view the contents may be misinterpreted and misrepresented.
SCC have by their own admission spent thousands of pounds of rate payers money and many man hours refusing a simple request to view the details of a land sale.
We request Sunderland City Council release the information held on the sale of land on Marine Walk Roker Sunderland
Why is this important?
Sunderland Councils Assistant Head of Law and Governance does not have the authority to decide where the public interest lies.
The reply informed the requester the following: (I HAVE CONSIDERED WHERE THE PUBLIC INTEREST LIES) in respect of making the report public in response to your request. I do note that, as you indicate within the body of the request, the conclusion of the report is already in the public domain. While it is apparent that some members of the public, including yourself, consider they would benefit from seeing the report in full, and I take it you would prefer to see proof of the valuation, it is apparent that individuals remain intent on campaigning against this development. In this context, where information has previously been provided by the council in all good faith this has routinely been misinterpreted and misrepresented by individuals, in ways that are in fact misleading to the public and which generate a further administrative burden to the council in addressing and correcting these misconceptions. While I appreciate that you may not be among those individuals who have misused information in this way, it must be remembered that release of information under FOI has the effect of making it available to everyone.)
The full reply can be viewed by following this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/237101463/SCC-Ref-14-05-62
This person has decided that she can decide where the public interest lies in respect of making the report public. The ratepayers of Sunderland have a right to see the file the council holds on the sale of the land at Marine Walk. They have a right to decide if procedures were followed. How could the information within the file be misused / misinterpreted or misrepresented if all is aboveboard?
SCC has by their own admission spent thousands of pounds of ratepayer’s money and many man-hours refusing a simple request to view the details of a land sale???
I request Sunderland City Council release the information held on the sale of land on Marine Walk Roker Sunderland.
The reply informed the requester the following: (I HAVE CONSIDERED WHERE THE PUBLIC INTEREST LIES) in respect of making the report public in response to your request. I do note that, as you indicate within the body of the request, the conclusion of the report is already in the public domain. While it is apparent that some members of the public, including yourself, consider they would benefit from seeing the report in full, and I take it you would prefer to see proof of the valuation, it is apparent that individuals remain intent on campaigning against this development. In this context, where information has previously been provided by the council in all good faith this has routinely been misinterpreted and misrepresented by individuals, in ways that are in fact misleading to the public and which generate a further administrative burden to the council in addressing and correcting these misconceptions. While I appreciate that you may not be among those individuals who have misused information in this way, it must be remembered that release of information under FOI has the effect of making it available to everyone.)
The full reply can be viewed by following this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/237101463/SCC-Ref-14-05-62
This person has decided that she can decide where the public interest lies in respect of making the report public. The ratepayers of Sunderland have a right to see the file the council holds on the sale of the land at Marine Walk. They have a right to decide if procedures were followed. How could the information within the file be misused / misinterpreted or misrepresented if all is aboveboard?
SCC has by their own admission spent thousands of pounds of ratepayer’s money and many man-hours refusing a simple request to view the details of a land sale???
I request Sunderland City Council release the information held on the sale of land on Marine Walk Roker Sunderland.
How it will be delivered
Watch Sunderland Council Leader Paul Watson make a pledge to release the information requested at the state of the city event in 2014. He clearly states he will provide the information yet has still not done so. Why ???
Could it be the land sold was only the land within the old retaining wall but somehow now the title deed shows Fitz Architects own a lot more land???
Click the link below to watch the video.
