Other Relevant Earlier and Subsequent Freedom of Information Act Emails
Listed in Chronological Order
Jim to ECC Data Protection -
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From: Jim Harle
To: data.protection@exeter.gov.uk
Cc: Summerway Committee
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 12:46 PM
Subject: Request to Access Information
Dear Sir/Madam,
REQUEST TO ACCESS INFORMATION
In a reply to Ben Bradshaw MP dated 11 April 2007, the Director of Community and Environment, Hazel Ball, refers to meetings between ECC Officers and myself, and between ECC Officers and the Summerway Junior LTC where I was one of the Club representatives.
Presumably, the ECC Officers concerned filed reports of their meetings with the Club and myself over the years which would have been available to the Director and formed, no doubt, the basis of the statements or opinions expressed in the reply. As I almost certainly wish to question the veracity of the information supplied to Ben Bradshaw MP, it is only fair that I have a copy of all Officers' reports and other documents relating to meetings where I have been involved. Only meetings from May 1999 onwards are relevant. I do not need Caroline Davey's minutes of the 19th January 2006 meeting as I already have these on file. Only reports and documents relating to the Summerway situation and site are requested.
The Director should be able to supply you with the dates of all meetings, as the reports and documents would all have been recently to hand when compiling the 11th April letter. Any record by ECC personnel of the site meeting on the 7th June 2006 which I attended and made significant verbal contribution would be relevant, if such record exists.
I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act, copies of all reports and documents to which reference has been made above. I would be happy to receive this information by email if that is the most convenient means for you. Should you prefer to send me photocopies, please request my address and I will forward it to you. If you need this request to access information in letter form, please let me know and I will happily oblige.
Yours sincerely,
Jim Harle.
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From: Jim Harle
Sent: 26 November 2007 17:51
To: Betts, Lorraine
Cc: Summerway Committee
Subject: Request to Access Information
Dear Sir/Madam,
REQUEST TO ACCESS INFORMATION
I apologise for being obliged to invoke the Freedom of Information Act, but the unjust decision by ECC officers to refuse to deal with me makes this a necessity when I need Council information.
Last Wednesday, Channel Five broadcast my video about Summerway Tennis in the 'Your News' slot in the Five News programme. Channel Five obtained a fairly lengthy statement from the City Council in order to give the right to reply. Please provide me with a copy of the statement as submitted to Channel Five, together with the name(s) of the statement's author(s).
I don't wish to put you to unnecessary trouble, and would be quite happy to receive the information by simple email.
Yours sincerely,
Jim Harle.
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From: Betts, Lorraine
To: Jim Harle
Cc: Summerway Committee ; Bainbridge, Carrie-
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:12 AM
Subject: RE: Request to Access Information
Dear Mr Harle
Thank you for your request for information. We will respond to your request as soon
as possible, but if you have any queries in relation to the progress of your request
please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Carrie-
regards
Lorraine Betts
Policy Officer
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From: Caig, Alan
To: Jim Harle
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:45 AM
Subject: Freedom of Information request
Dear Jim
I wrote the statement, which I think appears in full on the Channel 5 News website. Here it is:
"Exeter City Council became the landlord of Summerway Junior Tennis Club on the transfer of what had been a school field from Devon County Council earlier this year. This coincided with the end of a lease under which Summerway occupied their clubhouse and two tennis courts. The club paid no rent or external maintenance under the lease, as originally the courts were also used by a junior school on the site, which has now closed.
The City Council wanted to negotiate a new lease with the club broadly similar to those with numerous other sports and cultural organisations all over the city who occupy City Council premises. This would have meant the club being liable for rent and for maintenance of the clubhouse, but the Council would in return have grant aided the rent to 100% as it does elsewhere. The City Council also wanted some public use of the courts.
The club refused to discuss these terms, constantly restating their position that nothing other than the original terms was satisfactory to them. The City Council was still trying to meet the club to discuss the issues when the club decided to leave the clubhouse. After several more attempts to talk to the club, during which time the clubhouse, not particularly robust in the first place, was continually subject to vandalism, the Council, following several warnings to the club, had it demolished for safety's sake.
The City Council much regrets the decision of the club to vacate the courts and the clubhouse, and believes that it would not have found it difficult to continue to thrive under the terms of the proposed new lease. However to be fair to all other sports club tenants, the City Council felt that the terms offered to Summerway should be broadly similar to theirs.
The old school field is now set to become a new park, and the tennis courts have been kept open, and will continue to be, for full time public use. The City Council does not charge for the use of its courts."
Alan Caig
Alan Caig
Head of Leisure and Museums
Exeter City Council
tel: 01392 265372
alan.caig@exeter.gov.uk
Jim to ECC Lorraine Betts -
ECC Lorraine Betts to Jim -
ECC Alan Caig to Jim -
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From: Summerway Committee
Sent: 27 November 2007 20:51
To: Betts, Lorraine
Cc: Summerway Committee
Subject: Re: Request to Access Information
Dear Lorraine,
Thank your for your prompt response to my request, which is much appreciated. Alan has contacted me, and provided me with the information I was seeking, for which I am grateful. We are involved with extremely serious matters, and I am very sorry to note the unilateral and unhelpful nature of a number of the Council's actions towards the Summerway Club and myself. ECC's perverse refusal to deal with us, which is not of our choice, makes it necessary to invoke the Freedom of Information Act again. I apologise for whatever extra work this entails, but can see no alternative.
Alan's statement to Channel Five News, which I now know to be posted in the public domain on their website, is demonstrably inaccurate or misleading in places in my opinion. Please supply me with all documentary evidence of the following three assertions in the Council's statement:
(1) "The club refused to discuss these terms",
(2) "constantly restating their position that nothing other than the original terms was satisfactory to them",
(3) "following several warnings to the club".
We can deal with other issues in this statement later, for which I hope it will not be necessary to invoke the FoI Act.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
Jim.
Committee to ECC Lorraine Betts -
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From: Betts, Lorraine
To: Summerway Committee
Cc: Bainbridge, Carrie-
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 9:36 AM
Subject: RE: Request to Access Information
Dear Mr Harle
Thank you for your email received on 28th November 2007.
Having consulted with the appropriate staff within our Leisure and Museums' Service, it seems that you have already been provided with all of the information the Service holds in relation to the Summerway Club (letter from Alan Caig dated 12 June 07). This information, along with the club's own papers, make up the whole picture from which Alan Caig's comments were derived. Therefore, I am unable to provide you with any further information in relation to this subject.
This is in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, which states that where a public authority has previously complied with a request for information which was made by any person, it is not obliged to comply with a subsequent identical or substantially similar request from that person unless a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the previous request and the making of the current request.
I hope this now responds to your query, but if you have any complaints about the way your request has been handled please write to the Complaints Monitoring Officer of the City Council or complete the online complaint form that can be found at www.exeter.gov.uk/complaints. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
regards
Lorraine Betts
Policy Officer
ECC Lorraine Betts to Committee -
Jim to ECC Data Protection -
ECC Lorraine Betts to Jim -
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From: Betts, Lorraine
To: Jim Harle
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 8:21 PM
Subject: Out of Office AutoReply: Freedom of Information Request
I am on maternity leave until January 2009. Your email has been forwarded and will be dealt with by a member of the Policy Unit.
Thank you.
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From: Jim Harle
To: data.protection@exeter.gov.uk
Cc: Summerway Committee
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 7:05 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Request