Area Plan North Private Woodland or Parkland Designation proposals

Summary

The requester sought information on proposed amendments to the Area Plan North regarding Private Woodland or Parkland designations and related legislation. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture responded that it does not hold the requested information for most items, suggesting the Cabinet Office instead, and confirmed no current review of the Tree Preservation Act.

Key Facts

• The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture does not hold information regarding proposed amendments to the Area Plan, Environmental constraints map, or Environmental policy 3.
• The Cabinet Office is identified as the authority responsible for Area Plans and may hold the requested information.
• The Tree Preservation Act 1993 and the tree register are under constant review, but no specific location is currently being reviewed due to these area plans.
• The legislation regarding the Tree Preservation Act is not being reviewed at this time.
• The requester had previously been confirmed in writing by the Chief Forestry Officer to have an interest in the area but received no notification of proposals.

Data Disclosed

• 1902874
• 2021-07-14
• 2021-07-19
• LZ49/07
• 1982
• 1993
• Section 2
• Part 2
• 2015

Original Request

Please can you provide all the information in permanent form regarding any proposed amendments or submissions for the forthcoming Area Plan for the North and West regarding Private Woodland or Parkland designation in particular the registered tree map area plan reference LZ49/07 and not only but also any proposed amendments to the status quo regarding the: i) Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) provisional Order 1982 ii) Tree Preservation Act 1993 iii) Environmental constraints map iv) Environmental policy 3 We are requesting this information because we have not received notification by any other means despite being confirmed in writing by the Chief Forestry Officer to "have an interest in all or part of this area". We have also tried other means to obtain information through the Lezayre Parish Commissioners and they have no knowledge or means of obtaining any of the requested information.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Corporate Services Directorate Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Tel no (01624) 685854 Fax no (01624 685851 Email: defa@gov.im www.gov.im

Our ref: 1902874 19th July 2021

Dear ###,

We write further to your request which was received on 14th July 2021 and which states:

"Please can you provide all the information in permanent form regarding any proposed amendments or submissions for the forthcoming Area Plan for the North and West regarding Private Woodland or Parkland designation in particular the registered tree map area plan reference LZ49/07 and not only but also any proposed amendments to the status quo regarding the: i) Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) provisional Order 1982 ii) Tree Preservation Act 1993 iii) Environmental constraints map iv) Environmental policy 3 We are requesting this information because we have not received notification by any other means despite being confirmed in writing by the Chief Forestry Officer to "have an interest in all or part of this area". We have also tried other means to obtain information through the Lezayre Parish Commissioners and they have no knowledge or means of obtaining any of the requested information."

Response In relation to parts i), iii) and iv) in this instance the Department does not hold the information that you have requested. You may want to log a new information request with the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for the Area Plans and may be able to help you. ii) The tree register, maintained under Section 2 of the Tree Preservation Act, is under constant review. No particular location or area of registered trees is being reviewed at present as a consequence of these area plans, nor is the legislation being reviewed at this time.

Please quote the reference number 1902874 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.