Information on North West Area Plan submission RR011 & RR012

Summary

The requester sought all internal and external correspondence regarding Manx National Heritage's planning submissions RR011 and RR012 for land off Bowring Road. The authority provided links to previously published FAQs and documents from a related FOI case but withheld internal discussions and advice under exemptions for the conduct of public business.

Key Facts

• Manx National Heritage directed the requester to published FAQs and a related FOI response (Case ID 3983942) containing board meeting extracts and consultant agreements.
• Internal emails and discussions between senior management, staff, and external consultants were withheld to protect the free and frank exchange of views.
• The authority applied a public interest test, concluding that maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure.
• The withheld information relates to the preparation of planning submissions and briefing notes ahead of a public inquiry.
• The response was issued on 15 August 2024 following a request received on 19 July 2024.

Data Disclosed

• 3996361
• 3983942
• 2024-07-19
• 2024-08-15
• 14 September 2023
• 08 December 2023
• 14 December 2023
• 19 January 2024
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30(2)(b) - Qualified exempt commercial information
• Section 35(b)(i) - Conduct of public business (free and frank provision of advice)
• Section 35(b)(ii) - Conduct of public business (free and frank exchange of views for deliberation)

Original Request

Hello Please provide all documentation and correspondence held in relation to the North West Area Plan submission RR011 and RR012 land off Bowring Road Thanks I am seeking both internal and external communication.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Our ref: 3996361 15 August 2024

Dear xxxx

Re: FOI 3996361 – Information on North West Area Plan submission RR011 & RR012

We write further to your request dated 19 July 2024, which states:

"Please provide all documentation and correspondence held in relation to the North West Area Plan submission RR011 and RR012 land off Bowring Road".

Thank you for the clarification of your request of the same date, which states:

“I am seeking both internal and external communication”.

Our response to your request is as follows:

Recently published information As advised in our previous correspondence dated 29 July, we have recently published some background information and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Manx National Heritage (MNH) website which we hope will answer many of your queries:
https://manxnationalheritage.im/possible-zoning-of-land-at-the-grove-museum-ramsey/

Additionally, we would point you to our recently published answer to FOI Request Case ID No. 3983942 entitled ‘OPEN SPACES TO BE CONSIDERED FOR DEVELOPMENT’ which was submitted on 16/07/2024. You can find this via the FOI portal: https://services.gov.im/freedom-of- information/search. It contains information relating to the submission made by Sarah Corlett Town Planning Consultancy Ltd on behalf of MNH to the Public Inquiry on the draft Area Plan for the North and West and includes the following:

1) An extract from a paper for the Manx Museum and National Trust board meeting held on 14 September 2023 2) An extract from the signed minutes of the Manx Museum and National Trust board meeting held on 14 September 2023

Page 2 of 3 3) An email exchange dated 08 December 2023 between Sarah Corlett and MNH Properties Manager – Land Use and Sustainability, Shaun Murphy in which terms were agreed for Sarah Corlett’s work for MNH. 4) An extract from an overview report to the Manx Museum and National Trust board meeting held on 14 December 2023. 5) The text of an update email from the Head of Properties to Trustees dated 19 January 2024

Exemptions applied to withheld information under the Freedom of Information Act 2015

Some exemptions applied to some of the above information, as we explained in our response to FOI request 3983942 – specifically section 30(2)(b), qualified exempt commercial information; and section 35(b)(ii), conduct of public business.

Additionally, and with specific reference to your own FOI request, the following exemption applies to some of the information we hold, namely:

Section 35 – conduct of public business

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance some of the information contained in the relevant documentation which is held by MNH is exempt from disclosure under section 35(b)(i) and (ii) of the Act as disclosure would inhibit (i) the free and frank provision of advice; and (ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation.

This information is in respect of internal discussions and emails between the MNH senior management team and other staff members as well as our external planning consultant in preparing and drafting the planning submissions, briefing notes and FAQs ahead of publication; and in giving advice in response to specific external enquiries on this matter ahead of the public inquiry.

As section 35 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure

• There will be public interest in the general policy and procedures surrounding planning matters in relation to MNH-owned land and the extent to which MNH is effectively carrying out its duties in this regard.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption • The public interest is fulfilled by the recent publication of a considerable amount of information regarding this matter, both on the MNH website and on the FOI portal. • The risk from disclosure is that free and frank exchanges are discouraged in future in respect of: - advice provided to external interested parties to assist them with specific planning enquiries; - deliberation amongst MNH staff in preparing information for publication; and - discussions with external consultants whom we appoint to provide us with independent advice, which would hinder effective public delivery of MNH’s functions.

Page 3 of 3 In taking these factors into account Manx National Heritage has determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information. This information has therefore been withheld in full and has not been included in the disclosed information.

If you have any questions about the published information or any difficulty accessing it, or any queries about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please quote the reference number 3983942 in any future communications.

Yours sincerely

xxxx xxxx Enc.

For reference: 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 as 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.

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