Cair vie windfarm proposal - Costs to date

Summary

A request for a detailed cost breakdown of the Cair Vie windfarm proposal was partially fulfilled by Manx Utilities Authority, which disclosed specific consultancy and supplier costs but withheld project management and travel expenses due to lack of specific data or public availability.

Key Facts

• Manx Utilities Authority spent a total of £3,138,932.97 on consultancy fees for the project.
• Project management and coordination costs are not broken down specifically for the windfarm as they are included in the Transition Programme overall costs.
• No payments have been made to windfarm developers to date.
• Payments to suppliers in respect of the project total £16,348.22.
• Travel expenses booked to a generic code cannot be broken down by project.

Data Disclosed

• £3,138,932.97
• £16,348.22
• 2025-04-02
• 2025-04-30
• 4558253
• 19 November 2024
• Page 61

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Act (Information reasonably accessible to the applicant)

Original Request

Please provide a breakdown of all costs incurred to date in relation to the project, including but not limited to: * Consultancy fees (including environmental, legal, planning, technical, financial, and PR consultants), * Project management and coordination costs, * Any payments to external contractors or advisors, * Travel, stakeholder engagement, and community consultation expenses, * Any payments made to any third-party developer or supplier in relation to the project.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Manx Utilities PO Box 177, Douglas Isle of Man, IM99 1PS

e: enquiries@manxutilities.im t: 01624 687687 www.manxutilities.im

Our ref: 4558253 30 April 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 2 April 2025, which states:

"Please provide a breakdown of all costs incurred to date in relation to the project, including but not limited to:

• Consultancy fees (including environmental, legal, planning, technical, financial, and PR consultants),
• Project management and coordination costs,
• Any payments to external contractors or advisors,
• Travel, stakeholder engagement, and community consultation expenses,

• Any payments made to any third-party developer or supplier in relation to the project." While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Manx Utilities does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested. I have detailed below our response:

• Consultancy fees (including environmental, legal, planning, technical, financial, and PR consultants),

To date, MU has spent a total of £3,138,932.97 on consultancy fees.

• Project management and coordination costs,

These costs are included in the Transition Programme overall costs and are not broken down specifically to the windfarm project only.

• Any payments to external contractors or advisors,

Some of the consultants used by MU could also be classed as ‘external contractors or advisors’ however, we have engaged them for their consultancy expertise, so any costs are included in ‘consultancy fees’ above.

• Travel, stakeholder engagement, and community consultation expenses,

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonable accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee.

The information that you have requested is available online on the Tynwald.org website:

Tynwald.org, Business, Hansard by session, search November 2024 and select 19 November 2024 Tynwald Hansard (Page 61):

https://tynwald.org.im/spfile?file=/business/hansard/20202040/t241119.pdf

Please note that these expenses are included in the ‘Consultancy fees’ total cost above but exclude any travel expenses which are booked to a generic code and cannot be broken down by project.

• Any payments made to any third-party developer or supplier in relation to the project."

To date, no payments have been made to windfarm developers. Payments to suppliers in respect of this project have been £16,348.22.

Please quote the reference number 4558253 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.