Linton Hill improvement scheme

The request was refused by Kent County Council.

Dear Kent County Council,

Within a developer's document related to the proposed "Land North of Marden" garden community, it states:
"Kent County Council are proposing to bring forward an improvement scheme to the A229 Linton Road / A229 Linton Hill / B2163 (Linton crossroads). The improvement comprises creation of a third lane on the A229 Linton Hill approach to the junction, which will allow for ‘left-only’, ‘ahead-only’ and ‘ahead and right turn’ lanes. "

Please send me the following information on this improvement scheme:
- A copy of all communications between KCC Highways and "DHA Planning" and/or "DHA Transport" about this scheme, redacting where necessary from January 2019 to now;
- Information on this scheme being "brought forward";
- Any designs, schematics or plans; and
- Data from traffic assessments such as a Transport Assessment.

Note: I am only interested in how this scheme relates to Marden.

I am making this request under the EIR as it involves land development.

Yours faithfully,

David Windham

 

Information request
Our reference: 15276833

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Dear Mr Windham
   
Thank you for your email which we received on 23 July 2020.
 
Kent County Council (KCC) acknowledges your request for information, which
we will consider under the relevant legislation (Freedom of Information
Act 2000 and/or Environmental Information Regulations 2004).
 
Assuming KCC holds this information, we will endeavour to supply the data
to you as soon as possible but no later than 20 August 2020 (20 working
days from date of receipt).
 
We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information.
 

Although lockdown restrictions are starting to ease, Kent County Council
continues to face unprecedented challenges in delivering front line
services and we are continuing to prioritise our resources in dealing with
the pandemic. We take our statutory duties very seriously, however we ask
for your understanding in the event that we are unable to respond to your
request within the statutory timescale. Thank you for your co-operation in
advance.

 
Please quote our reference - 15276833 in any communication regarding this
particular request.
 

Please see our [1]Information Rights Privacy Notice for details of how we
process your personal data.

Yours sincerely

Mollie Redford
Information Access Officer
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

References

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1. https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-counci...

Kent County Council

12 Attachments

Dear ‎Mr Windham‏

 

Thank you for your request for information made under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 relating to Linton Road Development. Please
see the response provided below and the attached information/spreadsheet
in answer to your request. 

 

Within a developer's document related to the proposed "Land North of
Marden" garden community, it states:

"Kent County Council are proposing to bring forward an improvement scheme
to the A229 Linton Road / A229 Linton Hill / B2163 (Linton crossroads).
The improvement comprises creation of a third lane on the A229 Linton Hill
approach to the junction, which will allow for 'left-only', 'ahead-only'
and 'ahead and right turn' lanes. "

Please send me the following information on this improvement scheme:

- A copy of all communications between KCC Highways and "DHA Planning"
and/or "DHA Transport" about this scheme, redacting where necessary from
January 2019 to now;

- Information on this scheme being "brought forward";

- Any designs, schematics or plans; and

- Data from traffic assessments such as a Transport Assessment.

Note: I am only interested in how this scheme relates to Marden.

Kent County Council, as Local Highway Authority, has identified an
improvement scheme for the Linton Crossroads junction. This involves the
widening of three of the arms to create additional traffic flow capacity
and the provision of enhanced pedestrian facilities. Please see attached
the latest design drawings as per your request. 

 

The main purpose of the scheme is to accommodate the additional traffic
associated with various consented developments in the Coxheath area. These
developments are:

o Heathfield - 110 residential units (planning application ref:14/0836)
o Forstal Lane - 210 residential units (17/502072)
o Olders Field - 55 residential units (13/1979)
o Clockhouse Farm - 72 residential units (16/506648)
o Wares Farm - new Berry Gardens premises (16/508659)

The associated Transport Assessments can be viewed via the Maidstone
Borough Council planning portal at
[1]https://www.maidstone.gov.uk/home/primar...

Delivery of the scheme will be subject to the necessary funding and
roadspace being secured.  

 

KCC notes that your interest in the scheme is in the context of the garden
community proposed to the north of Marden. As you may be aware, the garden
community forms one of a number of sites put forward for consideration in
Maidstone Borough Council's review of their Local Plan. To date it has not
been the subject of a planning application.  

At this stage any correspondence with the site promoter and their
consultant forms part of pre-application advice. Such advice is provided
on a confidential basis to protect their commercial interests and cannot
therefore be released to third parties. Therefore, this information is
withheld under the Environmental Information Regulations,
Regulation 12(5)(e).

 

The attached correspondence with DHA is therefore limited to that
associated with the above consented developments in the Coxheath area.

 

Please note that some personal information has been withheld which if
disclosed would amount to a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018
(relating to unlawful processing of personal data) and accordingly falls
outside of the scope of this Authority’s disclosure obligations by virtue
of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, Regulation 12(3) and
Regulation 13 of those Regulations. 

 

If you are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied
with legislation, you have 40 working days from the date of this response
to ask for a review. You can do this by following our complaints process;
details can be found at this link
[2]https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-counci...
on our website. Please quote reference 15276833.

 

If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can appeal to
the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should you wish to
pursue this course of action, are available from the Information
Commissioner’s website [3]http://ico.org.uk/concerns

 

Yours sincerely

 

Kelly Leeson | Information Access Officer | Information Resilience &
Transparency Team | Kent County Council | Room 2.87, Sessions House,
Maidstone, ME14 1XQ | Phone 03000 415985 | [4]Access to Information |
Please see our [5]Information Rights Privacy Notice for details of how we
process your personal data in line with our data protection obligations |

 

References

Visible links
1. https://www.maidstone.gov.uk/home/primar...
2. https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-counci...
3. http://ico.org.uk/concerns
4. https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-counci...
5. https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-counci...

Dear Kent County Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Kent County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Linton Hill improvement scheme'.

Whilst you have provided some of the correspondence - many thanks - there are I believe some parts missing. As per my original EIR request, I requested "all correspondence from between January 2019 to now", i.e. the day at which the request was registered.

I believe that at least some of this correspondence is missing. For example, according to the disclosed documents, there are discussions of a meeting between the two parties with suggested dates, but there is no confirmation by return of when that meeting will take place. The proceeding correspondence then says the meeting took place. There is clearly a gap or omission here. Please re-assess this and provide me with ALL correspondence, redacting where necessary.

Another email refers to "Please find attached a letter relating to Berry Gardens for your attention." and yet this attachment I cannot find anywhere - please send it, or explain why it has been redacted and under which Regulation.

The most recent communications about this that have been disclosed here do not venture much into 2020. Please also check this again to make sure that all correspondence has been provided up to the date of this EIR.

Secondly, I wish to dispute your exception under 12(5)(e) as I don't believe it to be fully engaged. As you may know, ALL four elements are required in order for the exception to be engaged:
1. The information is commercial or industrial in nature; AND
2. Confidentiality is provided by law; AND
3. The confidentiality is protecting a legitimate economic interest; AND
4. The confidentiality would be adversely affected by disclosure.

I wish to highlight point (2) in particular. Please provide evidence that confidentiality is provided by common law, and please confirm if all applicant(s) & parties have prior agreed that all correspondence be treated as confidential and that they were submitted on the understanding that they would be treated in that way.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

David Windham

 

Information request
Our reference: 15276833

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Dear Mr Windham
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 27 August 2020. I am
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
 
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response by 25 September 2020.
 

Although lockdown restrictions are starting to ease, Kent County Council
continues to face unprecedented challenges in delivering front line
services and we are continuing to prioritise our resources in dealing with
the pandemic. We take our statutory duties very seriously; however we ask
for your understanding in the event that we are unable to respond to your
request within the statutory timescale. Thank you for your co-operation in
advance.

 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Kelly Leeson
Information Access Officer - Information Resilience & Transparency Team
Strategic and Corporate Services
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

Kent County Council

1 Attachment

 

Information request
Our reference: 15276833

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[6][FOI #679195 email]

 

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References

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1. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
2. https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-counci...
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6. mailto:[FOI #679195 email]
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Dear Kent County Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Kent County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Linton Hill improvement scheme'.

You have simply sent me an image attachment of your logo, which is not helpful. You have not responded to my original internal review request at all, some months later.

Please provide a response to my internal review request or I will escalate to the ICO.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

David Windham

Kent County Council

2 Attachments

  • Attachment

    RE Internal review of Freedom of Information request 15276833 Linton Hill improvement scheme.html

    13K Download

  • Attachment

    image002.jpg

    4K Download

Dear Mr Windham,

I would like to apologise if there was a system error in how the email displayed - I have attached a copy of it and hope that you will now be able to read the contents.

Kind regards

Hannah Rumball | Information Governance Specialist | Information Resilience & Transparency Team | Kent County Council | Room 2.87, Sessions House, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ | Access to Information | Please see our Information Rights Privacy Notice for details of how we process your personal data in line with our data protection obligations |

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