Please provide copies of any correspondence between Cllr John Hart, Cllr Andrea Davis or Cllr Stuart Hughes and the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport or any other officers involved with the Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets trial, in relation to:
1. Discussions about the evidence in the Active Streets Trial Scheme and/or the continuation or suspension of the scheme
2. Preparation of the Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets Trial Scheme Update report to the Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee on 23 January 2024
3. The decision to recommend that power to suspend the scheme be delegated to the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport
Please refer to this collated correspondence document for all information the Council holds.
Personal information has been redacted because it is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Personal Data).
The Council cannot disclose personal information if releasing it would contravene any of the provisions in the UK General Data Protection Regulation. In this instance release of this information would contravene the first data protection principle and therefore the information is withheld
Consultation response data has been redacted because it is exempt from disclosure under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act (Information Intended for Future Publication).
This data is intended for future publication after the consultation ends in May, and will be available on the Council’s website.
The Council has considered the public interest in releasing this information and recognises there is a public interest in openness and transparency. However, the publication date is imminent and there is a strong public interest in not biasing the outcomes of the consultation. If these figures were to be released whilst the consultation period was still open, it could prejudice the entire project. It is not in the public interest to jeopardise the consultation, and lose the opportunity for a fair and just trial. It is not in the interests of the public for the Council to spend taxpayers money on a consultation, and then allow data to be released that will create flaws within the results, and affect the democracy of the process.
Therefore the balance of public interest weighs in favour of withholding this information from disclosure.
Traffic count data has been redacted because it is exemption from disclosure under Regulation 12(4)(d) of the Environmental Information Regulations (Materials in the Course of Completion, Unfinished Documents and Incomplete Data).
The figures the Council is collecting are part of a process to collect and compare data over a specified timeframe. This process is ongoing, and has not yet reached its end date. The data is not currently being relied on within the Council’s decision making process, due to it’s incompletion.
The Council has considered the public interest in releasing this information and recognises there is a public interest in openness and transparency. However, there is a stronger public interest in not distracting public debate away from the substantive environmental issues. Releasing incomplete data will lead to misinterpretation which could lead to public opinions formed based on incorrect information. The information itself sheds little light on the issues of the consultation, due to the fact that they are incomplete and cannot at present be relied on. Additionally there is a strong public interest in not biasing the outcomes of the consultation. If these figures were to be released prematurely, it could prejudice the entire project. It is not in the public interest to jeopardise the consultation, and lose the opportunity for a fair and just trial. It is not in the interests of the public for the Council to spend taxpayers money on a consultation, and then allow data to be released that will create flaws within the results, and affect the democracy of the process.
Therefore the balance of public interest weighs in favour of withholding this information from disclosure.