FI17085

Request

This request relates to planning application DOV/18/00681 (Alliss Gardens, Dover Road, Sandwich) and specifically the replacement parking provision intended to compensate for the loss of on-street parking on Dover Road. 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 

1. Drafting and Finalisation of Planning Conditions 

Please provide any records, drafts, tracked changes, notes, memoranda, reports, emails or correspondence relating to the drafting, amendment, review, approval or finalisation of planning conditions attached to planning permission DOV/18/00681. This should include documents showing how the final wording of the conditions evolved between: 

  • Officer recommendation
  • Planning Committee Report
  • Committee resolution
  • Issued Decision Notice 

2. Omission of the “Unrestricted Access” Wording 

Please provide any records identifying: 

  • Why the wording relating to unrestricted access to the 7 replacement parking spaces in the site access road lay-by was not included within the final Decision Notice
  • Whether any decision was taken to remove, amend, reject or omit that wording
  • Who made, authorised, approved or recommended that decision
  • Any justification, reasoning, discussion, assessment, legal advice or consultation relating to that omission 

If no such records exist, please confirm whether the Council holds any record explaining why the wording was not carried forward into the final permission. 

3. Internal Officer Correspondence 

Please provide all internal correspondence, including emails, memoranda, file notes, meeting notes, reports, comments and discussions between Council officers relating to: 

  • Replacement parking spaces
  • Visitor parking spaces
  • Compensatory parking
  • Unrestricted access
  • Dover Road parking restrictions
  • Visibility splays
  • Kent County Council Highways consultation responses
  • Parking mitigation
  • Final wording of planning conditions in connection with DOV/18/00681. 

4. Correspondence with Kent County Council Highways 

Please provide all correspondence between Dover District Council and Kent County Council Highways relating to: 

  • Replacement parking provision
  • Unrestricted access to parking spaces
  • Compensatory parking
  • Visitor parking spaces
  • Dover Road parking restrictions
  • Visibility splays
  • Highways mitigation
  • Planning conditions
  • DOV/18/00681 generally 

5. Committee and Delegated Authority Records 

Please provide copies of: 

  • Conditions presented to Planning Committee
  • Conditions recommended by officers
  • Any amendments proposed following Committee consideration
  • Any delegated authority exercised to amend, settle, revise or finalise conditions
  • Any delegated officer report, delegated decision sheet, delegated authority record or officer recommendation used to finalise the planning conditions following the Committee resolution
  • Any records explaining differences between the Committee Report and the issued Decision Notice
  • Any records identifying who had authority to approve the final wording of conditions 

6. Records Relating to Paragraph 2.47 of the Committee Report 

The Committee Report states: “It should be noted that 7 of the visitor spaces, which would be provided along the main access road, are intended to compensate for the on-street parking which would be lost due to the provision of parking restrictions on Dover Road.” Please provide any records, reports, emails, assessments, meeting notes, calculations or correspondence relating to: 

  • The identification of the seven spaces referred to in paragraph 2.47
  • The purpose of those spaces
  • The intended users of those spaces
  • Any assessment of displaced parking demand
  • Any assessment of replacement parking requirements
  • Any discussions regarding how that compensatory function would be secured 

7. Legal Advice and Legal Correspondence 

If held and not exempt from disclosure, please provide copies of: 

  • Legal advice
  • Legal briefing notes
  • Legal correspondence
  • Counsel’s opinions
  • Legal assessments relating to:
    • Replacement parking provision
    • Compensatory parking
    • Unrestricted access wording
    • Planning conditions
    • Section 96A
    • Planning mitigation
    • DOV/18/00681 generally 

Where legal professional privilege is relied upon, please identify the document, its date and the exemption or exception relied upon. 

8. Complaint Investigation Records 

Please provide copies of any records created, reviewed or relied upon during the Council’s investigation of Complaint Reference C2025-828, including: 

  • Officer notes
  • Internal correspondence
  • Briefing notes
  • Management reviews
  • Legal input
  • Records relied upon when preparing the Stage 1 response
  • Records relied upon when preparing the Stage 2 response 

9. Searches and Information Held 

If any information requested is not held, please confirm: 

  • Whether it ever existed
  • Whether it has been deleted or destroyed
  • If known, when and under what retention policy 

10. Relationship Between DOV/17/00280 and DOV/18/00681 

Please provide any records, correspondence, assessments, meeting notes, officer notes, consultation responses, reports or briefing documents discussing the relationship between planning applications DOV/17/00280 and DOV/18/00681 in relation to: 

  • Highway access arrangements
  • Visibility splays
  • Parking restrictions on Dover Road
  • Loss of on-street parking
  • Visitor parking provision
  • Replacement parking provision
  • Compensatory parking provision
  • Parking mitigation
  • Kent County Council Highways requirements 

This request includes any records explaining: 

  • Changes to visitor parking provision between the two applications
  • The reduction in visitor parking provision between the two schemes
  • The purpose of the visitor parking spaces provided under DOV/18/00681
  • Any assessment of whether visitor parking spaces were intended to compensate for displaced on-street parking
  • Any discussion regarding how replacement parking would be secured through planning conditions 

11. Previous Application and Planning History 

Please provide any records discussing: 

  • The parking impacts of the proposed access arrangements
  • Mitigation for displaced parking
  • The purpose of visitor parking provision
  • Discussions between Dover District Council and Kent County Council Highways regarding parking replacement or compensation
  • Any evolution of parking mitigation measures between the refused and approved schemes 

12. Land Allocation and Site Assessment Documents 

Please provide copies of: 

  • APP2 referred to in Appeal Decision APP/X2220/W/18/3200841 (“Representation on behalf of various clients to the Dover District Land Allocations Local Plan” dated 19 February 2013)
  • APP3 referred to in Appeal Decision APP/X2220/W/18/3200841 (“Extract of Addendum to the Dover District Land Allocations Pre-submission Local Plan” dated May 2013)
  • Any site assessment, allocation assessment, highways assessment, transport assessment or consultation documents relating to land at the former Kumor Nursery / 121 Dover Road, Sandwich
  • Any records discussing the suitability of access arrangements from Dover Road
  • Any records discussing visibility constraints, highway safety concerns, parking impacts or access limitations affecting development of the site 

13. Archived Records and Related Files 

For the avoidance of doubt, where information is held within: 

  • Archived planning files
  • Officer notebooks
  • Officer working papers
  • Email archives
  • Predecessor application files
  • Enforcement files
  • Complaint files
  • Legal files relating to the site or planning history of the site, 

I request that those records are included within the scope of this request where relevant to the matters identified above.

Response

The information you have requested is attached.  Please note that all personal data has been redacted from the attached documents under Regulation 13(1) of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) as this is exempt from disclosure.  The Council considers names and contact details to be personal data.  Personal data as defined by Article 4(1) of GDPR and also Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the release of this data would contravene the data protection principles.  I am aware that some of the personal data that has been redacted from the attached document is data about yourself but requests under the EIR, like those under the Freedom of Information Act, mean that the Council has to treat any information we release under the Regulations as if it were being released to the world at large.  

Attachments

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

Attachment 3