FI16998
Request
- The final enforcement notice and any officer report, case summary, or internal correspondence recording the reasons for the enforcement decision. Redacted if necessary.
- Any documents relied upon in reaching the decision, including relevant conservation area guidance, planning policy, internal procedures, emails chains or other records explaining why the repainting was considered unacceptable within the conservation area and why planning permission was considered necessary.
- Any approval, delegated authority, sign-off records, or internal emails relating to the decision to issue the enforcement notice, including any records relating to the compliance period or proportionality of the action taken.
Response
1. The Notice can be viewed on the planning enforcement register at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/2a4e3151170b4a7cb7be3a0eba35dfff/page/Page#data_s=id%3AdataSource_4-19a7dc8e9d8-layer-1%3A493.
The officer report, any case summary and all internal correspondence is exempt from disclosure under Regulation 12(5)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations. Regulation 12(5)(b) states that:
"For the purposes of paragraph 1(a), a public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that its disclosure would adversely affect –
(b) the course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a fair trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an inquiry of a criminal or disciplinary nature ..."
In applying this exception, the Council must consider the public interest in disclosure or against that, withholding the information. There is a general recognition that it is in the public interest to safeguard the investigatory processes, and the rights of access should not undermine the investigation and the prosecution of criminal matters.
This exception is subject to the public interest test under Regulation 12(1)(b) of the EIR, and this is set out below:
The public interest in the disclosure of the information
- The Council accepts that there is a general public interest in creating greater transparency surrounding its investigatory processes, and in greater accountability of its decision-making.
- Disclosure of the requested information would provide evidence of its working practices to the public and raise public confidence that its investigations are carried out appropriately.
The public interest in the exception being maintained
- Disclosure would likely impede the gathering of information and evidence in this and future investigations as those under investigation would be less willing to provide information voluntarily if they thought it would be placed within the public domain ahead of any enforcement decisions.
- The Council acknowledges that it can obtain information through its statutory powers however, the Council tries to seek information from those under investigation voluntarily. If the information were to be disclosed it would more than likely adversely affect ongoing and future processing the course of justice as disclosure would provide an indication of the arguments, strengths or weaknesses which the Council has in relation to ongoing enforcement investigations and legal proceedings.
- There are arguments that the Council’s investigations in this matter require certain information to remain confidential in order to be effective during "live" and "future" investigations. There is a strong public interest in the local authority being able to effectively carry out its legal obligations in relation to planning enforcement investigations without damaging the integrity of any investigations harming the course of justice and the ability of a person to receive a fair trial.
Conclusion
After weighing up the competing interests the Council has determined that the disclosure of the above information would not be in the public interest. The Council considers that the benefit that would result from the information being disclosed does not outweigh the considerations favouring non-disclosure.
In accordance with the application of Regulation 12(5)(b) of the EIR we will not be providing any officer report, case summary or internal correspondence.
2. The reasons for issuing the Notice can be found within the Notice. Here is the link for the Article 4 direction No 1. 2000 Middle Street, Deal Conservation Area.pdf and the Local Plan Dover District Local Plan to 2040.
3. Approval was done in line with the Council’s Constitution (No 259 on pages 162-163) which can be found on the Council’s website at https://www.dover.gov.uk/Corporate-Information/PDF/Corporate-Information/Constitution-2026-Issue-28-FINAL-v1.pdf.