Cumbria County Council Information Governance Team Cumbria House 117 Botchergate Carlisle CA1 1RD T: 01228 221234 E: [email protected] E-mail: 17th August 2017 Our reference: FOI 2017-0573 Dear FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - DISCLOSURE The council has completed its search relating to your request for information regarding planning application 7/2017/2068, which was received on 25th July 2017 The council does hold information within the definition of your request. Request Please could you provide all email correspondence involving staff members of Cumbria County Council, relating to planning application 7/2017/2068 in the Lake District, for which the Lake District National Park Authority is the planning authority and Cumbria County Council is a consultee. Email correspondence includes internal emails and external emails with staff or councillors from other relevant authorities - including the Lake District National Park Authority, Allerdale Borough Council, Above Derwent Parish Council and Borrowdale Parish Council – and any other relevant organisations or individuals. Please could you send this in an electronic format via email if possible Response Please see attached document. A small amount of information has been redacted as it constitutes third party data Most of the information that we provide in response to requests submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 will be subject to copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Cumbria County Council. However the copyright in other information may be owned by another person or organisation, as indicated on the information itself. You are free to use any information supplied in this response for your own non-commercial research or private study purposes. The information may also be used for any other purpose allowed by a limitation or exception in copyright law, such as news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example by publishing the information in analogue or digital form, including on the internet, will require the permission of the copyright owner. Where the copyright owner is the council you will need to make an application under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation you must apply to the owner to obtain their permission. If you are dissatisfied with the way the council has responded to your request you can request an Internal Review. If you would like to request a Review please contact the Information Governance Team using the details at the top of this letter. Further information can be found on the council’s website: http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/council- democracy/accesstoinformation/internalreviewscomplaints.asp Serving the people of Cumbria cumbria.gov.uk Cumbria County Council Yours sincerely, Information Governance Team Resources and Transformation Cumbria County Council Serving the people of Cumbria cumbria.gov.uk From: Sent: 12 April 2017 15:30 To: Barnard, Pieter GF Subject: RE: 7/2017/2068 Hi Pieter, As I understand it the ADPC are due to discuss the application at their forthcoming meeting on 19th April. Whilst the Borrowdale PC have supported the application, I do not believe it falls under their remit and as highlighted ADPC are the relevant Parish Council relating to this application. From: Barnard, Pieter GF [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2017 3:18 PM To: Subject: RE: 7/2017/2068 Hello I just noted the comments on your website form Borrowdale PC. I am not aware of the Above Derwent Parish Council response. Regards Pieter Barnard Lead Officer - Development Management Environment and Community Services | Cumbria County Council | Parkhouse Building | Carlisle | CA6 4SJ Tel - 07768 272394 www.cumbria.gov.uk From: Sent: 12 April 2017 13:56 To: Barnard, Pieter GF Subject: 7/2017/2068 Dear Pieter, I have recently read your response to the above application for car parking in the National Park. I note that you have taken the decision not to object to this application and, amongst other things, cite the view of the Parish Council as part of your reasoning. On the online planning portal there is a response from Borrowdale Parish Council supporting the application. Is this the Parish Council view you refer to in your consultation response? The reason I am asking this question is that I believe the application site falls within the Above Derwent Parish Council area and I am advised that they were due 1 to discuss the application on 19th April before submitting their response. I have not seen any formal response from ADPC relating to the application. Therefore, if possible, could you please clarify whether you were referring to the Borrowdale Parish Council response or do your comments relate to pre-application discussion with Above Derwent Parish Council? Thank you in advance. Regards, 2 From: Sent: 12 April 2017 18:45 To: Coyle, Doug Subject: RE: Re planning application 7/2017/2068 Cupboard Field, Newlands How strange. He sent an email to another person working on this campaign at 3.18 pm today. From: Coyle, Doug [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2017 6:38 PM To: Innes, Graeme Subject: RE: Re planning application 7/2017/2068 Cupboard Field, Newlands Pieter will be back in next week from leave and will reply to you then. Thanks Doug From: Sent: 12 April 2017 18:00 To: Coyle, Doug; Innes, Graeme Subject: FW: Re planning application 7/2017/2068 Cupboard Field, Newlands Importance: High Mr Coyle, Mr Innes. I have received an out-of-office reply from Mr Barnard which asks that any urgent messages be sent to you. Please therefore see below: From: Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2017 5:51 PM To: '[email protected]' Cc: '[email protected]'; '[email protected]'; [email protected] Subject: Re planning application 7/2017/2068 Cupboard Field, Newlands Importance: High Dear Mr Barnard I have read your recommendation concerning the highly controversial application for a permanent, hard-surfaced car park on agricultural land at the foot of Catbells in the Lake District National Park. Your recommendation and the apparent support of Borrowdale Parish Council are the only opinions that are visible on the LDNPA Planning web site. As a Newlands Valley resident, I have a number of serious issues with that: The application is for a site within Above Derwent Parish and it is therefore a matter for that Parish Council to consult its parishioners about and to feed back those views to the planning authority. Borrowdale is not the relevant authority. Above Derwent Parish Council( ADPC) has not held a public meeting to consider the application. Such a meeting is scheduled for 19th April. However, the agenda for that meeting includes under item 4. Consideration to remove the public and press from the meeting and under item 5. Consideration to suspend public discussion during this public 1 meeting. You will also see that the relevant planning application is on the agenda under item 9. You may verify this information at: https://abovederwentparishcouncil.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/april-2017-agenda- parishioner.pdf. Please be aware that ADPC did suspend public discussion concerning another highly controversial proposal and has held a number of meetings on that subject where the public have been excluded. All council members have signed up to the standard code of conduct where they have agreed, as required, to subject their decisions to public scrutiny but in practice they have refused to do so. In relation to the previous application I referred to, ADPC are a party to a pending judicial review. Furthermore, it is a matter of public record that one of the ADPC councillors is also a senior member of the LDNPA Development Control Committee I understand that a number of ADPC councillors have conflicts of interest with this application and these have not yet been declared as required by law. Furthermore, it is also a matter of public record that the ADPC councillor who is also a senior member of the Development Control Committee spoke with and in favour of a previous application on the same subject by the same applicant. I have been informed that the applicant made a previous application for a permanent, seasonal, grass-based ca park on the same site but this application was rejected out of hand and subsequently withdrawn. I find it strange that there appears to be no public record of this matter and even more strange that there is now an application for a hard-surfaced car park that appears to have your support. Borrowdale Parish Council, according to all their agendas and minutes (https://borrowdale.org.uk/), have not consulted their parishioners in any public meeting and it follows that the views expressed by BPC are nowhere shown to be the views of their parishioners. Borrowdale’s claims that a car park would relieve the traffic problems in the Newlands valley are not supported by any evidence, indeed, there is much evidence that such a development would only increase the traffic entering the valley through very narrow and dangerous roads. I understand that this is also the view of your department and I support that view and observe the results on a daily basis. In any event, as I have already noted, Borrowdale is not the relevant authority. The only views on the LDNPA’s planning site concerning this application are yours and that of the wrong parish council. I am personally aware of many objections from individuals from all over the world and from highly respected organisations but none of these are available to see on the web site.