Vexatious FOI requests?

Freedom Of Information requests made

Using the website WhatDoTheyKnow over the past 8 mths I’ve submitted the 3 questions in relation to the proposed building of a New Civic Centre.

6th June 2012

Dear Stoke on Trent City Council,

Please provide the list of Council Buildings across the City that
are under consideration to close and relocate to the City Business
District

Are Efficiency measures and Capital Receipts the real reason?

The Council have now revealed that only the below buildings are up for closure and Sale?

Civic Centre/Stoke Town Hall/Kingsway Car Park/Spode

Gordon House

Swann House

Swift House & Warehouse

City Centre Library

Hanley Town Hall

Longton Area Social Services Office (due to poor quality of building)

Meir Local Centre

The Mount

Stoke Council reduces the buildings to be sold from 30 to 8

Is this now the complete list of Public Assets to be disposed of?

What happened to disposing of 30 old and inefficient buildings?

Where are the Capital Receipts now to come from? King Sturge estimated around £6m capital receipts from all 30 assets.

Where are the efficiency measure to come from if your still left with an ageing estate of 30 buildings scattered around the City?

What of the plans for 3 hubs and locality working?

Local Councillors views on the planned New Civic Centre

I have wrote the below e-mail to all local Councillors and will publish their replies as and when

Have you had chance to read the Consultants reports produced for the City Council? Despite petitions of over 3000 local Councillors have been very quiet in giving their public support to the Cabinets decision to ignore the reports findings (see below).

The people of the City deserve answers, please reply giving reasons for your support based on the consultants reports and not what your press department have told you to say.

Your reply or Failure to reply will be reported on facebook and published as the “March to Stoke” protest progress across the City

Planning Strategy New Civic Centre

The unveiling of the slightly controversial new Civic Centre at a recent consultation, brought wide spread condemnation and many letters have since been written to the local paper and comments made online, but what can we really do?

Alternatives to enable Central Business District to begin

Can I make a suggestion to our Councillors

Less then 50% of the 2000 proposed office workers are coming from the Civic Centre, why not just build one new office in Hanley?

One new Office will still show serious commitment to the Central Business District to attract other businesses, allow money to be raised from the sale of the 40 other Council properties across the City and save money on that backlog of maintenance.

Asset Management

OPEN EMAIL to Cllr Rosenau and Cllr Pervez

To Councillor Ruth Rosenau : Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transportation

Please provide the list of Council Buildings across the City that are under consideration to close and relocate to the City Business District

Please provide for each building

1. Name and Location of the Building
2. If Council owned or rented
3. Number of Staff Based in the building
4. Plans for future of building
5. Cost of backlog maintenance

If you do not have the information to hand and feel the need to submit a Freedom of Information request, please do do in your own name and forward the reply when your have received it.

Please reply on how you will be answering my query.

Thank you

Ian Norris

Cllr Rosenau has replied but is unable to provide which council buildings are being considered for closure to provide the 1100 staff for the CBD and save £20million on back maintenance.

“To assist the process of the move to the CBD, all Council buildings providing ‘back-office’ or administrative functions are being analysed with a view that these functions will eventually relocate to the CBD.

As we are currently reviewing these buildings, we have not come to a conclusion on the final number, and therefore we cannot provide you with exact details of costings and locations.”

Has this been fully thought through as to me knowinf the number of staff that can relocate and where from is pretty essential to ensure the proposed move is even feasable, or is she just keeping details away from local residents who will be affected until its too late to do anything?

Reply from Cllr Pervez
Dear Mr Norris

You will be aware that the Cabinet meeting on 31 May 2012 agreed the relocation of key functions to the Central Business District (CBD). A copy of this report is available on our website.

To assist this process of the move to the CBD, all council buildings providing ‘back-office’ or administrative functions are being analysed with a view that these functions will eventually relocate to the CBD.

I also understand you have submitted a FOI request dealing with this issue, so I suggest that the detailed answer is provided through the FOI query.

Yours sincerely

Councillors Pervez and Rosenau

Reply from Cllr Rosenau
Dear Mr Norris

In response to your email of 1st June 2012. You will be aware that the Cabinet meeting on 31st May 2012 agreed the relocation of key functions to the Central Business District (CBD). A copy of this report is available on our website.

To assist the process of the move to the CBD, all Council buildings providing ‘back-office’ or administrative functions are being analysed with a view that these functions will eventually relocate to the CBD.

As we are currently reviewing these buildings, we have not come to a conclusion on the final number, and therefore we cannot provide you with exact details of costings and locations.

I also understand you have submitted a FOI request dealing with this issue.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Rosenau