Freedom Information Act information request reference FOI229643

FOI request (FOI229643)

Sale of land at Bexhill Road Recreation Ground - district valuers reports

Requested Fri 12 January 2018
Responded Fri 12 January 2018

Valuation of the freehold of land at the lower tier of Bexhill Road Recreation Ground for housing development.

On the 04/12/17 HBC Cabinet discussed the sale of land at Bexhill Road Recreation Ground for 158 homes as part of the three site Sports Village development. The report to Cabinet stated that the District Valuer had originally assessed the value of this site as £3.7million and the developers have offered to pay HBC £2million.

Following the Cabinet meeting it has been stated that the District Valuer has revised the land value estimate down by £7.45m to -£3.75m. The developers are still committed to paying £2m.

Could you please supply copies of the 2 district valuation reports. The one quoted prior to the Cabinet meeting and the one quoted afterwards.

Response

Please accept my apologies for the slight delay in responding   NOTICE OF REFUSAL   The information you have requested is commercially sensitive and falls under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act – Commercially Sensitive Information   Information prejudicing commercial interests – commercial interest relating to an organisations commercial activity and may include trading activity procurement and relationships with third parties.   The exemption afforded by Section 43 is subject to what is known as the ‘public interest test’.  When applying the test in a particular case a public authority is deciding whether the public interest is better served by non-disclosure than by disclosure.    Although the Freedom of Information Act does not define ‘in the public interest’, there is a presumption under Freedom of Information that openness is in the public interest.  In applying the public interest test a public authority will take into account the distinction that has been often made by courts between things that are in the public interest, and things that merely interest the public.  Where applicants have not identified public interest considerations succinctly or accurately, the public authority has a responsibility under the Act to make their own assessment of the public interest considerations in the particular case.   We have identified the following public interest factors that may be seen as encouraging the disclosure of information:   a)    accountability of public spending   We consider these factors to be of limited relevance in relation to the information in question.   Public interest factors seen as encouraging non-disclosure are, generally, the exemptions themselves.   In consideration of this matter we came to the following conclusions:   a)   ensuring that companies are able to compete for business fairly              b)   damage to reputation and/or financial interests              c)   the documents requested are in draft form only, the release of these would cause confusion if in the public domain.  We are awaiting a final version in the near future        In weighing the factors for and against disclosure we have concluded that the likely benefit to the applicant and the wider public of disclosure is outweighed by the likely prejudice caused by such disclosure and that therefore the public interest is better served by non-disclosure.    For the reasons given above we will not be communicating to you the information you have requested.
Freedom of Information

Contact

Got a question about freedom of information?

Contact us

Content

The content on this page is the responsibility of our Council's Information Officer.

Can't find what you're looking for? Try our A - Z

Spotted an issue with this page? Tell us

FOI request (FOI229643)

Sale of land at Bexhill Road Recreation Ground - district valuers reports

Response

Freedom of Information

Contact

Content

A-Z of services