Marine Harvest application - Clauchlands shore on Arran: EIR release

Information requested

You asked for “As a local resident on Arran I am writing to explore whether you retain documentation concerning this planning application which was submitted by Marine Harvest back in 2008. This was at a time when local authorities in Scotland were not involved with the planning process relating to marine aquaculture in Scotland. The application was transferred to the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division DPEA in Falkirk on the grounds of appeal and the recorder appointed to deal with this application. Eventually his decision to refuse permission was published on the 18th February 2009. I have contacted the DPEA and am informed their file has been archived and I guess only recoverable with some difficulty. My specific interest relates to three aspects or specific documents.

1. A description of the nature of the application off the Clauchlands shore on Arran

2. The Marine Scotland decision regarding the development application

3. The record of decision reached by the DPEA Recorder published on 18 Feb 2009. The DPEA reference was IQC-35-23”

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations.  We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. 

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’.  Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.  We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes.  This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Information that we supply in response to a request may be subject to copyright protection. This will be Crown Copyright if the information was produced by the Government or, if it was supplied by an external body or person, the copyright will belong to that body or person. The applicant may infringe the copyright if he/she makes multiple copies or issues copies to the public. 

1. I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

2. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 11(2) (personal information of a third party) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reason why that exception applies is explained in the Annex to this letter.

Reasons for not providing information - Annex
An exception applies

Personal information of a third party

Regulation 11(2) – To the extent that environmental information requested includes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject and in relation to which either the first or second condition set out in paragraphs (3) and (4) is satisfied, a Scottish public authority shall not make the personal data available.

An exception under regulation 11(2) (personal information of a third party) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information of a third party) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5 (1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI-19-02077 - Information Released

File type

52 page PDF

File size

1.9 MB