Correspondence between Marine Scotland and Western Isles Council relating to wind energy: EIR release

Information requested

All correspondence during the period January 2018 to December 2020 between Marine Scotland and Western Isles Council on the subjects of any wind energy related topics.

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.

Response to your request

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested. Please see the attached PDF file. In addition, one item of relevant information is available from the Comhairle Nan Eileen Siar On-Line Planning website. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information that is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website below, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

One email between Western Isles Council and Marine Scotland is out of scope of your request but an attachment within that email references “wind energy”. The attachment is a Scoping Opinion related to an Environmental Impact Assessment for a “Deep Water Port and Newton Marina”. The on-line planning website holds the relevant document (please see the link below). However, I have included the relevant extract below for ease: https://planning.cnesiar.gov.uk/PublicAccess/files/3EFFF6608272ADC869AF737A4C83662B/pdf/17_00453_SCO_LSCOPING_OPINION-721843.pdf

Extract

“48. Excavation works (e.g. of wind turbine foundations) should not be carried out in the proximity of a water or waste water main without due notice having been given to Scottish Water and prior written acceptance obtained. The developer will comply fully with any Scottish Water specific site requirements”

Extract ends

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) 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 202300370656 - Information Released - Annex

File type

29 page PDF

File size

2.6 MB