Publication - FOI/EIR release

Transport Scotland - Plans for road improvements around Fort William: EIR release

Published: 4 October 2024
Topic: Public sector, Transport
FOI reference: EIR/202400425470
Date received: 7 August 2024
Date responded: 3 September 2024

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Information requested

All information in relation to transport changes/road improvements/road infrastructure in and around the Fort William area.

Specifically in regards to works/plans in the pipeline for bypass road and active travel.

Please supply all information pertaining to this and also all communications with local councillors/msps in regards to any future works being carried out on new road/active travel that is being implemented/put forward on Lochabers behalf.

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.

You clarified that this information was from 2021 onwards and the location was Ballachulish to Spean Bridge and up to Glenfinnan area.

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.

Please see Annexes A, B and C to this response, communications, correspondence and meeting notes relating to transport changes / road improvements/ road infrastructure in and around the Fort William area.

About FOI

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