GIS map of Highways Act s31.6 landowner deposits
Case reference EIR2023/02024
Published 12 January 2024
Request
This is a request for information under the FOI Act 2000 and the EIRs 2004. Please release to me the following information:
- A GIS file (ideally in Shapefile format) of all landowner deposit maps made under the provisions of the Highways Act 1980 section 31.6 to your council.
I am requesting a GIS file of this data because it contains more information than the online register and any online mapping interface you may publish (for e.g. a GIS file gives the precise geolocations of the boundaries of the land in question): therefore, this information is not available via other means. There is a strong public interest in releasing this information as it relates to the prevention of future rights of way claims.
Response
This is a request for information under the FOI Act 2000 and the EIRs 2004. Please release to me the following information:
- A GIS file (ideally in Shapefile format) of all landowner deposit maps made under the provisions of the Highways Act 1980 section 31.6 to your council.
I am requesting a GIS file of this data because it contains more information than the online register and any online mapping interface you may publish (for e.g. a GIS file gives the precise geolocations of the boundaries of the land in question): therefore, this information is not available via other means. There is a strong public interest in releasing this information as it relates to the prevention of future rights of way claims.
Having considered your request further, we do not consider that the maps themselves fall under the remit of the Environmental Information Regulations because they do not declare either the state of a feature of the environment or whether any activity has an effect upon it, and as such your request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Herefordshire Council publishes information in relation to landowner deposit maps made under the provisions of the Highways Act 1980 section 31.6, and this can be viewed via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/public-rights-way/definitive-map-statement-dms/5
However, the GIS data that you have requested is derived from Ordnance Survey products, which means that the council is subject to the terms and conditions of the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) copyright legislation.
Further information regarding this agreement is available via the following link:
The PSGA | Government and public sector | OS (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)
Some information may be available direct from the Ordnance Survey and as such we consider that data to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act for that part of your request.
However, we consider the GIS data requested to be exempt under Section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because disclosure would, or would be likely, to prejudice the commercial interests of Ordnance Survey.
In reaching this decision I have taken into account relevant guidance provided by the Information Commissioner's Office including whether the information in question is commercial or industrial.
Herefordshire Council is satisfied that the information to which the exemption has been applied contains information which could constitute commercial interests.
The council accepts the legitimate economic interests of the company would be likely to be prejudiced by disclosure of the information.
In coming to this decision, I have weighed up the public interest for disclosure against the public interest in not disclosing the information and the commercial interests of Ordnance Survey as follows:
The public interest in disclosure:
Openness and transparency regarding landowner deposit maps, including precise geolocations of the boundaries of the land in question.
The public interest in not disclosing the information and the commercial interests of Ordnance Survey:
The GIS data requested is derived from Ordnance Survey products, and as such are subject to the terms and conditions of the PSGA. This is because the Ordnance Survey operates in a commercial environment.
Disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act is essentially a disclosure to the world at large, not just to the person who made the request. If the data was disclosed into the public domain, outside the terms of the PSGA, then this would provide those competing in the same market as Ordnance Survey with a commercial advantage, as the products that they produce and sell would not be being freely distributed and shared in the same way.
As such disclosure would cause a material adverse effect on Ordnance Survey revenues.
Taking the above into consideration, I have found the public interest in disclosing the information in this case is outweighed by the public interest in not disclosing the information. Please therefore take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.