FOI/202300375784 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Storm Arwen felling permissions for McDonald Park: EIR release
Information requested
Please provide a full copy of the felling permissions for McDonald Park - Storm Arwen (Ref: FPA-8949).
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.
The information requested is attached to this letter. 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) of the EIRs (Personal data relating to third party) applies to some of the information you have requested. This information has been redacted in the documents provided. The reasons why these exceptions apply are explained in Annex A to this letter.
Regarding your note that the felling permission in question was not available on the Public Register of felling permissions: as noted in the application document, the application was made in order to fell trees affected by Storm Arwen. As noted on our website:
In certain circumstances, such as catastrophic windblow events, the local Scottish Forestry conservancy can use their discretion for fast tracking felling applications, to help deal with these potentially difficult situations.
[…]
Applications that are fast-tracked will not be placed on the Public Register.
This application was one of those fast tracked in the aftermath of Storm Arwen in order to allow land managers to fell affected trees in a timely manner.
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Detected exemption language
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.