Planning applications - Fields P559, P632, S470 and S473 (FOI)

​Request

In relation to the planning department, please may you provide the following:

A

Any planning documents, pre planning advice, and so on, records for Field S470 and S473 at Five Oaks.

B 

Any planning documents, pre planning advice, and so on, records for Field P632 and P559 in St Peter.

Response

A and B​

The information requested is exempt under Article 26 (Information supplied in confidence) and Article 33(b) (Commercial interests) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

The early release of information relating to this scheme would constitute a breach of confidentiality and also have a detrimental effect on the commercial interests of the developer. 

The planning process is transparent, and all elements of the scheme will be made available to the public when a final application has been submitted. The public interest will therefore be met in due course.

Please note that Field S473 is not a valid field number.

Articles applied

Article 26 - Information supplied in confidence

 Information is absolutely exempt information if – 

(a) it was obtained by the scheduled public authority from another person (including another public authority); and

(b) the disclosure of the information to the public by the scheduled public authority holding it would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

Article 33 - Commercial interests 

Information is qualified exempt information if – 

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public Interest Test

Article 33 (b) is a prejudice-based exemption. That means that in order to engage this exemption there must be a likelihood that disclosure would cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. In addition, this is a qualified exemption and consideration must be given to the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

The public interest in the scheme will be satisfied once a planning application has been submitted. Early disclosure of the commercially sensitive details will not further the public interest in this regard and only serve to disadvantage the developer’s commercial relationships and negotiations with landowners, suppliers and other parties.

The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) considers that providing the requested information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Government of Jersey and / or third parties. There may be public interest in the commercial information, however it was considered that this is outweighed by the potential for commercial and or financial damage.​