Conservators fail to release retrospective valuation

Putney Common - Andrew Wilson @andrewpics

In January 2017 local resident and former Conservator Nicholas Evans applied using Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) to the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators (WPCC) to see the instructions they had issued to Daniel Watney LLP and the resulting retrospective valuation report related to the sale of access rights at Putney Common in 2012.

His request was refused by WPCC on the grounds that they were not a “public authority” and therefore the regulations may not apply, and that the information requested was not environmental.

Mr Evans believes strongly that all 64,000 local residents who pay for the upkeep of the Commons through their Council Tax should see these key documents. He told this website that:"It was only in July 2017 that Prue Whyte, the Chairman of WPCC admitted that the valuation showed they had incurred a loss of about £315,000, and that the board would be taking no action to recover this money. She refused to provide any detail of the valuation or explain why the loss cited by Daniel Watney is so much less than the earlier estimate by Montagu Evans LLP of some £1.5m, received by the board in 2015 but ignored".

Mr Evans therefore made a complaint to the Information Commissioner. Following many exchanges between the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), WPCC and Mr Evans a Decision Notice related to the complaint was issued on the 24 October 2017.

The Commissioner's decision is that Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators is a public authority for the purposes of the EIR and in this case the information requested is environmental. WPCC are now obligated to issue a new response under the EIR and they have 35 calendar days to issue this. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and of court.

To see the ICO letter to Mr Evans click: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dQyEqR1w8kVkFzUklOTHRYNHM

We have asked WPCC to comment - as yet we have had no response.