Development information regarding former Cockenzie power station site: EIR release

Information requested

Recorded information held by your organisation that relates to the development of the former Cockenzie power station site with regard to early proposals from the organisations named in this news report: https://www.eastlothiancourier.com/news/18881072.green-energy-project-proposed-former-cockenzie-power-station-site/

They are:
1. Composium Group Ltd
2. TELESIS Synergy Systems Limited

Please also consider within the scope of this request any other agent acting on the behalf of these organisations, and elected officials, such as MSPs or MPs that may have contacted you in relation to this proposal.

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.

A copy of the information you have asked for is attached. 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 of exceptions under the EIRs, as set out below.

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.

Some information identified relates to internal communications. Regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs exempts internal communications from disclosure. The exemption is subject to the public interest test. In relation to internal communications within the scope of the request the public interest test has been applied. On balance maintaining the exception is outweighed by the public interest in making the information available so the information has been released.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI - 202000113641 - Information Released - Annex

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19 page PDF

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2.7 MB