Request
Please treat this as a request for environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
I request copies of documents relating to the decision by the North London Waste Authority to acquire the Pinkham Way site (former Friern Barnet Sewage Works) from the London Borough of Barnet, including the original decision-making process, valuation, legal basis, and associated due diligence.
Specifically, I request:
1. The full officer report entitled "Pinkham Way Acquisition" considered at the Extraordinary Authority meeting of 1 December 2009, together with all appendices, exempt appendices, and supporting papers.
2. The full minutes of that meeting, including exempt minutes and any record of the Authority’s formal resolution to proceed with the acquisition.
3. Any legal advice, Monitoring Officer advice, Section 151 Officer advice, or other governance advice relating to:
(a) the Authority’s power to acquire the land;
(b) whether the land constituted open space;
(c) compliance with sections 122 and 123 of the Local Government Act 1972;
(d) any requirement for public advertisement, consultation, or ministerial approval.
4. Any valuation reports, due diligence reports, site appraisals, or acquisition assessments prepared by or for the Authority in relation to the proposed purchase, including reports by Savills, Knight Frank, or any other external consultants.
5. Any reports or papers comparing Pinkham Way with alternative sites considered for acquisition, including any "Acquisition Plan" or "Identification of potential sites suitable for Waste Management uses".
6. Any correspondence, reports, or submissions involving DEFRA relating to the Outline Business Case, planning site appraisal, or approval of Pinkham Way as the preferred site.
7. Any document recording how the purchase price (reported as approximately £12 million) was determined and approved.
Given the continuing treatment of Pinkham Way as a current public asset and the ongoing public interest in the legality of the original transaction, there is a strong public interest in transparency regarding the acquisition decision and the statutory basis upon which it was made.
If any information is withheld, please identify the specific exception relied upon and provide the public interest reasoning for non-disclosure.
If any of the requested documents are no longer held, please confirm this and provide details of the relevant document retention or disposal policy.
Response
Good afternoon,
Further to your request for information (reference 2026-274) under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR), please find the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) response below. NLWA has also considered Freedom of Information Act 2000 where appropriate.
You requested: Copies of documents relating to the decision by the North London Waste Authority to acquire the Pinkham Way site (former Friern Barnet Sewage Works) from the London Borough of Barnet, including the original decision-making process, valuation, legal basis, and associated due diligence.
Specifically, I request:
1. The full officer report entitled "Pinkham Way Acquisition" considered at the Extraordinary Authority meeting of 1 December 2009, together with all appendices, exempt appendices, and supporting papers.
2. The full minutes of that meeting, including exempt minutes and any record of the Authority’s formal resolution to proceed with the acquisition. Non
3. Any legal advice, Monitoring Officer advice, Section 151 Officer advice, or other governance advice relating to:
(a) the Authority’s power to acquire the land;
(b) whether the land constituted open space;
(c) compliance with sections 122 and 123 of the Local Government Act 1972;
(d) any requirement for public advertisement, consultation, or ministerial approval.
4. Any valuation reports, due diligence reports, site appraisals, or acquisition assessments prepared by or for the Authority in relation to the proposed purchase, including reports by Savills, Knight Frank, or any other external consultants.
5. Any reports or papers comparing Pinkham Way with alternative sites considered for acquisition, including any "Acquisition Plan" or "Identification of potential sites suitable for Waste Management uses".
6. Any correspondence, reports, or submissions involving DEFRA relating to the Outline Business Case, planning site appraisal, or approval of Pinkham Way as the preferred site. Same as above
7. Any document recording how the purchase price (reported as approximately 12 million) was determined and approved.
Our response:
1. The full officer report entitled "Pinkham Way Acquisition" considered at the Extraordinary Authority meeting of 1 December 2009, together with all appendices, exempt appendices, and supporting papers. Public papers of the December 2009 meeting are as attached.
In respect of the Part II (Confidential) Report - the requested information are exempt under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Regulation 12(5(e) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Authority.
2. The full minutes of that meeting, including exempt minutes and any record of the Authority’s formal resolution to proceed with the acquisition. Please find attached a copy of the minutes for the extraordinary public meeting.
The minutes as they relate to the Part II section of the meeting - the requested information are exempt under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Regulation 12(5)(e) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Authority.
3. Any legal advice, Monitoring Officer advice, Section 151 Officer advice, or other governance advice relating to:
- (a) the Authority’s power to acquire the land; Section 120 Local Government Act 1972 provides the statutory power.
- (b) whether the land constituted open space; The Authority does not hold any advice outside the legal comments in the Authority Report as contained in public paper.
- (c) compliance with sections 122 and 123 of the Local Government Act 1972; In accordance with the legal comments in the Authority Report.
- (d) any requirement for public advertisement, consultation, or ministerial approval. The Authority does not hold this information as per Section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Regulation 12(4) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
4. Any valuation reports, due diligence reports, site appraisals, or acquisition assessments prepared by or for the Authority in relation to the proposed purchase, including reports by Savills, Knight Frank, or any other external consultants.
The Authority considers this request to be a repeat request under Section 14(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Questions about purchase of Pinkham Way | NLWA
The requested information is exempt under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Regulation 12(5)(e) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Authority.
5. Any reports or papers comparing Pinkham Way with alternative sites considered for acquisition, including any "Acquisition Plan" or "Identification of potential sites suitable for Waste Management uses". The requested information is exempt under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Regulation 12(5)(e) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Authority.
6. Any correspondence, reports, or submissions involving DEFRA relating to the Outline Business Case, planning site appraisal, or approval of Pinkham Way as the preferred site. The requested information is exempt under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Regulation 12(5)(e) of The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Authority.
7. Any document recording how the purchase price (reported as approximately 12 million) was determined and approved. In accordance with the Authority response in questions 1 and 2.
Public Interest Test Summary: Where qualified exceptions under Regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR / Section 43(2) of the FOIA have been applied, the Authority has determined that the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure. While the Authority recognises the general public interest in transparency regarding historical asset acquisitions, releasing commercially sensitive data, valuations, and legacy acquisition metrics would be likely to prejudice the commercial and financial interests of the Authority.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may ask for an internal review, which should be submitted within two months of when you received our response to either informationrequests@nlwa.gov.uk or via our enquiry form quoting the reference above.
If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you may complain to the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Kind regards,
North London Waste Authority
