FI15614
Request
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The purpose of this request is to gather data on complaints received by your council regarding the state of gardens.
Specifically, I am seeking information on the following:
- The total number of complaints received by the council about residential gardens for each of the past five years from 2020 to 2024.
- If held, a breakdown of these complaints by category, indicating the nature of the complaint (e.g., maintenance issues, dog fouling, safety concerns, rubbish complaints, overgrown, unsightly etc.).
- If held, any actions or measures taken by the council to address these complaints.
Response
The information held by our Environmental Crime Team is attached.
The Council also holds information in respect of garden complaints in respect of Council tenanted properties. However, it is not readily available as the data cannot be extracted or reported on and from our preliminary assessment, we have estimated that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for Local Government it is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2½ working days in determining whether the information is held, locating, retrieving and extracting the data. I regret therefore, that on this occasion I must refuse this part of your request in accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Attachments
Attachment