A blank canvas?

We have been promised by the council that after the development agreement is signed with St Joseph – Berkeley Group, the masterplanning process will start from a ‘blank canvas’ – meaning that no demolition is planned yet, no Compulsory Purchase Orders have been decided upon, and that no one yet knows who will have to move. The message from the council is that it will all be decided with us.

Is this true? We think not – and our latest reply from the Information Commissioner’s Office confirms as much.

We contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) because we wanted to see the ‘illustrative vision’ that St Joseph – Berkeley Group has about the plans for Ladywood. The council didn’t want to give it to us, and the ICO doesn’t either – for a very interesting reason:

“disclosure of the withheld information would provide interested parties with insights into proposals and strategies regarding land acquisition and/or land use which would harm the ability of the developer and the Council to secure best value and/or to negotiate effectively.”

That doesn’t sound like a blank canvas to us.