Viability Assessment, Lend Lease, Southwark Council, Heygate Estate, Elephant and Castle

Heygate Estate in Summer 2012 © London Intelligence

Elephant Confidential

Judge Nicholas Warren and his Information Rights tribunal face an important decision.

Is the public interest best served by maintaining the confidentiality of a commercially sensitive document, or by public disclosure?

  Southwark Council appealed to the tribunal against an order by the Information Commissioner to publicly disclose developer Lend Lease's Viability Assessment.
  Marked 'Strictly Private and Confidential', the document contains information calculating the type of new housing that could be built to regenerate the Heygate Estate in the Elephant and Castle area of south London.

Jeopardise

Lend Lease told the tribunal that disclosure could damage the regeneration scheme and harm the developer's commercial interests.
 Southwark Council leader Peter John says disclosure could jeopardise regeneration scheme negotiations between other UK councils and developers. 
The Information Commissioner says disclosure would serve the public interest by allowing local people to exercise their democratic right to fully participate in key local decisions. 

For the full story, go to Viability at London Intelligence.

© Paul Coleman, London Intelligence, February 2014