7th November 2025

The Information Commissioner
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Subject: Concerns Regarding the Handling of Information Requests and Council Accountability over Padden Brook

Dear Information Commissioner,

I am writing to you personally to raise serious concerns about the way my information requests and questions to Stockport Council regarding the condition and management of Padden Brook have been handled.

Over the past 15 months, I have submitted multiple questions and formal requests concerning the ongoing degradation of the W1 protected woodland/protected amenity land at the Padden Brook site, which has been visibly destroyed and neglected day by day. Despite this, the Council has failed to provide any substantive responses. Instead, my genuine attempts to seek clarity have been labelled as “vexatious”, apparently as a means to avoid answering legitimate public interest questions.

To make matters worse:

  • The Councillors have not responded to my communications for over 15 months.
  • My local MP has also failed to respond during this entire period.
  • I have been told false or misleading information, including claims that the site has been “tidied up and improved,” which is demonstrably untrue.
  • There has been no response whatsoever to my reports of rubbish dumping on the site since December 2024.

These repeated failures represent not only a lack of transparency and accountability, but also a potential misuse of the “vexatious” exemption under section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It appears that the “vexatious” label is being used to silence public scrutiny rather than to manage genuine abuse of the FOI process.

Given the daily environmental degradation of Padden Brook and the ongoing public concern, I respectfully ask that your office:

  1. Investigate the Council’s handling of my information requests and correspondence.
  2. Review the Council’s decision to label my questions and correspondence as “vexatious.”
  3. Remind the Council of its statutory obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations to respond fairly and transparently.
  4. Consider any appropriate enforcement action or guidance to ensure proper accountability.

I am willing to provide copies of all correspondence, photographs of the site’s condition, and a timeline of my attempts to engage with the Council and MP if this would assist your review.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your acknowledgment and guidance on how best to proceed.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila Oliver
Editor, The Romiley Gazette

How it was in August 2024