24th January 2026

A Romiley resident’s warnings over the Harcourt Street school development were dismissed as “vexatious” in 2011 — despite later events confirming many of the concerns she raised.

Ms S Oliver repeatedly sought information from Stockport Council about the development, citing contaminated land, a school built too small for local need, dangerous traffic conditions, and a project cost that more than doubled from initial estimates. Between January and May 2010 she submitted 51 Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests asking for land, safety and financial details.

Rather than address the substance of the concerns, the Council refused to respond, branding the requests vexatious. The Information Commissioner later upheld that decision, meaning no information was released.

However, subsequent developments validated the issues Ms Oliver had raised. The site’s suitability, traffic safety, capacity problems and spiralling costs became matters of public record, raising serious questions about transparency and accountability.

Campaigners argue that the “vexatious” label was used to shut down scrutiny of a major public project with implications for children’s safety, environmental health and the use of public money — and that the ruling itself deserves renewed scrutiny.

Decision Notice: FS50316377

  • Public authority: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
  • Date of Decision Notice: 27 June 2011
  • The Council refused to comply with 51 information requests made between 13 January 2010 and 8 May 2010 about land and financial issues connected with a school development, on the grounds that the requests were vexatious under Section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations.
  • The Information Commissioner upheld the Council’s decision, finding that the Council had correctly applied the law and was not required to disclose the information.

Ms S Oliver

6 January 2011

Case reference number FS50316377

Stockport Metropolitan Council

Dear Ms Oliver

Further to our previous correspondence regarding your complaint against Stockport Metropolitan Council (the Council), I am writing to inform you that your case has now been allocated to me to investigate. 

In order to reach a decision as to whether the Freedom of Information Act/Environmental Information Regulations have been correctly applied, I will need to carry out a thorough investigation. This may take me some time as I will need to ensure that I am aware of all the relevant facts and that I carefully consider the application of the law to those facts.

Where possible the Information Commissioner prefers complaints to be resolved by informal means. If this does not prove to be possible, he will usually issue a Decision Notice to you and the public authority once an investigation has been completed. This will inform you of his decision and the reasons for it.

Where the Commissioner decides that a request has not been handled properly he may specify what steps he believes are necessary to remedy the situation. This can include requiring a public authority to release information which has previously been withheld. A copy of the Decision Notice will be placed on our website (with your details omitted). If you disagree with the decision that has been reached you have a legal right of appeal to the Information Tribunal.

Your request

From the information which has been provided to us, I understand that this complaint relates to 51 requests you have made to the Council on various dates between 13 January 2010 and 10 May 2010 relating to land and financial issues associated with the Harcourt Street development.

The Council informed you it considers your requests for information about Harcourt Street are vexatious under section 14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and manifestly unreasonable under regulation 12(4) (b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and as such you would not receive a response.

The scope of the case

The focus of my investigation will be to determine whether there has been any breach of the relevant legislation, having particular regard to the allegations raised in your complaint to the Commissioner of 31 May 2010 in which you dispute the Council’s decision to deem your requests as vexatious. 

Please contact me as soon as possible if there are matters other than these that you believe should be addressed. This will help avoid any unnecessary delay in investigating your complaint. If I do not hear from you, my investigation will focus only upon the matters identified above.

As I have indicated, the process of reaching a decision may take some time but I will update you on the progress of the investigation as appropriate but at least every 6-8 weeks. However, if you have any queries at any time you are welcome to write to me at the above address, at casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk (please ensure that you quote the above case reference) or by telephoning me on 02890 269 385.

It may not be possible for me to respond to enquiries immediately due to other work commitments but I will endeavour to provide a response as promptly as possible and will ensure that a response is provided within 14 working days of the receipt of any enquiry.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Burton

Senior Complainants Office

Telephone 02890 269 385