29th August 2026
Thank you for getting in touch with the Department for Education.
We received your Freedom of Information request today and our aim is to respond within 20 working days, as set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The reference number we have given your request is: 2026-0086605
You requested:
Freedom of Information request – DfES permission dated 15 December 2004 concerning the Reddish North allocation
I am requesting copies of information held by the Department for Education (DfE), including records of its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), concerning a permission, approval, consent, authorisation or similar decision dated 15 December 2004 relating to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and the Reddish North allocation.
I understand that a DfES permission dated 15 December 2004 is referred to in connection with this matter. I am seeking the actual document and the records surrounding it, in order to establish precisely what the Council was permitted to do with the Reddish North allocation and what conditions, restrictions or requirements applied.
Please provide:
A copy of the DfES permission, approval, consent or authorisation dated 15 December 2004 relating to the Reddish North allocation and/or Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council.
Any letter, submission, application, briefing, recommendation or other document submitted to DfES which preceded or accompanied the granting of that permission.
Any correspondence between DfES and Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council concerning the request for, consideration of, or granting of the permission.
Any documents which explain the legal, statutory or policy basis on which DfES granted the permission.
Any conditions, restrictions, qualifications or requirements attached to the permission, including anything concerning the purposes for which the Reddish North allocation could be used.
Any subsequent correspondence or records held by DfE/DfES concerning the interpretation, implementation, compliance with, or variation of the 15 December 2004 permission.
Any file reference, case reference, project reference or other identifying information associated with these records.
For clarity, I am particularly seeking to establish:
what Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council asked DfES for permission to do;
what DfES actually authorised on 15 December 2004;
whether the authorisation applied specifically to the Reddish North allocation;
whether the authorisation was subject to any conditions; and
whether the Council subsequently sought or obtained any further approval or variation.
If the relevant records are not indexed under the expression “Reddish North allocation”, please search for the underlying matter using the names Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Reddish North, and the date 15 December 2004, together with records relating to any application for or grant of approval/permission concerning the allocation.
If the records are held by a predecessor department, transferred to another government body, or deposited with The National Archives or another archive, please identify the body or collection now holding them and, where possible, provide the relevant reference.
If any part of the requested information is exempt from disclosure, please provide all non-exempt information and identify the exemption relied upon for each withheld part.
I would prefer the information to be supplied electronically, preferably as PDF copies of the original documents where available.
Answers to a wide range of education related questions can be found online at: Department for Education – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You can also contact our general helpline on 0370 000 2288. Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 5pm.
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