Request ID: FOI-0051-2324 Date published: 05 May 2023
You asked
Please provide the following information with regard to the Pulross Road MTVS from 1st December 2019 to today:
- Dates of operation
- Results of any tests into noise levels - background, operational etc - in regard to the operation/non-operation of the MTVS, with appropriate detail on operating speeds and other relevant variables eg time of day, proximity
- Meeting notes/minutes regarding operating the MTVS
- Corresponence or communiation with the relevant local authority ie Lambeth Council
We answered
TfL Ref: EIR-0051-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 5th April 2023 asking for information about the Pulross Road Mid-Tunnel Ventilation Shaft (MTVS).
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“Please provide the following information with regard to the Pulross Road MTVS from 1st December 2019 to today:
- Dates of operation - Results of any tests into noise levels - background, operational etc - in regard to the operation/non-operation of the MTVS, with appropriate detail on operating speeds and other relevant variables eg time of day, proximity - Meeting notes/minutes regarding operating the MTVS - Corresponence or communiation with the relevant local authority ie Lambeth Council”.
I can confirm that we hold the information you require.
In answer to your first question (dates of operation since 1st December 2019), the fan was operational at reduced (half) speed until 13th March 2020. At this point it was turned off due to noise complaints. The fan has been maintained monthly since then which includes operating it for approximately 30 minutes on each maintenance visit. The fan was also operated on 12th May 2022 to support rail grinding taking place on the line. On 26th January 2023 the fan was reinstated to replace a faulty part, and had been left on at reduced (half) speed. Following further complaints about noise the fan was turned off on 13th April 2023. So in summary, the fan essentially remained off between 13th March 2020 and 26th January 2023. It then ran at reduced speed until 13th April 2023, when it was again turned off.
In answer to your second question (the results of any tests into noise levels), please see the report attached which contains the results of noise monitoring carried out since 1st December 2019.
In answer to your last two questions (for meeting notes / minutes / and any correspondence with Lambeth) I am afraid that given the passage of time and changes of personnel involved there is no quick or efficient way of finding all of the material that falls within the scope of the request. We have carried out an automated search of the email accounts of staff likely to have been involved in any such meetings / correspondence - using the terms “Pulross road” or “shaft” - which returned 384 “hits”. To determine which of these fall within the scope of the request we would have to review each one individually. We do not believe this is a proportionate use of resource and this element of your request is therefore being refused under Regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR on the basis that it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. The purpose of the exception is, to cite the guidance from the Information Commissioner (see here) “...to protect public authorities from exposure to a disproportionate burden or an unjustified level of distress, disruption or irritation, in handling information requests.”
The use of this exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’, which requires us to consider whether the public interest in applying the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure. We recognise the need for openness and transparency in the operation of our business, and the fact you have requested the information demonstrates that there is an interest in it. However, the time it would take to provide the information would divert a disproportionate amount of our resource, and on balance we consider that the public interest currently favours the use of the exception. This is particularly the case given that the other information you have requested has been provided, and because there are separate channels through which your overriding concerns about noise can be addressed.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
