Our ref: FOI-0911-2425

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 19 June 2024 asking for information about the Poplar DLR depot.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy.

I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked:

Could you please provide information relating to the Poplar DLR depot site, namely the proposed plans for redevelopment and how/if they are coming along. 

Places for London (TfL’s property company) continue to consider the opportunity for development over/around the depot but there are a number of complexities to overcome before we would be able to identify if there is anything that could be done here. Thus, we do not have any actual plans for redevelopment as of yet.

Could you also provide the asbestos survey for the Poplar DLR depot

We have prepared the requested survey documents for disclosure but due to the file size we are unable to provide them through whatdotheyknow.com. Could you please provide us with a suitable email address, quoting your reference number, that we can use to provide you with access to a Sharefile site where the documents are stored. You can find our direct email address to contact us with this information at the following link: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information

Please also note that in accordance with our obligations under Data Protection legislation some personal data has been removed, as required by regulation 13 of the EIR. This is because disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the legislation, specifically the first principle of Article 5 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation which requires all processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions which would make the processing ‘fair’.

Also, the floor plans of buildings and restricted areas that appear in the report have been redacted under Regulation 12(5)(a) of the EIR. This exception applies to information that would adversely affect “international relations, defence, national security or public safety.” The rationale is that the floor plans allow the exact location of presumed asbestos to be pinpointed, as well as place details of restricted non-public spaces into the public domain. This information would be of value to anyone looking to disrupt London’s transport infrastructure by placing into the public domain information which would otherwise not be available via other means. Whilst we make no suggestion that you would use this information for anything other than you own interest, disclosure of information under EIR is regarded as a disclosure to the public at large. As you will no doubt be aware, the transport system in London has been the target of attacks in the past. The information requested contains sensitive information which could be of use for anyone seeking to research or plan for such an attack or to actively cause disruption to the network and/or our staff.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has previously issued the following Decision Notice regarding the security of public transport. Whilst the information requested in this case is different to the information you have requested, we believe the same arguments can be applied:

https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2017/2013536/fs50633090.pdf

The use of this exception is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, and acknowledge that there may be some interest in the information in question - as evidenced by the fact that you have requested it. However, as we believe this information could potentially be obtained and utilised by individuals who may wish to use it to cause disruption or harm to London’s transport infrastructure, in this instance we believe that minimising the risk to that infrastructure and protecting the safety and welfare of members of the general public and our staff outweighs the limited public interest in disclosure.

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Tahsin Prima

FOI Case Officer

General Counsel

Transport for London