TfL Ref: FOI-4508-2324

Thank you again for your email which we received on 20 March 2024, asking for information about Lambeth Council's identification/planning, implementation, monitoring and suspension of the Streatham Wells LTN scheme. 

Unfortunately, given the extent of the information you are looking for, we are applying Regulation 12(4)(b) to your request, as we believe that it’s ‘manifestly unreasonable’ because providing the information you have requested would impose unreasonable costs on us and require an unreasonable diversion of resources.
 
When we receive requests asking for correspondence, we are able to conduct a companywide email search using keywords, dates and email addresses. The more specific a requester can be, the more we can narrow the search and therefore stand a better chance of a more relevant or focused result. 

We have carried out a search using the most relevant keywords and this search returned over 1,700 results. All of these potentially relevant emails would require a manual review. Some of the emails captured by the search might be duplicates or not even relevant, due to emails being repeated within email chains. Whilst the actual number of emails covered by your request might be a sub-set of the numbers the email search captured, it is the excessive work involved in having to locate and extract those that are relevant and meet your request, that would be burdensome. To further locate and collate minutes of meetings, text/WhatsApp messages and any other information, would of course increase the processing time to answer your request. 

If you have specific questions relating to the LTN scheme in Streatham, we may be more easily able to respond to these than to a request for all correspondence we’ve had with Lambeth. I would recommend you also refer to the Lambeth website for information on their LTNs.

The use of this exception is subject to a public interest test, which requires us to consider whether the public interest in applying the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure. We recognise that the release of information would promote accountability and transparency in public services. However, the time it would take to provide the information you have requested would divert a disproportionate amount of our resources from its core functions, on balance we consider that the public interest currently favours the use of the exception.

We will consider your request again, if you are able to narrow its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. For example, rather than a blanket request for all communication, if you ask for specific documents or have particular questions, we may be able to provide a more helpful response.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Eva Hextall 

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London