Sandy Park Lease

​​​​Request ​852947637

Ref Ministerial decision MD-PH-2015-0070

This decision references the decision made on15th June 2015 to lease by virtue of three 9 year leases Car Park 58 and public toilets, Beach Rd Car Park and Children's playground in the Parish of Grouville. In respect of this I should like to be supplied with:-

1

The report referred to in the document detailing the financial implications of the decision

2

A copy of the 9 year lease referred to regarding the Children's playground.

3

Confirmation of the start date of that lease.

4

Confirmation of the end date of that lease.

5

Confirmation or otherwise of whether the lease was renewed/renegotiated/extended at the end of the 9 year term and if so on what terms and what were the break clause(s) in any renewal agreement.

6

Confirmation that the 9 year lease terminated at the end of the term and, if terminated, on what date and on what terms?

7

Confirmation of whether notice was given to the Tenants that the lease would not be renewed and on what date.

8

Confirmation of whether the department gave one years notice from the end of the lease period?

9

Confirmation of whether the department gave the Tenants 5 months formal written notice in February 2025?

Response

1

The report relating to Ministerial Decision MD-PH-2015-0070 is attached, however, some information is exempt under Article 33(b) Commercial Interests of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the annual rental fees are considered commercially sensitive.

FOI Response 852947637 MD-PH-2015-0070 report.pdf

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, prejudice and public interest tests have been applied and are shown at the end of this response.

Personal information within the document has also been redacted in accordance with Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

2, 3 and 4

A copy of the 9 year lease regarding the children's playground is attached, however, some information is exempt under Article 33(b) Commercial Interests of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the annual rental fees are considered commercially sensitive.

FOI Response 852947637 9 Year Lease.pdf​

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, prejudice and public interest tests have been applied and are shown at the end of this response.

Personal information within the document has also been redacted in accordance with Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

The start and end dates of the lease are shown on page 3 of the attached document.

5 and 6

The 9 year lease ended on 24 June 2024, which was the end of the term specified in the 9 year lease provided in response to question 2. A new 1 year lease regarding the children's playground was issued with effect from 24 June 2024. A copy is attached, however, some requested information is exempt under Article 33(b) Commercial Interests of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the annual rental fees are considered commercially sensitive.

FOI Response 852947637 1 Year Lease.pdf​

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, prejudice and public interest tests have been applied and are shown at the end of this response.

Personal information within the document has also been redacted in accordance with Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

7, 8 and 9 The 9 year and 1 year leases terminated on the dates specified in the documents provided in response to questions 2 and 5, therefore, notice was not required. However, the Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) notified the Parish of Grouville

on 12 September 2024 that they would be relinquishing the lease of the children's play area.

Articles applied

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public interest test

In applying this article, the following considerations were considered.

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure

There is a general public interest in promoting transparency and accountability in the use and management of public assets. Disclosure of lease provisions relating to rental fees

• Ensure the general public to be made aware of the annual rental received by the Scheduled Public Authority in relation to the referenced site.

• Allow scrutiny of whether value for money is being achieved in lease agreements

• Support openness in decision-making and contractual arrangements involving public resources

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information

Disclosure of the withheld lease provisions would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of both the SPA and the counterparty. In particular:

• The information reveals commercially sensitive terms, including rental fees

• Disclosure could undermine the negotiating position of the public authority in future lease or property-related negotiations by revealing standard rental values

• There is a risk that third parties would be less willing to enter into negotiations with the SPA if sensitive contractual terms are routinely disclosed

• The cumulative effect of disclosure could distort the market by giving undue advantage to other parties in comparable negotiations

Assessment of prejudice

The likelihood of prejudice is considered real and significant, rather than remote or hypothetical. Lease agreements are inherently commercial in nature, and the specific rental value forms a key part of their negotiated value. Disclosure would provide insight into commercially sensitive positions that could be exploited in future dealings.

Balance of the public interest

While there is a strong public interest in transparency and accountability, this must be balanced against the need to protect the ability of the SPA to operate effectively in a commercial environment.

In this case, the public interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption, as:

• Effective management of public assets depends on the SPA’s ability to negotiate contracts without disadvantage

• Protecting commercially sensitive information helps ensure best value for public funds in the long term

• Some transparency may already be achieved through disclosure of non-sensitive or summary information, reducing the need to release detailed contractual terms

The SPA has concluded that, on balance, the public interest favours withholding the information under Article 33(b), as disclosure would be likely to prejudice commercial interests in a meaningful and non-trivial way

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.​