Request for information - Ref No: FOI211036
Request
Thank you for your email of 13/09/2021, submitted via our on-line form, requesting information from Ordnance Survey (OS) in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, as set out in the extract below:
- I seek information on the TOTAL NUMBER and TOTAL SIZE (acres, hectares or other measure) of ALL public (government-owned, as opposed to private) allotment sites in the UK.
- I seek the MOST CURRENT data you hold, plus data for TWO PRIOR DECADES (i.e. today, 10 yrs prior, and 20 years prior). I need to track the increase or decrease over the period.
- May I request for the information to be broken down by REGION, please. I don’t necessarily require information for each individual site, just aggregates by local authority or region, adding up to the whole of the UK.”
Our response
I confirm that OS does not hold the information you have requested.
Your request is asking for data relating to allotment sites which are publicly owned, as opposed to privately owned allotment sites in the UK. OS does not hold information in relation to the ownership of allotment sites in the UK, therefore we do not hold allotment site data which differentiates between public and privately owned allotment sites.
Under the duty to provide information and assistance in accordance with section 16 of FOIA, we can provide the following information which may assist you in this matter.
Our Open Greenspace Product depicts the location and extent of allotments/community growing spaces. Using our Open Greenspace Product, you can access the current data for the total number and total size of all the allotments/community growing space in the UK. This can be accessed, for free, as a downloadable dataset here: OS Open Greenspace | Greenspaces in urban and rural areas | Vector Map Data | Free Download (ordnancesurvey.co.uk). Please note, Open Greenspace does not differentiate between public and private allotments and does not contain historic data for the past two decades as you have requested.
If you also required the current data for all the allotment sites (not just public allotment sites) broken down by region, in addition to Open Greenspace, you would need to download the appropriate GIS mapping software for working with OS map data, we recommend QGIS and also our free Boundary-Line Product.
Alternatively, you can contact one of our licenced partners, who may be able to assist you accessing the information we do hold in our Open Products, they would not be able to provide you with all the information you have requested as stated above this is not held. A list of our licenced partners is available, via our ‘Find a business partner’ page here: Find a Business Partner | List of Ordnance Survey Partners
Internal review
Your enquiry has been processed according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. If you are unhappy with our response, you may request an internal review with our Internal Review Officer by contacting them, within two months of receipt of our final response to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request, as follows:
Internal Review Officer
Customer Service Centre
Ordnance Survey
Adanac Drive
Southampton
SO16 0AS
Please include the reference number above. You may request an internal review where you believe Ordnance Survey has:
- Failed to respond to your request within the time limits (normally 20 working days)
- Failed to tell you whether or not we hold the information
- Failed to provide the information you have requested
- Failed to explain the reasons for refusing a request
- Failed to correctly apply an exemption or exception
The Internal Review Officer will not have been involved in the original decision. They will conduct an independent internal review and will inform you of the outcome of the review normally within 20 working days, but exceptionally within 40 working days, in line with the Information Commissioner’s guidance.
The Internal Review Officer will either: uphold the original decision, provide an additional explanation of the exemption/s applied or release further information, if it is considered appropriate to do so.
Appeal to Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
If, following the outcome of the internal review you remain unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal, within three months of receiving our response, with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Further information can be found on the ICO website (ico.org.uk) under ‘Report a concern’ or you may wish to call the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113.