Public Highways and Right of Way

Under Freedom of Information could you please confirm:
1. Whether the Ordnance Survey received any order or letter of advice between 1986 and 1^st January 1989 advising of change of map through xxxxxx to the correct path xxxxxx.

2. Confirm as stated what was given to xxxxxx Council in digital record mid 1990s, the date, and whether this had xxxxxx as a highway (was this taken from their submissions pre-digitalisation from their erroneous paper records?)

3. Whether xxxxxx, Rights of Way Officer xxxxxx Council Highways gave Ordnance Survey a letter/order/anything to confirm that his investigations (1994 – 7^th December 1997) had confirmed that xxxxxx was private with private rights and was not a S36 highway, any kind of highway, not a Right of Way and should be erased and that xxxxxx was a highway/right of way and was the original path of the 1950 survey.

4. A map may have been generated on or about July 1998 exhibiting that xxxxxx was not a highway but this has not been disclosed to us; was there any update to Ordnance Survey from July 1998 to 7^th April 2003 publication digital map?

Thank you for your e-mail dated 2^nd June 2011. We respond to each of your questions in turn.  Please note that not all of the information you have requested is held by Ordnance Survey and this is detailed where applicable.

1. As per our previous FOI response FOI11169, we re confirm that this information is not held. 
This is because Ordnance Survey had no involvement with xxxxxx Council or its forebears and in the planning process for new roads/developments as they have occurred and we have never kept records of adopted maintainable highways at public expense, or orders or letters of advice.

2. This has already been responded to in your previous FOI request FOI11170 under your question 6, and I note this question was provided in this instance for clarification purposes.
As any information ingested in a digital product becomes ‘live’ as soon as it is uploaded, and there is no way of determining when or if xxxxxx was detailed as a highway other than viewing historical mapping at a deposit library or by viewing the digital snapshot from our digital data product as required.

3. I regret to advise that this information would not be held by Ordnance Survey. This is because any notifications which may have been received by xxxxxx for the above dates would not be retained. 
Once again, please note that Ordnance Survey had no involvement with xxxxxx Council or its forebears and in the planning process for new roads/developments as they have occurred and we have never kept records of adopted maintainable highways at public expense.

4. I regret to inform you that Ordnance Survey does not hold this information.
Mapping can be generated at any date by Ordnance Survey partners and licensees for their core business activity. If a map was generated in July 1998 using Ordnance Survey data under license we would not hold this information.
If you wish to view Ordnance Survey historical mapping for the dates in question, you would need to contact a local deposit library as detail in our previous response FOI11172 to view such mapping.

In terms of an update to Ordnance Survey between July 1998 and 7^th April 2003, as we have already advised in our response to FOI11170, our Data Quality Customer Support department regularly receive feedback from local authorities detailing real world changes or perceived discrepancies, however these are not retained once the information is noted.

Please note your enquiry has been processed according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. As all the requested information has been provided or is not held, we have determined that in all the circumstances of this case the Public interest consideration (section 17 FOIA) is not applicable in this instance.
If you are unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal to our Appeals Officer at:

FOI Appeals Officer
Customer Service Centre
Ordnance Survey
Adanac Drive
SOUTHAMPTON
SO16 0AS

Please include the reference number below. The Appeals Officer will ensure that the process has been followed correctly, questioning any decisions taken regarding the original response and recommending disclosure of additional information if appropriate.
Thank you for your enquiry.

Reference number: FOI11174/June 2011