In yet another blow to transparency, Kempsey Parish Council has refused a second Freedom of Information request – this time for details surrounding the proposed Community Café / Sports Pavilion refurbishment at Plovers Rise.
Residents have been asking for clarity on this small but surprisingly expensive project, which has already been costed at over £14,000, plus an additional £2,642 for a commercial coffee machine – all to support a café operation expected to open only one morning per week.
Given the scale of spending versus the scale of operation, residents understandably want to know where this money has gone, how decisions were made, why delays keep occurring, and whether the project is being managed effectively.
Instead, the Parish Council has formally declined the request, stating that gathering the information would cost more than the statutory £450 FOI limit.
What information was requested?
The FOI sought entirely normal documentation for a public spending project, such as:
- Payments, invoices, quotes, purchase orders (including equipment like the £2,642 coffee machine)
- Approved budgets and any revisions
- Total spend to date, broken down by financial year and cost category
- Project milestones, delays, decisions, and reasons
- Internal/external reports
- Any staff or project manager appointments
The Parish Council confirmed it does hold all this information. Then refused to release it.
The Official Reason: “Too Much Staff Time Required”
According to the Council, providing the requested records would require reviewing years of emails, files, financial documents, and reports – work that they say would exceed 18 hours, and therefore the £450 FOI threshold.
This explanation raises a fairly obvious question:
If the Parish Council cannot locate the documentation for a small refurbishment project totalling over £16,642 including equipment – then how is the project being managed at all?
The Council approved spending.
The Council purchased equipment.
The Council commissioned works.
The Council promoted the project publicly.
Yet when asked to show the paperwork:
“Sorry, there’s too much of it.”
Staffing Costs vs. Administrative Capacity
This refusal is particularly striking because residents collectively fund three Parish Council staff, costing almost £100,000 per year. Despite this significant staffing structure, we are told there is still not enough administrative capacity to retrieve:
- A handful of invoices
- A budget file
- A few reports
- A list of decisions and milestones
- And the procurement paperwork for a £2,642 coffee machine
How is it possible that a small project requires so much digging that transparency becomes impossible?
A Pattern Emerging
This is now the second major project where FOI transparency has been blocked due to “workload” – the first being Pixham Ferry Lane.
The pattern:
- Parish Council approves spending
- Projects stall or drift
- Money goes out
- Residents ask questions
- Parish Council declines to answer
- Reason given: “It would take too long to find the paperwork”
This is not acceptable governance.
It is not transparency.
And it is certainly not what residents are paying for.
Questions the Community Deserves Answers To
- Why is a once-a-week café costing over £16,642 before it has even opened?
- What is the breakdown of that spending?
- Why can’t the Parish Council retrieve basic documentation?
- Why are project records so scattered and disorganised that they exceed FOI limits?
- How does this align with the nearly £100k annual staffing budget?
- And why is transparency becoming the exception rather than the norm?
Residents expect – and are legally entitled to – clear, accessible records for publicly funded projects.
Next Steps
We will continue following this matter, pursuing internal reviews, and updating the community as more information becomes available. Transparency should not be optional, and residents should not have to fight to see how their own money is being spent.
More updates will follow.
Here’s the FOI request:
Parish Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer
Kempsey Parish Council
Parish Office, Community Centre
Main Road, Kempsey
Worcester WR5 3LQ
Dear Ms Dunn,
Subject: Freedom of Information request – Community Café / Sports Pavilion project at Plovers Rise
As a resident of Kempsey, pursuant to the statutory rights under the relevant freedom of information / local transparency provisions, I am requesting information relating to the “Community Café / Sports Pavilion” project at the Plovers Rise site (also referred to as the Pavilion / Youth Centre club area) which the Parish Council has undertaken or proposed.
Specifically, I request the following:
- All payments, contracts, invoices, quotations, purchase orders, budget allocations, and commitment records made by the Parish Council relating to the refurbishment or development of the Pavilion / Plovers Rise site (Community Café / Youth Centre) from the date when this project was first approved until the present.
- The project budget(s) approved by the Parish Council for this project including: the total approved budget, grant funding awarded/accepted (with source and date), local funding committed, and any revisions to the budget (with rationale) over time.
- Funds spent to date on the project, broken down by financial year and (where possible) by major category (e.g., construction works, kitchen works, seating & furnishings, equipment, consultancy fees), and amount remaining or outstanding commitments (contracted but unpaid) as at the most recent month-end.
- A summary table or list of project milestones (approved by Council or Committee) including key dates such as: approval of business case, grant award, start of refurbishment works, projected opening date for café, actual opening date (if open), and any delays or re‑scheduling (with councillor decision minutes/reference).
- Any internal or external reports, reviews, audits or cost‑overrun assessments relating to this project, including documentation of why delays have occurred, and any decisions taken to mitigate additional cost (for example cancellation of contract, change of scope, or alternative procurement).
- If any staff or project‑manager appointments or terminations were made specifically for this project, please provide: the name of the person(s), their contract/appointment date and value, termination date (if applicable) and reason for termination or reassignment.
Please provide this information in electronic form (preferably as PDF or Excel files) where possible. If any part of this request is exempt from disclosure, I would appreciate your informing me of the relevant exemption(s) being applied, any redactions made, and whether a partially‑redacted version could be released.
I understand that under the relevant legislation you have up to 20 working days (or the statutory timeframe) to respond to this request. I would appreciate acknowledgement of this request within five working days, and a substantive reply as soon as possible.
Thank you for your assistance and for maintaining transparency.
Yours sincerely,
Here’s the final KPC response
