FOI Request - Impact of Pandemic on Hopeman and Cummingston

Request 101003145032

I am currently undertaking a qualification called a Non-examinable assessment (NEA) as part of my Geography A level course.
I am investigating the impact of the pandemic on local people's perceptions towards where they live. The specific places I have chosen are Hopeman and Cummingston.
The factors I'm currently looking into are
1. Tourism
2. Housing developments,
3. Shift in the flow of people.

I was wondering if it would be possible to request any confidential data based on the above factors?

Response 30-09-2022

1. Covid-19 Business Support Grants were issued to four tourism- related businesses in Hopeman which were affected by closures/restrictions during the pandemic.

2. Current and past planning approval for housing development in the Hopeman and Cummingston area can be accessed onling via the e-planning planning application search mechanism. The public have online access to current and past planning applications, and can use a map search system to localise their search via the search facility at http://www.moray.gov.uk/search/?sa=&q=building+standards

This information is therefore exempt under section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, information otherwise accessible.

3. The only data we have for the Hopeman area which would have been collected both before, during and after lockdowns is the counter on the Burghead to Hopeman cycle path which is not in the villages themselves.

Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), 2018 - 2021.

                                          Bike      Growth                      People      Growth

Hopeman - Burghead      2018      32        10.34%          2018      127          5.83%
                                2019      33          3.13%          2019      132          3.94%
                                2020      49        48.48%          2020      159        20.45%
                                2021      48        -2.04%          2021      189          8.87%

The Council has not carried out any studies of the perceptions of people in these communities in a post-pandemic context.  However, the Council has begun work on a Housing Need and Demand Assessment which will be published during summer 2023.  This study will provide a key evidence base for the Council's strategic response to housing needs in all tenures, delivered through the Local Development Plan and the Local Housing Strategy.  More details are available here: http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_123835.html and here: https://newsroom.moray.gov.uk/news/moray-council-launches-housing-needs-survey