Bury Metropolitan Borough Council

The complainant requested information relating to civic suites owned by Bury Council. The council had carried out a review of the sites and had produced recommendations relating to the future of the sites. The complainant requested a copy of the review document, together with the sites income and expenditure records. The council disclosed some of the information from the review however it withheld the remainder of the information under section 43(2)(commercial interests). The Commissioners decision is that the information does engage section 43(2) as a disclosure would be likely to be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the council. However he has also decided that the public interest in maintaining the exemption does not outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information in this instance.