London Borough of Croydon

The complainant has requested information relating to the proposed redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre, a shopping complex in Croydon. The London Borough of Croydon (the Council) provided some of the information subject to redactions. However, this notice concerns one request that asked for a copy of the viability information produced by the developer and the Council’s claim that it did not hold this information for the purposes of the EIR. The Council explained that the developer only shared the viability information with an adviser to the Council and not the Council itself. Furthermore, the sharing of the information was subject to a confidentiality agreement. The Council argued that the effect of these arrangements was that regulation 3(2)(b) of the EIR did not apply to the requested information. Regulation 3(2)(b) provides that under the EIR environmental information is held by a public authority if it is held by another person on behalf of the authority. The Commissioner has found that the Council’s analysis is correct and therefore the Council was not obliged to consider the requested information under the EIR. The Commissioner does not require the Council to take any steps. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2014/0306 withdrawn.