West Sussex County Council
- Date 9 December 2014
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.4.b: Not upheld
The complainant requested information about outstanding statutory notices, issued under the Highways Act 1980. West Sussex County Council (‘the Council’) considered the request under the Freedom of Information Act and said that, under section 12 of the FOIA (exceeds appropriate cost limit), it was not obliged to comply with the request.
In the Commissioner’s view, the request is for environmental information and the Council should have considered it under the Environmental Information Regulations. He has therefore considered this case under the EIR regime. The Commissioner’s decision is that the request is manifestly unreasonable under regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR and that West Sussex County Council is not obliged to comply with it; and that the Council has complied with regulation 9(1) because it offered reasonable advice and assistance to the complainant.