Beeford Parish Council

The complainant has requested information from Beeford Parish Council (“the Council”) concerning the installation of a bus shelter in the parish. This included a copy of the papers circulated to councillors ahead of a closed meeting in which concerns related to the specific bus shelter installation was discussed. The Council had responded to the majority of the request however it had withheld some information and advised that it was not in the public interest to publish the remainder of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that as the request relates to the installation of a bus shelter and some health and safety concerns the complainant had, which would indirectly impact the environment, the request should be assessed and responded to under the EIR rather than the FOIA. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: reconsider the request under the provisions of the EIR and issue a fresh response to the complainant. The Council must take this step within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.