Folkestone & Hythe District Council

The complainant has requested information about meetings held by the ‘Kent Planning Officers Group’. Folkestone and Hythe District Council informed the complainant that it could make the information available subject to a charge of £375.00, in accordance with regulation 8 of the EIR. The Council subsequently amended the charge to £325.00 during the course of the Commissioner’s investigation. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has breached regulation 8(3) by seeking to levy an unreasonable charge for the provision of environmental information. The Council also breached regulation 8(4) by failing to notify the complainant of the sought advance payment of the charge within the required time. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: Issue a fresh response to the complainant that does not seek to apply a charge under regulation 8.