North Yorkshire County Council

The complainant has requested a 1:50 “hybrid satellite map” of a particular street. North Yorkshire County Council refused the request under the FOIA because it was “reasonably accessible” to the applicant – albeit for a fee. It therefore relied on section 21 of the FOIA to withhold the information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council should have dealt with the request under the EIR and not FOIA. She also finds that the Council does not in fact hold the requested information and therefore should have issued a refusal notice citing Regulation 12(4)(a) of the EIR. The Commissioner therefore finds that the Council failed to inform the complainant that it did not hold information and thus breached Regulation 14 of the EIR. The Commissioner does not require any further steps.