Durham County Council
- Date 1 March 2023
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 11.4: Upheld, EIR 5.2: Upheld, EIR 6: Upheld, EIR 6.1: Upheld
The complainant has requested information from Durham County Council (DCC) for copies of planning files and maps for Broseley Homes, an application for the adoption of a road and files detailing the demolition and clean-up of West Moseley farm.
DCC provided some information and relied on Regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIR (publicly accessible) to not provide the remainder.
The Commissioner’s decision is that DCC is entitled to rely on regulation 6(1)(b) (form and format of information) as the relevant information it holds is easily accessible to the complainant via its planning portal. However, as DCC failed to issue a refusal notice within 20 working days, and then failed to carry out an internal review within 40 working days, the Commissioner has found a breach of Regulation 5(2), 6(2), and Regulation 11(4), of the EIR respectively.
The Commissioner does not require further steps.