Torbay Council

The complainant submitted an information request to Torbay Council (the Council) for all communication involving the case officer and/or statutory/external consultees, in relation to two specific planning applications.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council did not seek clarification of the request, and in failing to do so, breached regulation 9(1) of the EIR.
The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation:
• Write to the complainant seeking clarification of their request for ‘all communication involving the case officer and/or statutory/external consultees’.
The public authority must take these steps 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.