Bridgend County Borough Council

The complainant requested information about a public right of way. Bridgend County Borough Council (the Council) withheld the information requested under section 22 of the FOIA. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the Council agreed that the correct access regime for the request is the EIR as opposed to the FOIA. Following a reconsideration of the request under the EIR, the Council agreed to disclose some of the information it originally withheld and stated that it was relying on regulation 12(4)(d) (material in the course of completion) to withhold other information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has correctly applied regulation 12(4)(d) to some of the information. However, the Commissioner also finds that the Council has breached regulation 5(2) of the EIR in failing to provide the information it agreed was not exempt during the Commissioner’s investigation. The Commissioner requires the Council to disclose the emails to which the draft plans of the public rights of way were attached.