Cheshire West and Chester Council

The complainant requested various information in respect of a boundary wall at the rear gardens of a row of properties including reports that Cheshire West and Chester Council, (’the Council’) have commissioned regarding the wall. The Council refused the request citing regulation 12(5)(b) (the course of justice) to withhold the information. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the Council wrote to the complainant confirming that it does not hold information in respect of item two of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that some of the information constitutes the complainant’s own personal data, and as such, regulation 5(3) of the EIR applies. The Commissioner has also determined that the Council correctly applied regulation 12(5)(b) to the withheld information. The Commissioner does not require any steps.