Hertsmere Borough Council

The complainant requested information relating to the granting of outline planning permission for a data centre in South Mimms. Hertsmere Borough Council (the “council”) refused the request on cost grounds under section 12 of the FOIA. During the Commissioner’s investigation the council reconsidered the request under the EIR and confirmed that it was relying on the exception in regulation 12(4)(b) (manifestly unreasonable) to refuse the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the council was not entitled to rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR to refuse the request and that it breached regulation 14(2) by failing to issue a refusal notice in time. The Commissioner requires the council to provide the complainant with a fresh response to the refined version of the request that complies with the EIR and that doesn’t rely on regulation 12(4)(b).