London Borough of Redbridge
- Date 11 March 2026
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 12(4)(e): Upheld, EIR 12(5)(b): Upheld, EIR 13: Partly upheld, EIR 5: Not upheld
The complainant requested all information and documentation information from the London Borough of Redbridge (the ‘Council’) about unapproved development at the Blake Hall Sports Ground since May 2018. The Council initially provided the complainant with some information within the scope of the request, but during the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, withheld the remainder of the information in full on the basis of regulations 12(4)(e) (internal communications), 12(5)(b) (course of justice), and 13 (third party personal data) of the EIR.
The Commissioner’s decision is that:
• some of the communications do not fall within the definition of ‘internal communications’ and therefore are not exempt from disclosure on the basis of regulation 12(4)(e). The Commissioner accepts that the remaining information is exempt from disclosure on the basis of regulation 12(4)(e) but the public interest favours disclosure of this information;
• none of the information withheld on the basis of regulation 12(5)(b) is exempt from disclosure on the basis of this exception as it is not engaged;
• the Council has correctly relied on regulation 13 of the EIR to withhold some of the information. In addition, the Commissioner has proactively applied regulation 13 to some information not withheld by the Council on this basis; and
• on the balance of probabilities, the Council is not likely to hold further information falling within the scope of the request.
The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Disclose all the information it has withheld on the basis of regulations 12(4)(e) and 12(5)(b) and some of the information withheld on the basis of regulation 13 of the EIR .
The Council must take these steps within 30 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.