Exeter City Council

The complainant requested copies of the restricted enclosures listed in respect of a decision on Exeter City Council’s (the Council) website in relation to land at Pendragon Road.  The Council initially refused the request in its entirety citing regulation 12(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) of the EIR. Following an internal review, the Council provided supporting documents and a redacted copy of the report. It continued to rely on regulation 12(5)(e) in respect of the redactions in the report.  The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has not demonstrated that regulation 12(5)(e) is engaged and was not therefore entitled to rely on the exception to withhold the remaining information. The Commissioner also finds that the Council breached regulation 11 of the EIR by failing to provide the outcome of its internal review within 40 working days. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Provide an unredacted copy of the report.