Freedom of Information
Make a Freedom of Information request
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives a member of the public right of access to information held by public bodies and places.
It gives obligations on those bodies and places to release the information on request, if it is not subject to any exemptions.
Any requests made under Freedom of Information needs to be made in writing to the Customer Service Centre or the relevant Service area.
Once the request has been received, a response will be sent within 20 working days. If certain exemptions apply, then you will be notified when we send a response.
Freedom of information publication scheme
A requirement of 'The Freedom of Information Act' is that every public authority should have a publication scheme, approved by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and to publish information covered by the scheme.
This publication scheme covers information routinely published by the Council. It is a list of “classes”, groups or types of information, within which information is available.
Please click here to view the Freedom of Information Publication Scheme. (PDF 973.5 kB)
The ICO has more information on the model publication scheme.
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 allows members of the public access to environmental information held by public authorities. This covers:
- The state of the elements of the environment, such as air, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites
- Emissions and discharges (gases and fluids), noise, energy, radiation, waste and other such substances
- Measures and activities such as policies, plans, and agreements affecting or likely to affect the state of the elements of the environment
- Reports, cost-benefit and economic analyses relating to the environment
- The state of human health and safety, including the contamination of the food chain
- Conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures inasmuch as they may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment
Making a request for environmental information
To submit a request for Environmental Information please complete our online form.
You may be able to access information regarding planning applications and local land charges without making a request.
Property Searches
There is a charge for environmental information requests where the request is a specific property search. The charges for property searches are:
£83.00 (+VAT) per hour.
A standard house sale/purchase enquiry will be charged as a single hour.
More complex enquiries will have the time estimated in advance.
A formal response will not be provided until payment has been received.
