Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested information from Warkworth Harbour Commissioners (WHC) relating to the granting of a licence to the Coquet Yacht Club to lay moorings in the River Coquet. WHC refused to comply with the request on the basis that it was not a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the -�Act-�). The Commissioner accepts that WHC is not a public authority for the purposes of the Act but has determined that the information in question is environmental information, as defined by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the -�EIR-�). The Information Commissioner (the -�Commissioner-�) determined that WHC is a public authority for the purposes of the EIR and it is therefore required to respond to the request in line with the provisions of those regulations. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: disclose the requested information or provide the complainant with a relevant refusal notice in line with regulation 14 of the EIR.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: EIR 2.2 - Complaint Upheld