Information Commissioner's Office

Hounslow London Borough Council

22 October 2015, Local government (Borough council)

The complainant has requested a copy of the viability assessment prepared in support of Brentford Football Club’s planning application for a new stadium. The London Borough of Hounslow (the Council) has provided a copy of the viability assessment subject to redactions made in accordance with the ‘commercial or industrial confidentiality’ exception (regulation 12(5)(e)) in the EIR. The complainant has challenged these redactions and asked the Commissioner to consider whether the Council was entitled to withhold the various items of information contained within the assessment. The Commissioner has found that parts of the withheld information engage the exception (pages 27 (JLL value assumptions) and 32 (Table 10.2.5) and the Appraisal Summaries (Appendix 7)) and the public interest favours withholding this information. For the remainder, the Commissioner has decided that the exception does not apply and the information should therefore be disclosed. The public authority must take these steps within 35 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.

EIR 12(5)(e): Partly upheld