Environment

Environmental information

Barristers at Landmark Chambers frequently advise and appear on behalf of clients in respect of issues relating to access to environmental information.

Overview

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”), as well as the associated European Council Directive 2003/4/CE on public access to environmental information and the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, have gained greater prominence in recent years with parties relying upon these provisions in a range of planning and environmental law matters.

From disputes relating to the sorts of bodies to whom the regulations apply (Fish Legal and Emily Shirley v Information Commissioner, United Utilities Water plc, Yorkshire Water Services Ltd, Southern Water Services Ltd and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2015] UKUT 0052 (AAC)), to disputes concerning the confidentiality of information provided within viability assessments in support of planning applications, Landmark barristers have been involved in many important cases which have set the scene for ongoing information disputes.

Landmark barristers advise on the scope and application of the EIR, and the circumstances in which they can be relied upon to illicit information from public bodies, particularly in the planning and development context. They also act in disputes regarding access to information, including complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office and thereafter appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (and, in appropriate cases, beyond).

Those providing confidential information to planning decision-makers need to be aware of the prospect of disclosure of that information, and the circumstances in which disclosure can be resisted. Landmark’s barristers are particularly adept at advising on access to information matters within this and other contexts.