Administrative / Public Law · First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)
Paul Lewis v The Information Commissioner
Checked against the judgment on 21 August 2026 · how we verify
Facts
The appellant, Paul Lewis, made a request for environmental information to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council on 10 June 2024 concerning 5G-enabled telecommunications masts within the Council's area. The request asked how many such masts were located in the area and then sought numerical information in six further categories concerning planning applications, environmental impact assessments, exclusion zone maps, health impact assessments, certificates of compliance, and post-installation radiation monitoring. The Council responded on 26 June 2024 relying on regulation 6(1)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, directing the appellant to its Public Access planning portal and an accompanying user guide. The appellant replied the same day that the answers were not available at the link given, and on 4 July 2024 the Council suggested searching the term '5G'. Following an internal review requested on 22 August 2024, the Council maintained its position on 10 September 2024, giving examples of planning applications said to be typical, and stated that it did not hold the information sought about monitoring of radiation levels of installed masts. The appellant complained to the Information Commissioner, who on 27 January 2025 issued a decision notice concluding that the information was publicly available and easily accessible so that regulation 6(1)(b) applied, and required no further steps. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.
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