Request for documents: HP3992NK
Case reference EIR2026/30503
Received 25 June 2026
Published 9 July 2026
Request
Response
We respond to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Please find the requested permit documents attached to this response. These comprise the original Environmental Permit (Waste Operations) HP3992NK, the modification dated 2005/06 changing the permitted activity to Physical Treatment, and the transfer notice from 2025.
Please refer to the Open Government Licence which explains the permitted use of this information.
Information Warnings:
(i) Personal Data in the Information is exempt from the Open Government Licence.
(ii) It is the responsibility of the licensee to ensure that data they hold is accurate and up to date.
Reg 13(1) EIR - Other People's Personal Data
Redacted data
We are unable to disclose staff signatures contained within the permits, as signatures constitute personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and to disclose it would breach the First Data Protection Principle of the DPA 2018. The information requested is therefore exempt due to Regulation 13(1) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, which explains that:
"To the extent that the information requested includes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject, a public authority must not disclose the personal data if-
(a) the first condition is satisfied…"
The 'first condition' referred to above is further explained in Regulation 13(2)(a):
"The first condition is that the disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under these Regulations-
(a) would contravene any of the data protection principles…"
It is our view that some of the information requested would identify individuals, and that its disclosure would therefore contravene the First Data Protection Principle of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The First Data Protection Principle requires that we are fair to individuals when we collect, hold and use their personal data. In this case it would be unfair to disclose information that would identify individuals who have been the subject of a report as those individuals have a reasonable expectation that such information held by the Environment Agency would remain confidential
Rights of appeal
If you are not satisfied with our decision, you can contact us within two calendar months to ask for the decision to be reviewed. We will then conduct an internal review of our response to your request and give you our decision in writing within 40 working days.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you can then make an appeal to the Information Commissioner Office, the statutory regulator for the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please follow this link to the ICO online complaints portal. The address is: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.
Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate) | Fax: 01625 524 510 | Email: icocasework@ico.org.uk | Website: www.ico.org.uk
Documents
This is Environment Agency's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.