Members of the public have the right to access environmental information held by public authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004.
How to make an Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) request
See our previous responses to Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests, and find out how to submit new ones
What is classed as environmental information?
Environmental information comprises:
- The state of elements of the environment, such as air, water, soil, land, fauna (including human beings).
- Emissions and discharges, including noise, energy, radiation, waste and other such substances.
- Measures and activities such as policies, plans, and agreements affecting or likely to affect the state of the elements of the environment.
- Reports, cost-benefit and economic analyses.
- The state of human health and safety, and contamination of the food chain.
- Cultural sites and built structures (to the extent they may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment).
Our maps and data are not classified as environmental information under EIR.
Our map data merely shows that a topographical feature exists in a particular geographic position and does not declare either the state of a feature or whether any activity has an effect upon it.
Requests for access to our mapping data under EIR will, in the majority of cases, be treated under the section 6 (1) (b) exception under EIR.
Access to information under the EIR is subject to exceptions. If an exception applies, access to the information may be refused. Some exceptions in the regulations are subject to a public interest test. This means that we must explain why the public interest in withholding information outweighs that of disclosure. There is a general presumption in favour of disclosure.
Existing information requests and responses
See our previous responses to Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests.
Before you make a new EIR request
Did you know?
You can read OS environmental information on our website, such as our environmental and sustainability policy, our sustainable commitments, and how location intelligence can help protect the environment against climate change. Please browse the following resources before making a new EIR request.
Environmental and sustainability policy
We have an obligation to protect the environment and prevent pollution through the products we create, and the management of our supply chain.
Our environmental sustainability commitments
As an organisation we've put measures in place to make a positive impact on environmental sustainability, and have big plans for a sustainable future.
See a sustainable place
Learn how OS location intelligence can help build more resilient societies and protect the environment against climate change.
Publication scheme
Information about what we do and how we do it is readily available via the OS publication scheme.
Existing information requests and responses
Use Ordnance Survey's finder tool to find the public information you're looking for.
How to make an Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) request
You can make a request for recorded information under the Environmental Information Regulations Act.
Make a request
Our preferred methods of contact are as follows:
- Complete an online form. This is the quickest and most efficient way for us to process your request. Please fill out the form below
- Email us at FOI@os.uk
- Write to us at Ordnance Survey, Explorer House, Adanac Drive, Southampton, SO16 0AS
Please ensure to:
- Be specific about the recorded information you require.
- Include your full name and email, or postal address so that we can reply in full.
- State in your application if you prefer your information in a particular format.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has a useful guide: How to access information from a public body, which provides useful information to consider when making a request.
We do not normally charge for this service.
If you are unhappy with our response to a request you have made under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), you have the right to request an internal review of the decision.
What happens next?
We will advise you within 20 working days if we hold the information you have requested and can release it.
The Environmental Information Regulations Act allows us, in exceptional cases, to extend the 20 working day response time where we are exempting information in accordance with a qualified exemption. This allows us to fully consider where the public interest lies.
If your requested information falls within categories specified in the Act, such as personal data about individual employees, we may withhold it.
Related information
Make a Freedom of Information request
You have the right to access information held by public bodies like us that is not routinely available from other sources. This is laid out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Make a Subject Access request
Under the “Right of Access of the Data Subject”, you are entitled to request a copy of the information we are processing about you.
