How we get and use your data

How we get your information

We get your information either from you directly, a planning agent on your behalf or from a third party website that offers a transaction service such as:

We also receive comments, representations, allegations and questions via email, telephone, letter and online via Public Access.

What we do with your information

To allow us to make decisions on your applications, you must give us some personal data such as your name, address and contact details. In some circumstances, you also give us data to support your application such as evidence of medical history.

We use the information to make decisions about the use of land in the public interest. This is known as a 'public task' and is why we do not need you to 'opt in' for your information to be used.

We are required to make some of your information available on planning registers. This is a permanent record of our planning decisions that form part of the planning history of a site, along with other facts that form part of the 'land search'.

If you supply personal information belonging to a third party make sure:

you have their permission
sensitive data such as, physical or mental health details are in a separate annex.

This is to ensure personal sensitive data is not published to our website.

Who processes your data

The information that you provide with a planning application or when you comment on new planning policy document or updates, will be processed by us, which is the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of the Data Protection Act.

In the case of Local Plan consultations, information is supplied by you or on your behalf via our dedicated online consultation portal (OpusConsult) as part of the submission of representations during a public consultation, linked to a key stage in the Local Plan process or other planning policy documents.

Further information is available in our Statement of Community Involvement.

How long we keep your information for

Personal information is retained in accordance with the council’s Corporate Retention Schedule and Town and Country Planning Act.

Planning service privacy statement