Planning policy privacy notice

At Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council we take your privacy seriously and will only keep and use your personal information for reasons law requires or allows. We are a data controller for the personal information we hold about you in relation to Planning Policy. In order to comply with data protection legislation we want to be sure you understand how we use this information.

How we use your data

The purposes for which the data will be used are:

  • to maintain an up to date, confidential consultation database so that we can ensure we are consulting those we are required to by law as listed in the relevant regulations, and anyone who has given their consent to us holding their data to enable us to keep them personally informed of consultations run by the planning policy team (name, address/email address). Individuals can unsubscribe to this database at any time
  • for the formulation of local plans. Local plans determine land use and planning policy for the area which then sets the context for making decisions on planning applications. The production of these is strictly regulated and we will consult on these using the information held on our database. When you submit comments to a local plan consultation your name and your comments will be made public. All other personal information will be held confidentially. When we consult on the ‘proposed submission’ stage of the local plan (i.e. the version intended to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination in public), and on any subsequent modifications the information you submit when making your comments will need to be shared with the Planning Inspectorate. This will include personal information (name and contact details) so that they can contact you to enable you to participate in the examination process. We will make this clear on our consultation forms for this stage of the process
  • as part of the local plan examination, local plan hearing sessions are events chaired by a Planning Inspector who has been appointed by the Secretary of State to examine the various policies and proposals in the local plan. Where hearing sessions take place virtually, participants are able to attend either through video conferencing (through Microsoft Teams) or via telephone (dialling in on a landline or mobile phone). The data collected at a virtual event may include: The data collected at a virtual event may include: personally identifiable information such as an e-mail address requested in an event invite, phone number, IP address when connected to an event through an electronic device, display name collected from the participants joining details, voice and self-image when the participant activates their camera. Metadata may be taken from joining the virtual meeting including: an IP address, joining account information and browser type (if a browser is being used instead of the Microsoft Teams app)
     
    Cookies are also collected by Microsoft when using the Microsoft Teams platform, which is covered by the Microsoft privacy statement.
     
  • recording/live streaming of local plan hearing sessions: if you participate in a virtual hearing session, all the other attendees will be able to see you (if you connect by video), listen to what you say, and see your name. We will live stream and record the hearing sessions to ensure public access to the process. These will be publicly available online. In order to facilitate virtual Hearing sessions, we will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about you:
     
    • your voice will be recorded if you speak at a hearing session
       
    • your image will be recorded if you use a video feed when participating at a hearing session
       
    • your telephone number will be displayed if you participate at a hearing session by dialling in (if you do not want your telephone number to be displayed, you can turn off caller ID, generally known as dialling 141. This would need to be done each time you dial in to join a hearing session)
       
    • your name will appear and be recorded when invited to speak and it will be displayed during the meeting
       
  • the live stream and recording of hearing sessions will be made publicly available on our website and/or our YouTube channel. Anyone who chooses to watch the live stream or recording of a hearing session will be able to see you (if you connect by video), listen to what you say, and see your name
  • during the examination, the Inspector will hear representations from the parties and consider any further written representations that are accepted during that examination. We, as the local planning authority provide a Programme Officer to support the Inspector, and correspondence and examination material are exchanged between the local planning authority and the Inspector through the Programme Officer
  • we will have in place a service level agreement (SLA) with PINS. We engage PINS as a data processor for the purposes of conducting the examination. We, as the data controller will exercise overall control over the purpose for which, and the way your personal data are processed. The Programme Officer will administer attendance at virtual hearing sessions. Any data processing agreement will be for the duration of the specific examination in question only
  • live stream recordings will be retained whilst the local plan document is being adopted and for a period of time following adoption, until the period for legal challenge has passed, or any legal challenge has concluded
  • for the formulation of supplementary planning documents and other planning policy documents. These documents supplement and add detail to adopted policy in the local plan. We will consult on these using the information held on our planning policy database. When you submit comments your name and your comments will be made public. All other personal information will be held confidentially
  • for revisions to the statement of community involvement. This is a statutory document which we produce to show how we will engage the community in the planning process. When we make substantive changes to this we will publicly consult, using the information held on our planning policy consultation database. When you submit comments your name and your comments will be made public. All other personal information will be held confidentially
  • for fulfilling our legal duties in relation to the production of neighbourhood plans. Parish councils or certain other community bodies can choose to produce these but the district council has a legal duty to consult at certain stages of the process and will use the planning policy consultation database for this purpose. When you submit comments your name and your comments will be made public. All other personal information will be held confidentially. Your personal data will not be shared with the appointed independent examiner
  • call for sites submissions. This forms part of the evidence base required for local plan preparation. Landowners, developers and agents are publicly invited to submit sites which they would be interested in developing to the local planning authority: details of site submissions will be not be confidential with the exception of personal data e.g. phone number, address/email address
  • the brownfield land register. Local planning authorities are legally required to maintain and publish a register of previously developed land. The brownfield register forms part of the evidence base required for local plan preparation. Landowners, developers and agents are publicly invited to submit sites via the call for sites process which they would be interested in developing to the local planning authority: details of site submissions will be not be confidential with the exception of personal data e.g. phone number, address/email address
  • the self-build and custom build register. This is a record of people wishing to build their own dwelling within the borough.  In requesting to be added to the database, personal information is required which is set out in the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding (Register) Regulations 2016 which also sets out the process for removal from the register. Your personal information will not be published but data may need to be shared with other departments in helping us fulfil our duty in delivering sufficient plots
  • the conservation area appraisals and management plans. It is the duty of the local planning authority to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of the conservation areas and for their management. When we are required to consult on these we will carry out a targeted consultation to occupiers of properties within the relevant conservation area. When you submit comments your name and your comments will be made public. All other personal information will be held confidentially

When you submit comments your name, and that of the person or organisation you represent will be published. All other personal information will be held confidentially. Where you are representing another person or organisation you will need to declare that you have their consent to submit comments on their behalf. Comments will be made public and, because they are used to inform the development of policy, will not be able to be withdrawn once they have been processed and published.  Any comments received which are considered to be inflammatory, offensive or otherwise inappropriate will be rejected and will not be published. On occasions, rejected comments may appear in the form of redacted elements of your submission in those instances where this approach is considered to be appropriate.

Legislation

The relevant legislation which say that we can carry out these functions and it is in the public interest are:

  • The Town and Country Planning Act 1990
  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
  • Planning Act 2008
  • Localism Act 2011
  • Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015
  • Housing and Planning Act 2016
  • Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017
  • Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
  • All associated regulations

We are required by the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 to hold and use some of your information for submission to the Planning Inspectorate in relation to the examination of a local plan, where this information has been submitted to us in accordance with regulation 19 of the aforementioned regulations (i.e. your consultation responses when we formally consult on the ‘proposed submission’ version of the plan).

How long we will keep your information; we only keep this data for the time specified in our retention schedule or as required by law.

Data protection law provides you with certain rights, however not all of these rights will be available to you in all situations, particularly where we process your information as part of one of our statutory duties. Where we are under a legal duty to use data for a particular purpose you will not have the right to prevent it being used in that way.

Your rights

A full list of the rights you may have, under data protection law, is given on the 'your rights' webpage.

Contact

If you wish to contact us in relation to any of your information rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer:

  • In writing to: The Data Protection Officer, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council, Castle House, Barracks Road, Newcastle under Lyme, ST5 1BL

If you wish to complain about how your personal information has been handled by Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council then please contact the Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the details above.

If you are not satisfied you can submit a formal complaint to us.

Finally you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Further information

You can also find further details of how we handle your personal information by reading our main privacy notice.