Strategic Planning Privacy Notice

The following Privacy Notice applies to Strategic Planning.

This Notice explains how personal information is going to be used, what it is used for, who it might be shared with and why and for how long it is to be kept.

Horsham District Council (HDC) is fully committed to complying with The Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  We ensure that your personal data is processed fairly, lawfully kept safe and secure and retained for no longer than is necessary.

Data Controller

HDC is registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner's Office (registration number: Z7294458). As a Data Controller we take all necessary steps to comply with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and the UK GDPR when handling any personal information.

What information does Strategic Planning collect?

We collect and process a range of information about you, including:

• Contact details- name, address, email address, telephone number
• Organisation (if contacting us on behalf an organisation) - name, address, email address, telephone number

Why does Strategic Planning process personal data?

• Complying with relevant legislation and regulation, in particular:
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended.
  • Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended.
  • Freedom of Information Act 2000.
  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
  • The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004.
  • Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
  • Localism Act 2011 as amended.
  • Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England)Regulations 2012.
  • Town & Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations (2012) and Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014).
  • The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.
  • Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015.
  • The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (as amended).
  • The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
  • National Planning Policy Framework 2023.
• To undertake the Council’s statutory duty to prepare and maintain an up to date Local Plan.
• To undertake the Council’s statutory duty to prepare a Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment.
• To undertake the Council’s statutory duty to prepare a Brownfield Land Register
• To undertake the Council’s statutory duty to support Neighbourhood Plans.
• To undertake the Council’s statutory duty maintain a Self and Custom Build Register of Interest.
• Prepare and adopt statutory supporting documents for public consultations.

Who has access to data?

• Internal IT Support
• Third Party Online Consultation IT Support

We do not sell your personal information to anyone else, nor do we share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

Details of transfers to third country and safeguards

If your personal data needs to be transferred outside of the EEA we will make sure that an adequate level of protection is in place.

How does the council protect data?

Horsham District Council takes the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties.

The personal information that we collect from you must be handled and dealt with properly, covering how it is collected, recorded and used whether it is on paper, in computer records or recorded by other means and how long it is kept.

For how long does the council keep data?

We will only keep your information for as long as it is required to be retained. The retention period is either dictated by law or by our discretion. Once your information is no longer needed it will be securely and confidentially destroyed

• For Strategic Planning processing, we will hold your data in accordance with the Data Retention Schedule)
• For processing concerning Trees we will hold your personal data for 12 months from case closure
• For processing concerning Neighbourhood Plans we will hold your personal data for the life of the adopted Plan.
• For processing concerning Self and Custom House building register we will hold your personal data for 6 years, unless you request removal sooner.
• For Freedom of Information Requests and Environmental Information Regulations requests we will hold your personal data for 10 years.
• For general correspondence and enquiries we will hold your communication for 12 months then destroy.

What is the Legal Basis to allow us to use your personal information?

There are a number of legal reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information, including:

• The process of consulting the public, stakeholders and staff in the development of statutory planning policies such as Local Plans, Neighbourhood Plans, Site Allocation Documents or Joint Area Action Plans.
• The process of consulting the public, stakeholders and staff in the development of planning guidance, such as Supplementary Planning Documents, Conservation Area Management Plans
• General Consultations – e.g. surveys connected to the evidence base to inform the Local Plan, Neighbourhood Plans Supplementary Planning Documents.
• The requirement to maintain registers for the purposes of the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) the Brownfield Land Register,  and the  Self and Custom Build Register of Interest.

If we have consent to use your personal information, you have the right to remove it at any time. If you want to remove your consent, please email the Data Protection Officer and tell us which service you are using so we can deal with your request.

What if you do not provide personal data?

We will only ask for personal information that is appropriate to enable us to deliver our services. If you do not provide the information we need then we may not be able to formally process your representation or comment as part of any consultation that we are holding.

Your rights

You have the right to:

1. Be informed of data processing (which is covered by this Privacy Notice).
2. Access information (by making a Subject Access Request).
3. Have inaccuracies corrected.
4. Have information erased.
5. Restrict processing.
6. Data portability.
7. Intervention in respect of automated decision making and profiling.
8. Withdraw consent (see above).
9. Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (See below).

Contact us

To exercise any of these rights please write to Information Governance Team, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1RL or email dpa@horsham.gov.uk

As a public authority we are required to have a Data Protection Officer who is responsible for monitoring Horsham District Council’s compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR and other data protection laws.

To contact the Data Protection Officer, write to Data Protection Officer, Parkside, Chart Way Horsham, West Sussex. RH12 1RL or email dpa@horsham.gov.uk

Last review date: 12 January 2024