Planning applications, appeals and general enquiries privacy statement

Why we collect information about you

  • Planning and Development Management is a statutory function Cheltenham Borough Council provides in exercise of its powers and duties under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 and Town and Country Planning (Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings) Act 1990. We collect your information to process your application to:
  • Apply for Planning Permission, Listed Building Consent or Certificate of Lawfulness. For a full list of application types please refer to our webpage planning and development
  • Submit an Appeal regarding your planning application decision
  • General enquires regarding Planning, Conservation Areas and Listed Building
  • Account registration on Public Access (to submit comments on planning applications and/or to follow developments on a planning application)
  • For information regarding how we handle your personal information for letters of representation on a planning application or for planning pre-application submissions please refer to our separate pages

What information do we collect about you?

We require the below information:

  • Name
  • Postal and email address
  • Contact telephone number
  • Confirmation of land ownership (or that you have served notice to the owner) via a certificate of ownership
  • In a small number of circumstances individual may need to provide us with “special category data” in support of their application (for example evidence of medical history).

Who do we share the information with?

  • We use the information provided to us to make decision 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” to allow your information to be used.
  • Some information provided to us we are obliged under the regulations to make available on the 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”.
  • We will make details of planning applications available online so that people can contribute their comments. Your name (registered applicant) and site address (which could be your home address) are available to view:
    • On our website (Public Access)
    • At Cheltenham Borough Council offices.
    • Certain applications (large scale developments, listed buildings and conservation areas) will be advertised in the local newspaper (this advertisement is sent to a media design company in the first instance) which will include your name (registered applicant) and site address
  • We will sometimes need to share the information we have with other parts of the council, for example to establish how long a building has been used as a dwelling.                                                                                                                                                        
  • Planning Committee - your name (registered applicant) and site address are shown as part of the application details. This is included on the committee agenda and minutes and is issued to members (via email and Modern.Gov) and available to the public via our website
  • Appeals
    • If you have submitted an appeal your application and full set of documents will be requested by the Planning Inspectorate
    • Your name (the appellant) and site address will be included in the neighbour consultation letter.

Is any information transferred to or stored on servers based outside the European Economic Area?

No.

How long do we keep your information?

  • Redaction (blanking things out)
    • We operate a policy where we routinely redact the following details before making forms and documents available online:
      • Personal contact details for the applicant, eg. telephone numbers and email addresses
      • Signatures
      • Special Category Date, eg. supporting statements that include information about health conditions
      • Information agreed to be confidential
    • Sometimes we might decide it is necessary, justified and lawful to disclose data that appears in the list above. In these circumstances we will let you know of our intention before we publish anything.
    • If you are submitting supporting information which you would like to be treated confidentially or wish to be specifically withheld from the public register, please let us know as soon as possible (ideally in advance of submitting your application).
  • Retention (how long do we keep your information)
    • We process many different types of application with various levels of information according to our retention policy. A summary is listed below:
    • Planning Applications
      • Statutory Register – application forms, planning decisions, approved plans, legal agreements are kept as a permeant record.
      • Supporting Documents – 7 years (6 years + 1)
      • Personal Information - telephone numbers and email addresses) will be removed from applications 7months after the Decision. The applicant name and site address, which could be the home address, will be kept as part of the application details as required by the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 as a permanent record.
    • General enquires (not resulting in a pre-application, duty officer appointment or pending application) – your initial enquiry and contact information will be kept for 3 months. It will then be either destroyed or deleted.
    • Public Access account – your details will be stored on our server for the duration of your registration to the service. Once you cancel an account it will be automatically deleted. Please refer to our Public Access homepage for further information and advice on how to manage your account.

Who do we collect from?

  • We get applicant information in two ways – it is supplied to us directly (or via a planning agent on their behalf) or we receive it from a third party website that provides a transaction service. These include:
  • If you have submitted your application online further information regarding their obligations under GDPR is available on their websites
  • We also receive comments, representations, allegations and questions via email, letter and through our online platform Public Access from members of the public

What are the consequences if we do not collect the data?

The council will be unable fulfil its obligations under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 and Town and County Planning (Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings) Act 1990 so will not accept or process your application.

Are any decisions about you made by automatic means?

No.

If you have questions about your data or privacy you can contact our data protection officer.