Planning Service Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice sets out what you need to know about how the City of Doncaster Council will use your information in the course of our work as a Local Planning Authority.

The Council is committed to meeting its data protection obligations and handling your information securely.  You should make sure you read and understand this notice before submitting your information to us.

What information about you do we collect?

For the processing to which this notice relates to be carried out we use the following information:

  • personal information (such as: your name, address, telephone number)

We might also use sensitive personal information, such as information about your physical health if it is relevant to your planning or building regulation application (for example, as evidence of exemption of a fee for a registered disabled person).

How do we collect information about you?

We might collect your information from:

  • You directly (e.g. by asking you to complete an online application form, when you comment on a planning application, you respond to a consultation, or if you contact us for a building control site visit)
  • Via an agent on your behalf
  • Via our online application platform services and associated payment channels
  • Someone who makes a planning enforcement complaint about your property

We also receive comments, representations, allegations and questions via email, letter and through our platforms.

Information required by law

The law means that you have to give us the information we have asked for on some forms, such as for a certificate of lawfulness and building control applications.  If you don’t give us this information then we will be unable to process your application for either of these services.

How will your information be used?

We use the information provided to us to make decisions about the use of land and development 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 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 also regularly monitor and review the planning process, by means of customer satisfaction surveys.  If you apply for planning permission or make a comment on a planning application, your information may be used to contact you to ask you to complete a survey. Results from the survey will be shared on our webpage however, the data will be anonymised so you will not be identifiable. You are under no obligation to take part in these surveys and can opt out at any time.

Our work as a Local Planning authority includes:

  • Making decisions and providing advice on planning and building control applications
  • Entering legal agreements, serving notices and promoting the best use of land
  • Providing advice on planning and building control matters
  • Responding to allegations of unlawful development
  • Making planning policies and supporting guidance, such as the Doncaster Local Plan and Supplementary Planning Documents, and ensuring that they consulted on appropriately during their preparation adopted through the relevant decision making process, are monitored, kept up to date, and reviewed if necessary
  • Monitoring development
  • Offer advice on and monitor design, conservation, biodiversity, ecology and trees
  • Working with neighbourhoods on their plans
  • Processing land searches

The Legal Basis for using your information

The tables below set out the legal basis for each of the activities that this Privacy Notice covers:

Personal Data Activity Legal Basis - GDPR Article 6 S8 Data Protection Act 2018 UK Legislation

Planning, Building Control and other (e.g. for works on trees, listed buildings and conservation areas) enquiries, applications, appeals, complaints, correspondence and enforcement.

 

Fee exemptions and planning considerations based on special category information supplied by applicants.

 

The Local Plan and any future review(s)

 

Working with neighbourhoods on their plans

 

Land Searches

(1)(e) to do so is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or in the exercise of official authority.                                                                

(c) the exercise of a function conferred on a person by an enactment or rule of law                                                                       

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and associated fee Regulations, The Building Act 1984 and various Regulations

 

Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

 

Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

 

Land Charges Act 1972.                                                                                   


Special Category Data Activity Legal basis - GDPR Article 9 Data Protection Act 2018 condition UK Legislation
Fee exemptions and planning considerations based on special category information supplied by applicants.                                                                                                      (2)(g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.                                                                                                                                                              

Paragraph 6(2)(a) of Part 2 of schedule 1 - the exercise of a function conferred on a person by an enactment or rule of law        

Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and associated fee Regulations.                                                                          

Who will your information be shared with?

We sometimes need to share your information within the Council or with other organisations. We will only share your information when necessary and when the law allows us to, and we will only share the minimum information we need to. For planning matters your information will be shared in the following ways:

  • If you make a Building Control or Planning application your name and address will be published on the Planning Applications Online
  • If you submit comments about a Planning application your name and address will be published on the Planning Applications Online
  • If an appeal against a planning decision or notice is made your information will be shared with the Planning Inspectorate.
  • If you submit comments about the Local Plan process or supporting planning guidance or other documents that we prepare, your name and comments will be published as part of consultation summary reports and decision making papers amongst the Local Plan web pages.
  • If you submit comments about the Neighbourhood Planning process we would share this with the appointed Independent Examiner. Details of whom are published on the Neighbourhood Plan web pages.
  • If you make a planning enforcement complaint your details are not published or in the public domain and you are protected under the Data Protection Act, it maybe in very exceptional circumstances evidence that you have is required for the progression of a case in the courts we will not progress the case further until having discussed the case and implications in full with you at that point.

We generally only share your information where doing so is necessary to planning services; however, in special cases we may also share your information with other individuals and organisations. For example, if you make a complaint to your Councillor, or if the sharing would help with a safeguarding issue, or help prevent a crime. Sometimes, we might share your information without your knowledge

The Council will never sell your information to anyone else.

Redaction

We operate a policy where we routinely redact the following details before making planning forms and documents available online:

  • Personal contact details for the applicant e.g. telephone numbers, email addresses
  • Signatures
  • Special Category Data e.g. supporting statements that include information about health conditions
  • Information agreed to be confidential

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 you can – ideally at the point of submitting the information. The best way to contact us about this issue is to email tsi@doncaster.gov.uk

How long will we keep your information?

We will keep your information for different periods of time, depending on what we are using it for. We only keep your information for as long as we need to, after which we will either securely delete the information.

Your rights

The law gives you specific rights over your information.  These rights are:

  • to be informed of our use of information about you;
  • of access to information about you;
  • rectify information about you that is inaccurate;
  • to have your information erased (the ‘right to be forgotten’);
  • to restrict how we use information about you;
  • to move your information to a new service provider;
  • to object to how we use information about you;
  • not to have decisions made about you on the basis of automated decision making;
  • to object to direct marketing; and,
  • to complain about anything the Council does with your information (please see the next section).

Some of the rights listed above apply only in certain situations, and some have a limited effect.  Your rights are explained further in the Individuals’ Rights Procedure on our website, as is how to make a request under one or more of them.

You can request information about yourself by making a subject access request on this page of the Council’s website.

Data Protection Officer (DPO)

The Council is required by law to have a DPO.  The DPO has a number of duties, including:

  • monitoring the Council’s compliance with data protection law;
  • providing expert advice and guidance on data protection;
  • acting as the point of contact for data subjects; and,
  • co-operating and consulting with the Information Commissioner’s Office (see ‘Complaints’ below).

 The Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:

information.governance@doncaster.gov.uk

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way in which your information has been handled you should contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer so that we can try and put things right.

Alternatively, and if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can also refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).  The ICO is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights, and they can investigate and adjudicate on any data protection related concerns you raise with them.  They can be contacted via the methods below:

Website:                 www.ico.org.uk

Telephone:              0303 123 1113

Post:                      Information Commissioner’s Office

                              Wycliffe House

                              Water Lane

                              Wilmslow

                              Cheshire

                              SK9 5AF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last updated: 26 February 2024 08:41:19

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