We take your privacy seriously and will only keep and use your personal information for reasons the law requires or allows.
The Council is the data controller for the personal information we hold about you regarding Neighbourhood Plan Consultation representations.
The purposes for which your data will be used
To enable the processing of planning and associated applications and any subsequent appeals. Planning laws set out the requirements for consultation in relation to Neighbourhood Plans as defined by the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 and the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 (Commencement No 3) Regulations 2018. Consultation also has to be undertaken in line with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). Representations received are used to help inform decisions about how the Plan for the Parish / Forum area should take shape. Representations received at the Regulation 16 Publicising a plan proposal stage have to be ‘duly made’ and are submitted, along with the Neighbourhood Plan and accompanying documentation, to the Local Planning Authority so that, through an independent Examination process, an Examiner can decide whether a Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions or whether representations raise issues, which may render the plan unsound or require changes to be made.
Our lawful basis for carrying out these tasks
We are able to do this because we have your consent to do so, legislation says we must do it and that it is in the public interest to do so. There are several pieces of legislation that apply to the processing of planning and associated applications. The main rules that set out how to process these applications are contained in:
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, Localism Act 2011, Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017, Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 (Commencement No.3) Regulations 2018
With whom will we share your information
For Neighbourhood Plan documents as defined by the Regulations, data received at the Publicising a Plan Proposal (Regulation 16) stage will be forwarded to our appointed Examiner along with other Neighbourhood Plan submission documents required for the independent Examination.
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.
Your rights
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.
A full list of the rights you may have, under data protection law, is given in the 'Your Rights' section on Data Protection - Privacy Notices.
For specific enquiries regarding personal data which we process you can contact the Data Protection Officer on dpo@staffordbc.gov.uk or at Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ.
If you wish to complain about how your personal information has been handled by us 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 the Council via Complaints.
Finally you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113 or you can visit their website at ico.org.uk.
You can also find details of how we handle your personal information by visiting www.staffordbc.gov.uk/PrivacyNotice