Brighton & Hove City Plan privacy notice

Read our privacy notice for information on how we collect, store and process your data.

The council is the data controller for purposes of the Data Protection Act (2018) and The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR") and is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). 

The council is committed to protecting your personal information. As a data controller, we have a responsibility to make sure you know why and how your personal information is being collected in accordance with relevant data protection laws. 

The primary laws which govern how the council collects and uses personal information (known as “Data”) about you are: 

However, City Planning is also subject to specific other laws which define when and for what purposes it can use your personal data. 

Why we’re collecting your data 

The engagement process will help us develop the City Plan. We are collecting your data as we are required to submit all representations received at each stage of consultation to the Planning Inspector during the examination of the City Plan and make copies of representations publicly available.  

As part of the engagement, we may provide online webinars held on Microsoft Teams. Attendees will be required to register with their name and email address. A recording of the online webinars will be made available on the council’s YouTube channel after the event. No personal information will be visible on the recordings.    

Following each stage, a consultation statement will be produced to summarise the consultation. This will provide details of organisations who responded to the consultation and will include all comments submitted by both organisations and individuals as part of the formal consultation process. This is required by the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2026 and will be made available on the council website. Names and email addresses will not be published.  

We collect equalities data (special category data) to help us ensure our customers are representative of the wider population.  

GPDR Art.6 (1)(c) processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation under Part 6 of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026; and GDPR Art.9 (2) (g) substantial public interest under Data protection Act 2018 schedule 1 Part 2 (8) (1) equality of opportunity or treatment and under Section 1 (1) Equality Act 2010.  

What data we collect from you 

Personal data 

  • Name  
  • Email Address  
  • Organisation (where relevant) 

Special Category Data 

We will also collect Special Category data that will include: 

  • Age  
  • Disability 
  • Ethnicity 
  • Religion 
  • Sex and gender identity 
  • Sexual orientation 

Who we share your data with 

During the examination of the City Plan, we will have to share personal information with a Programme Officer and Planning Inspector. The Programme Officer is appointed by the council but works independently to support the Inspector. The council will have a Data Sharing Agreement in place with the Programme Officer and with the Planning Inspectorate. The Council will appoint the programme officer to support the Inspector, and representations are exchanged between the council and the Inspector through the programme officer. We will not share any special category data.  

How long we will keep your data 

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. This includes for the purposes of satisfying any legal or reporting requirements, which is three months after the date of adoption of the City Plan.  In the event of a legal challenge to the validity of the city plan, it may be necessary to keep such records until the legal proceedings have been completed. 

How we store your data 

We will store your information on electronic databases and on paper records. All servers are based in the UK.  

How we protect your data and keep it secure 

Examples of the security measures we use are: 

  • training for our staff, making them aware of how to handle information securely, and how and when to report when something goes wrong  
  • we use encryption when data is being sent, meaning we scramble information so other people can’t read it without access to an unlock key 
  • where possible, we will remove your identity so the people working with your data will not know your identity 
  • Controlling access to systems and networks allows us to stop people who are not allowed to view your personal information, from getting access to it.  
  • Regular testing of our technology and ways of working, including keeping up to date on the latest security updates (called patches). 

Transferring your data outside the European Economic Area 

Your data is not processed outside of the European Economic Area. 

Your information rights

Under GDPR you have certain rights concerning your information.

Check your rights in relation to your personal information.

How to get advice or make a complaint

Data Protection Officer

If you have a concern about how we collect or use your personal data you can contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer.  

How to make a complaint

We aim to resolve all complaints about how we handle personal information. You also have the right to make a complaint about data protection to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Contact them by post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or phone 0303 1231 113.

You can also make a complaint or find out more information on the Commissioner's Office website.

If your complaint is not about data protection, find details on how to make a complaint about a council service.