Planning service privacy statement

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

Brighton & Hove City 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 law.

The primary laws which govern how Brighton & Hove City Council collects and use personal information (known as “data”) about you are:

However, the Planning Department 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

We are collecting your data for the purpose of making decisions about the use of land, providing advice and making decision on planning applications, consulting on planning documents such as Local plans, investigating allegations of unlawful development, monitoring of section 106 agreements and administration and collection of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

We may also receive information about you from third parties, including planning agents and interested parties who comment on a planning application or the preparation, monitoring or review of planning policy, or planning and related applications. We may also undertake proactive enforcement enquiries and gather information relating to liabilities under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (S106 liabilities).

What is the lawful basis for collecting your data

Our lawful basis for processing your data is Public Task (Article 6.1.(e)) Exercise of official authority under Planning legislations - Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Town and Country Planning Development Management Procedure, England (Order 2015).

Valid Planning Application submission (including application form, plans and supporting documents and any amendments received) to form Part 1 of the Planning Register.

Decision Notices (Planning or Appeal) and Legal Agreements to form Part 2 of the Planning Register.

Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order - Article 40 (3), (4A), (5) and (7).

Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order - Article 40 (4), (4A), (5), (6) and (7).

The above legislations require us to collect the following information:

  • submission of a planning related application (including supporting documents)
  • making a representation
  • making a comment in relation to a planning application
  • the preparation, monitoring and review of planning policies
  • contacting us regarding existing application or related information or making an enforcement complaint
  • our lawful basis for processing your special category data will be your explicit consent, this will usually be in the event of applying a fee exemption for which we will request medical evidence

The data we may collect

The type of personal information collected from you is as follows

Personal data

Contact details; including name, address, contact details (email address, telephone number)

Financial details for purposes of receiving or making payments

Special category data

We may also collect special category of personal data that may include:

Evidence of medical history for fee exemptions

Who we’ll share your data with

Your data may be shared with the Legal department for the purposes of GDPR and legal advice.

The Planning Inspectorate and Agents in regard to a Planning appeal.

Holding your personal information

The law requires us to maintain the information on the register of planning applications indefinitely, and as such information relating to applications will be available on our website permanently. Comments and objections on applications form part of the statutory register and we will retain copies of these alongside the planning application.

S106 information may be retained permanently for enforcement, audit and monitoring purposes. Enforcement complaints are retained permanently as the records are necessary to inform the planning process.

Pre-application enquiries will be held indefinitely as they form part of the planning history for the site and the data will be used for monitoring and enforcement purposes, however these will not be published on line.

How your data will be stored

Your information will be stored electronic databases, document management systems and on paper records

Who can access your data

We will only make your information available to those who have a need to know in order to perform their Council role.

How we protect your data

Examples of the security measures we use:

  • 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 sent, meaning that information is scrambled so that it cannot be read without access to an unlock key, the hidden information is said to then be ‘encrypted’
  • data will be pseudonymised where possible, meaning that your identity will be removed, so work can be done without your identity being known by the people doing the work
  • controlling access to systems and networks 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 (commonly called patches)

Transferring data outside the United Kingdom

Your information is not processed outside of the United Kingdom.

Profiling and automated decision making

We will not make automated from the data provided.

Your rights

You have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

  • the right to be informed – you have right to know about the collection and use of your personal data. We will inform you through our service-specific notices
  • the right of access – you can request to know what we hold on you along with an explanation for how it is used by making a “Subject Access Request”
  • the right to rectification – you have the right to ask us to update, amend or change your information if it is factually inaccurate or incomplete
  • the right to erasure – you have the right to ask us to delete your personal information where it can be shown that we no longer have a lawful basis to retain it or the information was collected on the basis of consent only and you have withdrawn your consent

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.