Privacy notice for planning application representations

Who is collecting and using your personal data?

Devon County Council will act as a ‘data controller’ and ‘data processor’ for any personal data that you provide to us in connection with your representation on a planning application. As such, we will ensure that the data you give us is processed in line with our organisation’s data protection policies and in line with your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation and associated data protection laws currently applicable in the UK.

Should you wish to find out more about Devon County Council’s data protection policies please contact our Data Protection Officer at accesstoinformation@devon.gov.uk or 01392 383000.

Please note that we require your personal data such as name and address to allow the County Council to be able to take account of your representation.

Why are we collecting your personal data?

We are collecting your personal data for the purpose of considering your representation in the determination of a planning application, together with any subsequent appeal that may be lodged. The representation will be included on the public register that is available to the public, and also held on the Council’s planning database that is limited to use by the Council’s planning officers.

We may use your information to contact you prior to and following determination of the planning application, including notifying you of any amended proposals, together with any subsequent appeal. For this reason, the personal details that you provide will be retained in the Council’s planning database.

While your name and address will be retained in the documents that are available in the online planning register, any signatures, email addresses and telephone numbers will be blocked from public viewing.

Any sensitive personal data, such as medical information, that you may include in connection with your representation will be omitted from any documents included in the planning register, and we will be unable to take such information into account in consideration of the application.

We rely upon the following laws to manage your personal data:

  •  Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
  • Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.

Who will we share your personal data with?

Your information will be stored securely within the Council’s planning database, and any information that is omitted from public viewing will not be accessible to other services within the Council.

To ensure that planning applications are considered in an open and transparent manner, we will publish your representation on the County Council’s website. In the event of an appeal being lodged in connection with a planning application, your representation (excluding any redacted personal details) will be provided to The Planning Inspectorate.

How long will we hold your personal data?

All representations will be deleted from the Council’s online planning register following determination of the related planning application or appeal. Representations will be retained on the Council’s planning system for a maximum of 12 months following determination of a planning application to allow for any subsequent appeal or legal challenge.

Exercising your rights

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation you have the following rights:

  • The right of access to your own personal data.
  • The right to request rectification or deletion of your personal data.
  • The right to object to the processing of your personal data.
  • The right to request a copy of the information you provide us in machine readable format.
  • The right to withdraw your consent to any processing that is solely reliant upon your consent

Should you wish to exercise any of your rights, you should contact the Data Protection Officer, accesstoinformation@devon.gov.uk or 01392 383000.

Your right to complain

If you wish to complain about the way that your personal data has been handled by Devon County Council, you should write to the Data Protection Officer and clearly outline your case. Your complaint will then be investigated in accordance with the Council’s customer feedback procedure. If you remain dissatisfied with the way your personal data has been handled, you may refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office whose contact details are below:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Email: casework@ico.org.uk