Coventry City Council complies with the Data Protection Act and the UK GDPR and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.
This Privacy Notice explains how personal information collected as part of the planning process and who it will be shared with.
Why we collect information about you
The Council, as the local planning authority, has a duty to consider applications for development in the public interest. We process information provided as part of an application including application forms, plans, documents and other supporting information. We invite statutory consultees, local people and organisations to comment on planning applications. This consultation helps to ensure that the right things are built in the right places.
We use this information to:
- Make decisions and provide advice on all applications sent to the planning department
- Work with other Councils on strategic policies
- Monitor development
- Enter into legal agreements for example section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levi (CIL).
- Complete and send reports to Government departments.
- Investigate breaches of planning
When you make a complaint about a possible breach of planning we will ask for your information as well as information about the alleged breach. We will not publish or disclose any personal details about you or the breach although the information will be available to all planning staff.
We do not use your information for automated decision making.
What personal information we collect
- Contact details - including your name, address and/or business name and address, email address and phone numbers
- Signatures
- Medical information
- Financial information
Who we share your information with
Planning application details will be made available on our online public register, and this will include the name and address of the applicant as well as the details of the agent where applicable.
Medical information and any financial information will be redacted from public viewing, but we will hold this information on our planning system and it will be available to all planning staff.
The following information that is kept on our files will be kept confidential and will not be made available for public inspection:
- legal opinion received by the council
- personal financial information
- documents that have restricted or no public access, for example, wildlife/habitat reports
- complaints and matters relating to breaches of planning control until we take planning enforcement action.
We must make details of planning applications available online so that people can contribute their comments. We do not publish neighbour comments online although we may refer to them within the case officer report and redacted copies will be made available on request.
We will sometimes need to share the information we have with other Council departments, for example our highways team, and external consultees i.e. Highways Agency. In the event of an appeal we will send unredacted neighbour comments to the Planning Inspectorate and the applicant/agent when the applicant make an appeal against a decision.
If you change your mind at any time, you can let us know by emailing: planning@coventry.gov.uk. The Council have one month to comply with your withdrawal request. However please note that your consent will only be effectively withdrawable before your Neighbour Representation is sent to the Parties to the Appeal. Although the Council aim to control the data it processes, once the Neighbour Representation has been sent to the Parties to the Appeal they will have viewed the information and there is no way of reversing this.
How long we keep your information for
We will only keep your information for as long as we need to, so we can give you the service you need, unless we must keep it for legal reasons. The length of time it is kept for can be different depending on the service you have asked for.
All planning applications and enforcement notices are held on a public register and will not be deleted as we are required by law to maintain a register of both planning decisions and enforcement actions.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Ask us for the information we hold about you
- Ask us to change information we hold about you if it is wrong
- Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office
To exercise any of these rights please contact planning@coventry.gov.uk.
Complaints
You have the right to submit a complaint if you are unhappy with the way your request is handled or if you disagree with a decision made by the council regarding your data. In these circumstances, you can contact the Data Protection Team (DPO) and request a review of the decision. DPOTeam@coventry.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with any outcome from the DPO you may wish to apply to the Information Commissioner's Office at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF