Development Services Privacy Notice

This notice provides details of how Bradford Council's Planning Development Services (which includes: Development Management, Building Control, Enforcement, Tree Protection, Local Land and Property Gazetteer, Highways Development Control, Land Drainage) collects and uses information about you. For more general information about how the Council uses your information and your rights, please refer to the general privacy notice.

What information do we collect?

We collect information supplied by people when applying for planning permission and related applications, registering building works, naming or numbering properties, applying for tree preservation orders, listed buildings, land drainage and water course consents, and when we are monitoring compliance with relevant legislation. We also hold information supplied by members of the public who have commented on these applications, or contacted us in relation to the functions carried out by the services listed above. What sort of information we collect depends on which of our services you use, and may comprise some or all of the following:

Common to all areas (where applicable)

• your name/business name, address and contact details
• your builder's name, address and contact details
• site address details
• details of any agents (including name, address and contact details) or other representative you have used in your application
• written or verbal communication with you (emails, letters, records of telephone calls and other conversations)
• photographs of your property/land
• descriptions and drawings of your property (including as it is now and how it will be after any proposed works are completed)
• decision notices/letters/reports relating to your property
• name, address and contact details of land or property owners

Development Management (Planning and Appeals)

• comments made on planning applications
• details of those who have registered on our online planning system website.
• any legal agreements you have entered into as part of your planning application decision, for example Section 106 agreements or Community Infrastructure Levy
• commercial information
• personal data supplied in support of an application

Enforcements and Trees

• details of complaints
• material relating to the investigation of complaints
• material and information arising as a result of an investigation
• documents relating to any legal proceedings resulting from complaints

Land Drainage

• material relating to water course consents and drainage consent enforcements

Only when specifically required as supporting evidence

• medical information
• information relating to ethnic origin
• information relating to religious beliefs

Who uses this information?

The Planning Development Service uses this information. It may also be used by other Council services, other Local Authorities, Government departments and external agencies where it is legal to do so. See the section on 'Who are we likely to share this information with?'.

Any information that is publicly available on our website could be used by individuals or organisations for their own purposes. The Council is not responsible for how those individuals or organisations use data that is in the public arena.

Why do we use this information?

We use this information to process planning and related applications, building control applications, requests for naming and numbering properties, tree preservation orders, monitoring compliance, enforcement, listed building records, water course and land drainage consents, and to communicate any decisions we make about those applications. The information may also be used to prepare anonymous statistics to monitor our performance as a department, or to help other departments with their work. The information forms part of the public record of applications and may be displayed on our planning website.

The legislation listed below and any subsequent equivalent legislation applies;

• The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015
• The Building Regulations 2010
• Latent Damage Act 1986
• The Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847
• Public Health Act Amendment Act 1907
• Public Health Act of 1925
• Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
• The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended)
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• Highways Act 1980
• Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010
• Localism Act 2011
• Flood and Water Management Act 2010
• Drainage Act 1991

What authority does Bradford Council have to collect and use this information?

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the service collects and uses this information under powers given to Local Authorities (councils) as registered Data Controllers. Every application we deal with contains "personal data" as defined by the UK GDPR. A comparatively small number of applications may contain "special category data", such as information about someone's health. There are additional safeguards for special category data and our consultation processes must reflect this.

The following categories of lawfulness apply:

6(1)(a) The data subject has given consent for the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes

6(1)(c) Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation

6(1)(e) Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller

9(2)(a) Explicit consent of the data subject, unless reliance on consent is prohibited by law

9(2)(e) Processing relates to personal data manifestly made public by the data subject

9(2)(j) Processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, or scientific and historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) of the GDPR.

In simple terms these categories mean that we can keep data where you have given it to us and where we need to have the information in order to carry out our work. Once that work is complete we can delete the information we hold as long as isn't still needed, for example in case someone appeals, there is a legal challenge, or if it is part of the official public record.

Who are we likely to share this information with?

The Planning Development Service uses this information. It may also sometimes be used by other Council services, other Local Authorities, Government departments and external agencies where it is legal to do so.

We share the information we have collected about you where it is necessary, lawful and fair to do so. In each case we will only share the minimum amount of information, only when required, for the following reasons:

With other Bradford Council departments to:

• provide advice and assistance to you
• help carry out their legal duties, including the enforcement of regulations
• help safeguard vulnerable adults and children

With external agencies we are required to consult by law or where the law allows us, including the Police, Trading Standards, Fire Service and Home Office:

• to assess licence applications and the suitability of applicants
• prevent, detect and prosecute crime (including the National Fraud Initiative)

Planning legislation requires us to make details of planning applications publicly available for inspection. We make applications available via our online planning system. Depending on the type of application, we are also legally required to publicise it and consult relevant organisations about it.

If you have made a planning application, your name and address may be included in any publicity we produce such as site notices, letters to neighbours and press advertisements. If you have used one this will also include the details of your planning agent. Information shared on our online planning system (Public Access), which may include information about land or property ownership, is restricted to names and addresses only.

As part of the planning process we ask for the professional opinion of different organisations both inside and outside the Council. Some of those organisations are statutory consultees, (ie people that we must consult, such as the Environment Agency), others are non-statutory. Non-statutory consultees are groups who may be asked for their opinion if we believe they are likely to have an interest in the development. In all instances the information shared is that found on the public planning register. A full list of these consultees can be found on our consultees on planning applications web page.

Applicant names and addresses may also be held on other parts of the Council's website, for example records of Planning Panels and summary information about planning application publicity.

If an appeal is made against a planning decision, information is shared with the Planning Inspectorate. The legislation also requires us to share the same information with appellants that we share with the Inspectorate. This may include comments made on an application and information about the address of the contributor.

Information may be shared with legal and other professionals as part of investigations into complaints about planning applications or building work.

We may retain your details if we provide advice about an application, either before you make a formal application or in providing advice on matters relating to a planning decision, so that we have a record of to whom we have provided advice and what that advice contained.

If someone comments on a planning application or appeal their personal details will be held on our internal systems so that they can be contacted about the decision on that application, and so that the impact of that application on the contributor can be assessed. Those details are not visible outside the council.

We may also pass information to relevant authorities if we receive comments on applications that we believe are libellous, threatening, racist or in any other way offensive. Comments on planning applications should always be restricted to planning matters.

How do we keep this information secure?

Information which is held electronically is either held in files that are held on the Council's servers or dedicated databases.  Other than publicly available information, these systems are password protected and only accessible to people who need access to them. We also undertake quality checks and monitoring to ensure the information we hold is accurate at the time and being used appropriately.

Information which is held on paper or microfiche is either stored in offices which are subject to access controls or in the dedicated archive provision for the Council. Where information is removed from the office for operational purposes the amount of this is minimised and staff are trained to ensure that this is kept secure at all times.

Audio based information, such as records of PACE interviews, are kept in locked storage within an access controlled office.

When computers make any decisions about you

The Planning Development Service does not make or use any automated decisions.

When your data gets sent to other countries

We do not send any information we collect about you outside the United Kingdom, however if it is displayed on our Public Access website it may be accessible in other countries.

How long do we keep this information?

This varies dependant on the type of information and its use.  A copy of our departmental retention schedule is available. 

What are your rights?

You have the right to request Bradford Council to stop processing your personal data in relation to any council service.  See our main privacy notice for details.