City plan part 2 main modifications consultation privacy notice

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 your personal information is being collected and how it will be used in accordance with relevant data protection law. 

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

  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 
  • Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 

This privacy notice explains how personal information collected in relation to the consultation on the City Plan Part Two proposed Main Modifications will be used.  

This notice is additional to the standards and notices published by the Planning Service at Brighton & Hove City Council including that made available at the Regulation 19 consultation period and the Examination Stage. 

The examining Planning Inspector issued a post hearing note 26 November 2021 (INSP09) indicating that she is considering changes or Main Modifications (MMs) to the Plan to make the plan sound and legally compliant.  

The Council is required to consult on these MMs. We are required to submit all representations received to the examining Planning Inspector and make copies of the representations publicly available. Representations made as part of this consultation cannot be treated in confidence. 

There is also a specific notice which covers the Planning Inspectorate, the Planning Inspectorate’s Customer Privacy Notice 

Who is processing your data 

Brighton & Hove City Council will be the data controller for the data you provide to us. The Planning Inspectorate and the Local Planning Authority are joint controllers of your personal data because we jointly determine the purposes and means of processing.  

What information will we collect about you 

  • Name  
  • Email address 
  • Organisation (where relevant) 
  • Your comments/representations  

How we will use the information we hold about you  

We are required to submit all representations received to the examining Planning Inspector and make copies of the representations publicly available. Representations made as part of this consultation cannot be treated in confidence. 

Following consultation, a consultation statement will be produced to summarise the consultation undertaken, will provide details of organisations who responded to the consultation and will include all comments submitted as part of the formal consultation process as required by the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012. This will be available on the BHCC website. Names and email addresses will not be published. 

How the law allows us to use your information 

The council has a legal obligation to process the data. Section 20 (7C) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act requires the Inspector to recommend MMS if asked to do so by the local planning authority. Section 20 (6) of the Town and County Planning Act requires that: 

(6) Any person who makes representations seeking to change a development plan document must (if he so requests) be given the opportunity to appear before and be heard by the person carrying out the examination. 

In order for the Inspector to give that opportunity they will need to have their name and contact details. The nature of how the representations should be provided to the Inspector is set out in Regulation 22 (c) of the Town and Country (local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 as amended.  

Who we share the information with The Planning Inspectorate 

The Programme Officer is appointed by the council but supports the Inspector. The council has a Data Sharing Agreement in place with the Programme Officer and with the Planning Inspectorate. Brighton & Hove City Council will provide the programme officer to support the Inspector, and representations are exchanged between Brighton & Hove City Council and the Inspector through the programme officer. 

How long we keep your personal information 

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal or reporting requirements, which is three months after the date of adoption of the City Plan Part Two.  

How your data will be stored 

Your personal data will only be stored and processed on servers based within the UK.  

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. 

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 information 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.