Planning privacy notice

The data controller for the information we collect

Leeds City Council is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and other regulations, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, which means it determines what your data is used for and why it is collected. The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you about what information we collect about you when you use our service, how we use that information, and who we may share it with. The contact details of the data controller are Leeds City Council, Merrion House, 110 Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8BB.

The data we will collect

What sort of information we collect depends on which of our services you use, but can include (and is not limited to) the following:

  • your name or 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 representatives 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 or 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, and reports relating to your property
  • name, address and contact details of land or property owners
  • comments made on draft Local Plan (and its associated Development Plan Documents)
  • 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 (including, where specifically required as supporting evidence, medical information, information relating to ethnic origin, and information relating to religious beliefs)
  • 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
  • documents relating to any application are shared with the Planning Inspectorate in the event of an appeal. 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

How we collect information about you

We collect information about you from you directly (for example, by asking you to complete one of our forms, via the telephone, through our contact centre, or face-to-face). We may also obtain your information from other sources, such as: 

  • Ward members and MPs
  • internal council departments

Why we process your data

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, building regulation applications, 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, commented on draft local plans (and their associated development plan documents), or contacted us in relation to the functions carried out by the services listed above.

All the data collected will be treated in strict confidence and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The data provided by you will only be used for the purposes specified.

Planning legislation requires us to make details of planning applications publicly available for inspection. We make applications available via our online Planning Public Access portal. 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. It will also be published on our Public Access website. This will also include the details of your planning agent if you have used one.

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 (for example, 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.

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.

Planning comments

If you choose to comment on a planning application or appeal, your address will be held on our internal systems so that the impact of that application on the contributor can be assessed.

Please note that 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.

Pre-application enquiries

If you choose to utilise the council’s pre-application enquiry process, any personal information you provide will only be held for the purpose of processing this enquiry and will be considered to be held under Article 6(1)(b) of the UK GDPR (on the basis that it is required, contractually, for us to provide this service).

The council may also use the information you provide, in our legitimate interests, to contact you with regard to completing an anonymous customer satisfaction survey concerning the service you have received. The council will not share the data you provide with any third parties unless required by law, but the Planning Service will share this data internally with other council services (for example, Highways and Environmental Health) where their input is required.

Commenting on draft Local Plan (and its associated Development Plan documents)

Personal data is collected and processed to meet statutory obligations in relation to preparing local plans (its associated development plan documents) and the related policy work. Comments will be retained until the adoption of the policy, including the following:

  • adding you to the Planning Policy Consultation Database (by your consent)
  • adding you to the Self and Custom Build Housing Register
  • recording of land and land ownership for consideration as potential development allocations
  • keeping you informed about our Local Plan (and its associated Development Plan Documents) and related planning guidance and documents
  • processing representations on the Local Plan (and its associated Development Plan Documents) and related planning guidance and documents
  • undertaking virtual meetings, events, or hearings in relation to the Local Plan (and its associated Development Plan Documents) and related planning guidance and documents
  • keeping a record of declared HMOs
  • responding to enquiries and other matters

To comply with its statutory obligations, the Council must make your representation available for public inspection, and regulations allow this information to be made available on the internet. This includes your name, address, and the contents of your comment. To protect personal data from unnecessary disclosure, the Council will, however, remove any personal information provided in your representation that we are not required, by law, to make available (for example, telephone numbers and signatures).

The personal information you provide will be held until the adoption of the Development Plan Document, after which it will be securely destroyed. Please note that we cannot provide anonymity or accept comments marked ‘private’ or ‘confidential’. Comments that include offensive, racist, discriminatory, threatening, and other non-relevant statements will be destroyed.

Lawful basis for processing

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, 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.

Article 6(1)(a): Your consent

Article 6(1)(b): We have a contractual obligation – In some instances information is required by contract (or information required to enter into a contract) You are required to provide us with your information to receive this service, in terms of fee provision.

Article 6(1)(e): We need it to perform a public task.

This public task duty is conferred by (but not limited to) the following legislation:

  • The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015
  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
  • 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)
  • The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
  • Highways Act 1980
  • Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010
  • The Localism Act 2011
  • Flood and Water Management Act 2010
  • Drainage Act 1991
  • The Environment Act 1995
  • The Environmental Protection Act 1990
  • The Equality Act 2010
  • The Housing and Planning Act 2016
  • The Planning Act 2008
  • The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulation 2014

We will process your data in accordance with UK GDPR Article9(2). The processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that the following applies:

  • Article 9(2)(a): Your explicit consent
  • Article 9(2)(e): Made public by yourself
  • Article 9(2)(j): Archiving, research and statistics as laid out in law

Withdrawing your consent

You have the right to withdraw your consent from participating in the scheme or service at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect any services or benefits you receive from the council. If you decide that you no longer wish to participate in the scheme, please contact us.

Data retention, storage and destruction

Our data retention policies and procedures are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention. This means that your information may be kept from 1 to 10 years after we cease to provide a service to you unless the law says that we need to hold it for longer or if there is a business requirement to do so. After this, your information will be deleted or archived. 

Who we share your data with

We share your data with agencies shown below as follows:

  • contractors and partners providing services on our behalf
  • internal Council departments
  • education providers
  • elected members
  • fire and rescue services
  • funding bodies
  • government departments
  • judicial agencies. For example, courts
  • other Local Authorities
  • Police
  • Resilience Forum
  • The Environment Agency
  • The general public (via public registers)
  • SmartSurvey Ltd
  • Planning Inspectorate and their designated Programme Officer

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

In addition, we will share your personal data:

  • where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject
  • in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person
  • for the purposes of security and prevention of fraud and other criminal activity
  • where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure

Automated decision making

Your data will not be used for any automated decision making, including profiling.

Your rights

The following rights under data protection law are applicable for this processing:

  • the right to access - you can ask for copies of your personal data
  • the right to rectification - you can ask us to rectify inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete personal data
  • the right to erasure - you can ask us to erase your personal data
  • the right to restrict processing - you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data
  • the right to data portability - you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you
  • the right to object to processing - you can object to the processing of your personal data
  • the right to complain to a supervisory authority - you can complain about our processing of your personal data
  • the right to withdraw consent - to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent

Where we process data under consent the right to object to processing (when you can object to the processing of your personal data) will not apply.

Where we process data under contractual obligation the following will not apply:

  • the right to object to processing - you can object to the processing of your personal data
  • the right to withdraw consent - to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent

Where we process data under public task the following will not apply:

  • the right to erasure - you can ask us to erase your personal data
  • the right to data portability - you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you
  • the right to withdraw consent - to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent

These rights are subject to certain limitations and exceptions. You can learn more about your rights and how to exercise them, with further details on the Information Commissioner’s Office website. You may exercise any of the above rights in relation to your personal data by writing to us using the contact details provided below.

You may exercise any of the above rights in relation to your personal data by writing to us, using the contact details provided below.

Contact us

Any queries in relation to this Privacy Notice should be forwarded to:

Name: Helen Cerroti
Email: Helen.Cerroti@leeds.gov.uk 

Data Protection Officer

Aaron Linden
Head of Information Management and Governance - Data Protection Officer
Leeds City Council
Merrion House
110 Merrion Way
Leeds
LS2 8BB
 

DPO@leeds.gov.uk 

The Council privacy notice is available online

Changes to this notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. We will notify you of significant changes to this notice by email or other means as appropriate. This privacy notice was last updated September 2024.