Local Plan consultations: privacy

Service area covered by this privacy notice

Planning Policy

Purpose of the processing

This privacy notice sets out how we will use your personal data if you respond to consultations on the Hart Local Plan 2044.  

Lawful basis for processing personal data

The lawful basis for processing of this information is ‘public task’ as defined under Article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulations.  

  • Local plan-making has a clear basis in law, primarily the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. 
  • The Town & Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 requires us to invite representations at specific stages in the preparation of a Local Plan.  

Categories of personal data being processed

  • your name, address, telephone number and email. 
  • where relevant, the name of any organisation that you represent. 
  • contact information of planning agents who may be acting on your behalf 
  • your Internet Protocol (IP) address, and details of which version of web browser you used 
  • information on how you use the Hart District Council website using cookies (please read our Cookie Policy for information on how and why we use cookies).  

Who is collecting and using your personal data?  

  • Hart District Council is the data controller for the personal data you have provided for this purpose.  
  • The data processors are Urban Intelligence Ltd (the supplier of the Placemaker digital consultation platform) and any consultants commissioned by the Council (or their sub-consultants) to support local plan preparation (if to progress their work they need to see representations made).

How we use your personal information

  • To manage and validate responses; to ensure that each submission is from a real person or organisation, to help prevent duplicate or fraudulent responses, to ensure representations are properly attributed and considered. 
  • To seek any clarifications of representations made. If you are represented by an agent, we will usually send any notifications to them unless you have specifically asked to be contacted directly. 

Who the data might be shared with

When publishing representations we will not disclose any personal details other than name, and where relevant, organisation. Similarly, when publishing summaries of consultation feedback, we may publish names but no other personal data.  

We will share your personal data with: 

  • Urban Intelligence Ltd, a consultancy that Hart District Council has contracted to supply a digital consultation platform.  
  • Consultants commissioned by the Council to assist local plan preparation. 
  • The Planning Inspectorate and Programme Officer at the time of a local plan examination.  
  • Within the Council, your data will be accessed by Council staff working on the new Local Plan. It will be shared with other Council staff if necessary for the purposes of delivering planning services, or for the purposes of responding to a complaint. 

Other than in the circumstances described above, we will not share your personal data except if required to do so by law. We take the security of your personal data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your personal data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties. 

How long the Council will keep your personal data? 

We will hold personal data received through the local plan consultations for up to one year after the Local Plan is adopted. At this point we will review whether we need to retain the data for a further period of time.  

Your rights

For more information on your data protection rights, including how to make a request, visit our Data protection and access to information webpage. 

Main privacy notice  

You are viewing the privacy notice for the Local Plan consultations referred to above. You may also wish to view the Council’s overarching privacy notice.