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Our main privacy notice on how we handle and store your data, as well as service specific privacy notices.

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Planning policy and infrastructure privacy notice

The UK data protection legislation gives individuals the right to be informed about how organisations use their personal data. This information is provided in the form of a privacy notice. 

Newark and Sherwood District Council is registered as a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 2018 (registration number Z4973840). 

Who we are 

The Planning Policy & Infrastructure Business Unit prepares, reviews and monitors the development plan for the District and related planning policy documents. We collect evidence, carry out public consultations, support neighbourhood planning, monitor development and housing delivery, and coordinate infrastructure planning. This includes work relating to the Local Plan, supplementary planning documents, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), planning obligations and other planning policy and infrastructure matters. 

The type of personal information we collect 

Depending on how you engage with us, we may collect and process: 

  • your name, postal address, email address and telephone number
  • the organisation, business, land interest or group you represent and your role within it
  • consultation responses, representations, comments, supporting documents and correspondence
  • information about land or property that you own, occupy, promote or have an interest in
  • your preferences for receiving planning policy notifications and consultation updates
  • records of meetings, events, enquiries and engagement with the Business Unit
  • technical information submitted through online forms or digital consultation systems, such as submission dates and reference numbers 
  • where relevant and voluntarily provided, information about accessibility requirements or other special category personal data needed to enable participation or make reasonable adjustments

Please avoid including personal information about other people, or special category personal data, unless it is necessary and relevant to the planning matter being considered. 

How we get the personal information and why we have it 

Most of the personal information we process is provided directly by you when you: 

  • respond to a consultation or submit a representation
  • ask to be added to, update your details on, or be removed from a consultation database or mailing list
  • promote or submit land for consideration, including through a call for sites or evidence-gathering exercise
  • contact us with an enquiry, complaint or request
  • attend a meeting, workshop, examination, hearing or engagement event 
  • provide information in connection with CIL, infrastructure planning, planning obligations, neighbourhood planning or monitoring work

We may also receive personal information indirectly from: 

  • other Council services and systems, where this is necessary for our planning policy, monitoring or infrastructure functions
  • planning applicants, agents, developers, landowners, site promoters and their professional advisers
  • government departments, the Planning Inspectorate, other public authorities and statutory bodies
  • parish and town councils, neighbourhood planning bodies and community organisations
  • consultants and contractors working on behalf of the Council
  • publicly available sources, including planning registers, Land Registry information, company websites and other published record
  • another person or organisation submitting information in which you are named or identifiable

How we use the information 

We use personal information where it is necessary to carry out the Council’s planning policy and infrastructure functions. This may include: 

  • preparing, reviewing, examining, adopting and monitoring the Local Plan and other planning policy documents
  • carrying out statutory and non-statutory consultations and analysing the responses received
  • maintaining consultation databases and notifying interested parties about relevant consultations, examinations, events and planning policy updates
  • preparing evidence bases, site assessments, monitoring reports, infrastructure plans and related documents
  • supporting neighbourhood planning and responding to planning policy enquiries 
  • administering and monitoring CIL and planning obligations, where this falls within the Business Unit’s responsibilities
  • communicating with you, managing records and demonstrating that legal and procedural requirements have been met
  • publishing consultation responses, examination material and supporting evidence where required, normally with personal contact details removed or redacted
  • preventing or detecting fraud, protecting public funds, responding to legal claims and complying with audit, regulatory or legal requirements

Who we may share your information with 

Where necessary and lawful, we may share relevant information with:

  • other Council services, elected members and authorised staff
  • the Planning Inspectorate, appointed inspectors, government departments and other public authorities
  • statutory consultees, infrastructure providers, neighbouring authorities, parish and town councils, and neighbourhood planning bodies 
  • consultants, contractors, software providers and other organisations processing information on the Council’s behalf under appropriate contractual controls
  • professional advisers, auditors, courts, tribunals, regulators, law enforcement bodies and other organisations where disclosure is required or permitted by law
  • the public, through consultation documents, examination libraries, reports or online publications, where publication is required or supports an open and transparent planning process

We will normally remove signatures and direct contact details before publishing representations. However, your name, the organisation you represent, the content of your representation and information necessary to understand the planning issue may be made publicly available.

You should not include information in a representation that you do not wish to be made public. 

The law we use to process your personal information 

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the main lawful bases we rely on are: 

  • Article 6(1)(c), legal obligation: processing is necessary to comply with duties placed on the Council by planning and related legislation 
  • Article 6(1)(e), public task: 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 Council
  • Article 6(1)(a), consent: where you choose to receive optional communications that are not required as part of the Council’s statutory functions

You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting the Planning Policy & Infrastructure Business Unit or privacy@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk. 

Where special category personal data is processed, we will identify an additional condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This may include explicit consent where you voluntarily provide information about accessibility requirements, or substantial public interest where the law permits and appropriate safeguards are in place. 

Statutory legislation 

The legislation supporting our work includes, where relevant: 

  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
  • Town and Country Planning Act 1990 
  • Localism Act 2011
  • Planning Act 2008
  • Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012
  • Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 
  • other planning, environmental, equality, local government, audit and information law that applies to the matter being considered

How we store and how long we keep information about you 

Your information is stored securely on Council systems and approved platforms. Access is limited to authorised staff and service providers who need the information for their work. 

We will hold your personal information in line with the Council’s retention schedule. Retention periods vary according to the type of record and the legal, regulatory and business purpose for which it is held. Planning policy records may need to be retained for lengthy periods to provide an audit trail of plan preparation, consultation, examination, adoption, monitoring and review.

When a retention period expires, the information will be reviewed and will only be retained where there is an ongoing statutory, legal, evidential or business requirement. Information that is no longer required will be securely destroyed or deleted.

For details of applicable retention periods, please contact privacy@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk. 

Your data protection rights 

Depending on the lawful basis used and the circumstances, your rights include: 

  • Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. 
  • Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to correct information you think is inaccurate and to complete information you think is incomplete. 
  • Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances. This right does not apply in every case, including where information must be retained to meet a legal obligation or perform a public task. 
  • Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. 
  • Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to processing based on public task or legitimate interests in certain circumstances. 
  • Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask us to transfer information you provided to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means. 
  • Your right to withdraw consent - Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn. 

You are not required to pay a charge for exercising your rights. We will normally respond within one month. Some rights are subject to exemptions or may not apply to processing carried out under a legal obligation or public task. We will explain the position if we cannot comply with a request. 

To exercise your rights, contact privacy@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk. 

How to complain 

If you have concerns about how we use your personal information, please contact: 

Email: privacy@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk 
Telephone: 01636 650000 
Newark and Sherwood District Council
Castle House
Great North Road
Newark
Nottinghamshire
NG24 1BY 

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how we have used your data: 

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF 
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk

Changes to this privacy notice 

We may update this privacy notice when our services, legal obligations or processing activities change. The current version will show the date it was last reviewed. 

Last reviewed August 2026.