While the council maintains data protection controls in line with the General Data Protection Regulation, other data protection legislation and its own Information Security Policy to ensure the effective and secure processing of personal information you need to be aware that when you submit an application under the Planning Law, or submit comment on such an application to us, the application or your comment on the application (including your personal data), associated plans and supporting documents that you send to us are part of public record. We have a statutory duty to make them available to any member of the public for inspection (for example via our Public Access website) and they may be shared with other organisations for purposes of consultation on the application or to allow determination of any subsequent appeal.
If you submit comment on a planning enforcement matter, that comment may be made available to other council services to allow consideration of the matter and it may be shared with other organisations such as the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division or the Courts service in relation to any appeal or legal proceedings.
Those submitting applications or comment on a planning matter are to highlight to the council, when submitting an application or comment on an application, any sensitive personal data such as information about health conditions, development viability etc that they do not wish to be published or disclosed. If this is not made clear to the council, this information may be published on the council’s Public Access Website.
The council will discuss with those submitting applications or comment on a planning matter, any information that they have stated they do not wish to have published if the council believes that it will have a material effect on the decision-making process.