Contents

1. Who we are
2. What information we collect
3. How we use your information
4. Lawful basis for processing
5. Planning applications are public
6. Cookies
7. Third-party services
8. Sharing your information
9. International data transfers
10. How we store and protect your information
11. How long we keep information
12. Your data protection rights
13. Data protection enquiries and complaints
14. Changes to this policy
15. Contact

01 Who we are

Planning London is a trading name of Islington Architects Ltd, a RIBA Chartered architectural practice based in Islington, London. Planning London provides fixed-fee planning applications and related services.

Our business address is Uncommon, 25 Horsell Road, London N5 1XL. Islington Architects Ltd is registered in England & Wales, company no. 09389417. Registered office: 20–22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Islington Architects Ltd is the data controller responsible for personal information collected through this website and in providing our services.

You can contact us at enquiries@planninglondon.uk.

02 What information we collect

When you contact us, book a call, or appoint us, we may collect:

• your name and contact details;
• your property address and details of your proposed project;
• photos, drawings, surveys, decision notices and other files you choose to send us, through our website, our upload link or by email;
• the date and time you choose when you book a call, and the answers you give on the booking form;
• details needed for your appointment, electronic signature and invoices;
• ownership information for the property, including Land Registry title details, so we can complete the correct ownership certificate and serve notice on any other owners, as planning law requires;
• correspondence relating to your enquiry, your application or our professional services.

03 How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• respond to enquiries and send fee proposals;
• arrange and hold calls and site visits, and send booking confirmations and reminders;
• prepare, submit and manage planning applications, appeals and related services on your behalf;
• deal with the council, the Planning Portal and, for appeals, the Planning Inspectorate;
• keep appropriate business and project records;
• comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

We do not sell personal information. We do not use your information for marketing without asking you first. Images of your project are only used in our marketing with your written agreement.

04 Lawful basis for processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we process personal information on one or more of these grounds:

• Contractual necessity: to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, such as booking a call or preparing a fee proposal, or to carry out our appointment.
• Legitimate interests: to respond to enquiries, administer our business, keep our services secure and maintain professional relationships, where these interests are not overridden by your rights. This includes holding details of other owners of a property, which we need to serve the notices planning law requires.
• Legal obligations: where we must keep or disclose information by law.
• Consent: for particular communications that need your consent. You can withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing carried out before you withdrew it.

05 Planning applications are public

When we submit a planning application on your behalf, the council publishes the application form, drawings and some supporting documents on its online planning register. This is a legal requirement and is outside our control. Councils usually remove signatures, phone numbers and email addresses before publishing. We’ll tell you before submission what the application will include.

06 Cookies

Our website uses only essential cookies, which are needed for it to work and stay secure. We don’t use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. See our cookie policy for details.

07 Third-party services

We use selected third-party services to run our practice and website:

• Microsoft 365: email, file storage (including our client upload link), Microsoft Bookings for call bookings, confirmations and reminders, and Microsoft Teams for video calls. We do not record calls.
• WordPress.com and Jetpack: hosting, securing and running the website, including our enquiry form and the files you upload through it.
• [E-signature provider]: sending our terms of appointment and approvals for you to sign online.
• The Planning Portal: submitting planning applications to the council.
• Google Fonts: website typography. Your browser connects to Google to download the fonts, which shares your IP address with Google.

These providers may process limited personal or technical information in connection with the services they supply, under their own contractual and privacy terms.

08 Sharing your information

We share personal information where reasonably necessary to provide our services, including with:

• the local planning authority and, for appeals, the Planning Inspectorate;
• other owners of the property, when we serve the notices planning law requires;
• surveyors, heritage, acoustic or other consultants we appoint on your project, with your agreement;
• our professional advisers, accountant and insurer, where needed.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

09 International data transfers

Some of our service providers operate internationally, including outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy arrangements or recognised contractual protections, where data protection law requires them.

10 How we store and protect your information

Enquiries and bookings are received by email and kept within our Microsoft 365 business correspondence and project records. Drawings and project files are kept in the practice’s secure business storage.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure. Access is limited to those who need it for legitimate business or professional purposes.

11 How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes it was collected for.

Enquiries and bookings that don’t lead to an appointment are reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer needed for legitimate business purposes.

Where we are appointed, relevant correspondence and project records may be kept for longer, to meet contractual, legal, insurance and professional obligations.

12 Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:

• ask for access to the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to erase personal information in certain circumstances;
• object to, or ask us to restrict, certain processing;
• ask for your information to be transferred, where applicable;
• withdraw consent, where processing relies on consent.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions. To use them, email enquiries@planninglondon.uk.

13 Data protection enquiries and complaints

Adrian Fowler, director of Islington Architects Ltd, is responsible for data protection and handles privacy enquiries and complaints for the company. We are not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer and have not done so.

If you have any concerns about how your personal information is collected, used or protected, please contact Adrian Fowler first at enquiries@planninglondon.uk. We’ll respond as soon as possible, and in any event within one month.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection: ico.org.uk, telephone 0303 123 1113.

14 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services, website or legal requirements. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was revised.

15 Contact

Adrian Fowler
Planning London, a trading name of Islington Architects Ltd
Uncommon, 25 Horsell Road, London N5 1XL
Email: enquiries@planninglondon.uk