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Highway advice for planning applications privacy notice

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it was last updated on 2 September 2024.

Kent County Council respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Who we are

Kent County Council collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

The personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of obtaining highways advice at the pre-planning application stage (before a formal planning application form is submitted), we collect the following personal information via a request advice when you provide it to us:

  • site agent contact details: name, address, telephone number and email address of the agent whose manages the site (for example, the site could be for a small single building proposal to a large major housing development)
  • applicant contact details: name, address, telephone number and email address of the applicant asking for highways advice at a pre-planning application stage
  • signature of agent or applicant
  • financial details: cheque or BACS payment to Kent County Council Transport and Development teams to pay for the highway’s advice at a pre-planning application stage.

How we use your personal information

We use your personal data to:

  • contact you to provide advice on planning applications that will influence any part of the highway
  • process the payment of the highways’ advice provided by Kent County Council
  • contact you regarding an enquiry or complaint
  • contact you regarding a change in service or inform you of a new service relevant to you.

How long your personal data will be kept

Your personal details will be kept securely and retained for 5 years in accordance with our retention schedule, after which time it will be securely destroyed.

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

We rely on processing is ‘necessary for the performance of a public task in the public interest’ being the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal information.

The provision of personal information is required from you to enable us to provide advice on planning applications that will influence any part of the highway.

If you do not provide us with your personal details, we will be unable to provide you with highways advice as a paid service.

Who we share your personal information with

We will routinely share your information with commissioned providers of local authority services (for example, payment services).

This data sharing enables us to provide you with a paid service in relation to offering you highways advice regarding a pre-planning application.

We have a data processing agreement in place with commissioned providers of local authority services (for example, payment services) who process your data on our behalf.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law or in connection with legal proceedings.

We will share personal information with our legal and professional advisers in the event of a dispute, complaint or claim. We rely on Article 9(2)(f) where the processing of special category data is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

  • know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
  • ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request)
  • ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
  • object to direct marketing
  • make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office
  • withdraw consent at any time (if applicable)

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

  • ask us to delete information we hold about you
  • have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
  • object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
  • object to how we are using your information
  • stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioners Office on individuals’ rights under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation.

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Contact

Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk.

The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the the Information Commissioner who may be contacted on 03031 231113.

For further information, read our privacy statement.