Privacy Notice Design Code Research Consultations Surveys and Events

Spelthorne Borough Council (SBC) will be collecting personal data in relation to our consultations undertaken in preparing a SBC Design Code. The purpose of this privacy policy is to tell you about what information we collect about you, how we use that information and who we may share it with.

Who are the Data Controller and Data Processors for the SBC Design Code?

SBC is the Data Controller for any personal data processed as part of our preparation of the SBC Design Code. Commonplace is the Data Processor for this and will be processing the data relating to this project on behalf of SBC.  David Lock Associates is working with SBC on this project.  

What data we collect:

As part of our consultation process, we will be collecting your contact details, such as your name, email address, telephone number and physical address.  We may also collect your gender, age, whether you have a disability, and details about your ethnicity, and religion.  

For the Citizen Panel we will need to collect information to enable us to select a demographically representative panel, such as gender, age, whether you have a disability, ethnicity, housing type, occupational type and post code.

You may sign up for events at Commonplace and will be asked to provide contact information.

At our in-person events other than taking photos and obtaining your feedback, we do not plan to collect any more personal information than has been collected prior to the event.

Photos and video of attendees at events:

We will be video recording some events and taking photos at most events.  Attendees will be advised that photos are being taken and will be able to choose not to be photographed/recording. 

Lawful basis for processing data

The lawful basis for processing most of your data is public task due to the council's responsibilities under The Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023, and the National Model Design Code.  The lawful basis for processing special category data is Substantial public interest.

The lawful basis for processing personal data in photos and videos is 'legitimate interest'.

Where we get your information from

We collect your personal information when you register to join the Citizen Panel and when you take part in any panel research, consultation and engagement activities:

  • electronically through an online form, and in person via walking tours, or at events,
  • electronically if you contact us by email, phone or social media,
  • in person events,

How long we will keep your data for:

Your data will be deleted 7 years after the last action involving your data.   

Who we share your data with and why:

If you have signed up to join the Design Code Citizens Panel, your name will be shared with David Locke, who have been contracted by us to run the Citizens Panel workshops, for attendance purposes.

Some anonymised data (generally outcomes) may be shared with other services within the council and to councillors. 

Your data may also be passed on to Judicial Agencies, such as Courts or the Planning Inspectorate.

The council is subject to the Freedom of Information Act and may have to release the names of individuals who submit consultation responses on behalf of stakeholder organisations.

Other than photos personal information will not be published or passed on to third parties, unless absolutely necessary. Where an organisation responds to a consultation, the name of the organisation may be published with the consultation response.

Regarding photos and videos of attendees at events:

  • We may share the videos and photos with our Communications team for inclusion in the council's publications,
  • We may share the videos and photos with contractors or suppliers who provide us with services; eg the photographer/ videographer or printers.     
  • We may share them online via the Spelthorne Borough Council website, and the websites of our contractors, the press, and on social media.
  • Please note that websites can be seen throughout the world, and not just in the United Kingdom, therefore your personal data (captured in a photo or video) may be viewed worldwide, which means some of the countries are not subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation.  For any social media sites those site will have their own privacy policy, which you can view on their respective websites.  

Further information:

You, as the data subject, have the following rights:

  • you have the right to be informed via Privacy Notices such as this
  • you have the right to request access to and to receive a copy of any information we hold about you (including in an electronic format) - to request a copy of this information you must make a subject access request in writing
  • if you find that the information Spelthorne Borough Council holds about you is no longer accurate, you have the right to ask to have this corrected
  • you have the right - under certain conditions - to ask us to erase your personal data
  • you may request that Spelthorne Borough Council stops processing your personal data in relation to any council service (this may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you, we will seek to comply with your request but may be required to hold or process information to comply with our legal duties)

To exercise any of these rights contact the Data Protection Officer at data.protection@spelthorne.gov.uk. Please see our website for further information on exercising your rights.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This is an independent body responsible for making sure that organisations comply with Data Protection legislation.

The ICO will always expect you to have raised your concerns with us before submitting a complaint.

Last modified: 04/09/2025