This policy explains how Planning & Design Practice Ltd collects, uses and protects your personal data, and the rights you have under UK data protection law.

Last updated: 26 June 2026

1. Who we are

Planning & Design Practice Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a firm of town planning consultants, chartered architects and heritage specialists. We are the “data controller” responsible for your personal data when you contact us, instruct us, or use our website at www.planningdesign.co.uk.

Company: Planning & Design Practice Ltd
Registered office / head office: 3 Woburn House, Vernon Gate, Derby, DE1 1UL
Email: enquiries@planningdesign.co.uk
Telephone: 01332 347371
Other offices: Sheffield, Matlock (Cromford Mills) and Macclesfield

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us using the details above, marking your enquiry “Data Protection”.

2. The personal data we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect and process the following:

Information you give us

Identity and contact details — your name, email address, telephone number and postal address.
Project information — details of your property, site or proposed development, including address, plans, drawings, photographs and any supporting documents you share with us.
Enquiry content — the information you provide in our contact forms, by email, by phone or in meetings.
Correspondence — records of communications between you and us.

Information we collect automatically

Technical and usage data — your IP address, browser type, device information, the pages you view and how you use our website, collected via cookies and similar technologies (see Section 7).

Information from other sources

Publicly available information (for example HM Land Registry, local planning authority records or Companies House) where relevant to a project we are advising on.
Referrals from existing clients, professional contacts or third parties acting on your behalf (such as a solicitor, agent or contractor).

3. How and why we use your data (lawful bases)

Under UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:

What we do	Why	Lawful basis
Respond to enquiries and provide quotes	To answer your questions and discuss how we can help	Legitimate interests / steps prior to entering a contract
Deliver our planning, architecture and heritage services	To carry out the work you have instructed us to do	Performance of a contract
Manage our relationship and send service-related communications	Project updates, invoicing and administration	Performance of a contract / legitimate interests
Send marketing (e.g. our newsletter)	To keep you informed about our services and relevant planning news	Consent (you can withdraw at any time)
Improve our website and understand how it is used	Analytics and performance	Consent (via our cookie banner)
Meet legal and regulatory obligations	Accounting, tax, professional standards and dispute resolution	Legal obligation / legitimate interests

4. Marketing communications

If you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise opt in, we will send you occasional updates about our services, projects and planning developments. We use Mailchimp to manage and send these emails.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any marketing email, or by emailing enquiries@planningdesign.co.uk. Withdrawing consent will not affect any services we are already providing to you.

5. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with:

Local planning authorities and statutory bodies — where necessary to submit applications, appeals or related documents on your behalf.
Other professionals on your project — such as your solicitor, structural engineer, surveyor or contractor, where relevant to the work.
Service providers (processors) — trusted suppliers who help us run our business, including our website host, email and IT providers, Mailchimp (email marketing), and our accounting and document-management providers. These parties act only on our instructions and are bound to keep your data secure.
Professional advisers and regulators — where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

6. International transfers

Most of your data is stored and processed in the UK. Some of our service providers (for example Mailchimp and certain analytics providers) may process data outside the UK. Where this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision, so that your data receives an equivalent level of protection.

7. Cookies and analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small files placed on your device that help the site function and allow us to understand how it is used.

We use strictly necessary cookies to make the website work, and — only with your consent — analytics and advertising cookies, including Google Analytics and Google Ads, to measure performance and improve our marketing.

When you first visit the site you will see a cookie banner. Non-essential cookies are not set until you accept them, and we use Google Consent Mode so that Google’s tags respect your choice. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time via the cookie settings link in the website footer.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how the website works.

8. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. In general:

Enquiries that do not lead to instruction — up to 12 months, then deleted.
Client project records — retained for the duration of the project and for a period afterwards to meet professional, contractual and legal obligations (typically up to 6 years, and longer where required for professional indemnity or building-related liability).
Accounting records — at least 6 years, as required by law.
Marketing data — until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

be informed about how your data is used;
access the personal data we hold about you;
have inaccurate data corrected;
have your data erased in certain circumstances;
restrict or object to our processing of your data;
data portability (receive your data in a usable format);
withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent; and
object to direct marketing at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please email enquiries@planningdesign.co.uk. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge.

10. Keeping your data secure

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, including secure hosting, access controls and staff awareness. While no online service can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to protect your information and review our measures regularly.

11. Other websites

Our website may contain links to third-party sites. This policy applies only to our website, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. Please review their privacy policies before sharing any personal data.

12. Children’s data

Our services and website are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be published on this page, with the “last updated” date shown above.

14. How to complain

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve them. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

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