This notice provides details of what information we collect from you, what we do with it and who it might be shared with.
Identity and contact details of the controller and the data protection officer
Falkirk Council is the data controller. You can contact the data protection officer at:
Frequently asked questions
Why do we collect this information?
The Development Management Unit processes applications submitted to the Council in its role as planning authority for the Falkirk Council area. This includes planning, listed building, conservation area, advertisement, lawful use, hazardous substances and high hedge applications. We also deal with general planning enquiries related to the development and use of land and the enforcement of planning control. Information is being collected for the following purposes:
- To allow us to carry out our statutory functions under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended, and related planning legislation.
- To contact you and inform you in relation to the submission and assessment of applications.
- To allow us to consider and respond to general planning enquiries and consultations related to the development and use of land and planning enforcement.
- To allow us to deal with any representations by you made during public notification and consultation on planning matters.
The legal basis for each purpose is set out below:
| Legal basis |
Purpose |
| Consent |
|
| Performance of a contract |
|
| Legal obligation |
1,2,3,4 |
| Vital interests |
|
| Task carried out in the public interest |
1,2,3,4 |
| Legitimate interests |
|
In relation to these purposes we must comply with various pieces of legislation. Some of the key legislation is listed below.
- The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended
- The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013
- The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
- The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017
- The Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications and Deemed Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as amended
What information do we collect?
We collect your name, signature and contact details, including your postal address, email address and/or phone number. We may collect information about health/disability if relevant to planning application fees as your application may be fee exempt. We may also collect financial information relevant to your application.
If you use the online payment facilities offered on the website you will be asked for your bank details which are stored on a secure server operated by our online banking partner.
We may also keep copies of your communications with us and our responses.
To investigate or enforce legislation we may be required to collect information specific to businesses including registered owners, business address, contact details, employment details and business vehicles.
To report breaches of planning legislation to the Procurator Fiscal we may collect information relating to date of birth, name and address, contact details, land ownership interests.
If you provide anyone else's details in your application, please make sure that you have told them that you have given their information to Falkirk Council. We will only use this information to contact them in relation to the application/correspondence you have made or in carrying out our planning functions.
Where do we collect information from?
You; we get your information from communications with us, for example when you submit an application, representation on an application or when you submit an enquiry to us.
Who might we share your information with?
Applications
Information included in applications will be made publicly available online and/or by inspection as part of a statutory register. Signatures will not be published online.
We may need to share information with statutory consultees.
Representations
Representations made on applications are not confidential. Your name and/or organisation, comments, and any other information you provide with or in your representation may be made available online or to anyone on request for information. Your contact details, such as email address and telephone numbers, will not be made public in the documents we publish, nor will your signature.
We may publish a summary of your representation along with your name and/or organisation and address in publicly available documents. These documents may be available for public inspection on the Council's or the Scottish Government's Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) website and at selected locations such as public libraries and Council offices. Websites may be indexed by various search engines meaning it may also be possible to find your name and address and a summary of your comments using an online search engine such as Google, Bing and others.
We may be obliged by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 or Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 to provide copies of the information you give to us in response to a request for these.
We will not publish comments which in our view may be considered defamatory or obscene.
Sharing with Council Services and organisations
The Council has a duty to protect public funds. We may check your information within the Council for verification purposes and for the prevention of fraud. We may share your information with other organisations where we are required to do so for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime.
We are also legally obliged to share certain data with other public bodies, such as HMRC and will do so where the law requires this. We will also generally comply with requests for specific information from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies where this is necessary and appropriate
Will we send your information outwith the UK?
Your information will be stored and processed in premises in the Council area or on servers based in the UK. While it may sometimes be necessary to transfer personal information overseas, any transfers will be in compliance with data protection law.
How long do we keep hold of your information?
We keep your information as long as required by law or by our business requirements. We have a Business Classification Scheme in place which sets out the types of records we hold, and how long we hold them - you can access the relevant part of the scheme below.
- Downloads
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Planning and Building Standards
PDF file, 166.2 KB
What are my rights in relation to the information held about me?
You have the following rights:
- To see any information held about you by making a subject access request.
- To withdraw consent at any time, where the legal basis for processing is consent.
- To data portability, where the legal basis for processing is (i) consent or (ii) performance of a contract.
- To request rectification or erasure of your information, where data protection legislation allows this.
Do I have a right to complain about the way information has been used?
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, please let us know and we will try to resolve this. If you are still concerned, you can contact the Information Commissioner:
Do I have to provide my personal data to you?
We require your information to process your application (or representation) made under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and related planning legislation and to deal with general planning enquiries and enforcement matters.
There may be consequences if you do not provide your information. Depending on the situation, the consequences may include:
- Your application not being accepted by us as valid.
- Your representation not being accepted by us.
- No contact information to inform you of the outcome of the Council's determination of an application.
- No contact information to issue a response to your request for information or your enquiry.
- No contact information for us or the DPEA to contact you.
- Missing information for stakeholders (the public, developers, Council services, government agencies and so on) to consider a planning matter.
Do you use any automated processes to make decisions about me?
No. We do not use automated decision making processes.
This notice was last updated in November 2020.