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Regeneration, Planning and Housing Service Privacy Notice

How we use your personal information for Regeneration, Planning and Housing Service purposes

The Council provides services for local communities and the people who live in them.  Undertaking this work means that we must collect and use information about the people we provide services to and keep a record of those services. Because we collect and use personal information about individuals we must make sure that they know what we intend to do with their information and who it may be shared with. 

We have summarised in this privacy notice some of the key ways in which we use your personal information for Regeneration, Planning and Housing Service purposes. This information should be read in conjunction with the Council’s corporate privacy notice.

1.    Who we are, what we do.

This privacy notice explains what personal data is collected by RCT Regeneration, Planning and Housing Division through our activities and how and why we use this data.  

The Service works effectively with partners regionally to ensure that growth is delivered in South East Wales which communities within Rhondda Cynon Taf benefit from, via investment and opportunities right across South East Wales. This involves supporting the City Deal work, leading on the development of interventions (including grant funding) and projects; and influencing the shape of regional delivery in the future.

The Service participates in regional strategic planning, and developing appropriate local planning policy frameworks.  Along with our statutory planning, building control and enforcement functions.

Assist the development of employment and housing, through partnership working, to maximise the delivery of homes and jobs, supporting the economy and ensuring a range of homes (affordable, market, adapted, re-use of empties and innovative) are developed. Enable relevant landowners (including Welsh Government) to promote development on their sites.

Support and where applicable deliver regeneration schemes already funded or part funded.

2.    What and whose personal information we hold?

We hold information about you, if you contact us online, over the phone, face-to-face or apply for a grant, Planning (including Community Infrastructure Levy), Building Control, Homestep or Energy measure, we will collect personal data about you and other people connected to you.

The types of information we hold and process will typically include where relevant:

  • Name and address
  • Job title and Company Name
  • Contact information including mobile or landline telephone number and email address
  • Date of birth
  • National Insurance Number
  • Bank Account details
  • Evidence of ownership of property (including Land Registry Title documents), Business accounts and Self Assessment details
  • Property valuation and mortgage details
  • Details of any disability / medical condition
  • Other personal information submitted as evidence in support of your Grant, Planning (including Community Infrastructure Levy and/or S106 Agreement), Building Control,   Homestep or Energy measure application that may include some or all of the following:
  • Details of other persons subject to your application for grant assistance, your partner and other members of your household, business partners and property owners. 

The information held will include:

  • Personal details eg name address
  • Contact details eg email address
  • Date of birth
  • Evidence of income & savings
  • Evidence of expenditure/outgoing (in respect of loan application)
  • Council Tax Demand Notice
  • Deeds of property
  • Utility bill, local electoral roll registration and bank statement
  • H M Revenue and Customs under ‘VAT431NB:VAT refunds for DIY house builders’
  • Proof of an approved self build or custom build mortgage from a bank or building society
  • Proof of a specialist self build or custom build warranty
  • Declaration in respect of state aid received when assessing Community Infrastructure Levy exemption or relief
  • Affidavit for lawful development certificates or Community Infrastructure evidence of being “in-use”
  • S106 legal agreements (including all triggers relating to an agreement, which will include financial information)
  • Grant of Faculty – permission from the Church in Wales to undertake building works on churches. Contract of employment
  • Property lease
  • Development appraisals to assess financial viability 

We may receive/collect the following information from others in support of your application: 

  • Name, Address and Date of Birth
  • Contact information, including email address
  • Bank details
  • Confirmation of your Ownership of your property (for which grant aid is sort), 
  • Confirmation of the length of your occupancy of property
  • Confirmation of your entitlement to Reduction in Council Tax
  • Confirmation that you have registered that you will be living in the property
  • Confirmation of your National Insurance Number
  • Details of aids and adaptations required to your property
  • Evidence of earnings
  • Evidence of ownership / tenancy of property
  • Planning history
  • NNDR

To administer the Council’s Homestep scheme, we will collect  personal data about you and other people connected to you as follows:

  • Proof of identity
  • Financial information

3.    Where does the service get my information?

The service obtains your information from a number of sources as follows: 

  • Planning, Grant and Building Control applications forms
  • Community Infrastructure Levy forms
  • Enquiries via telephone, email, letter, online enquiry
  • Information obtained by members of the public in respect of complaints regarding  Planning, Building Control, Dangerous Structures
  • Local Land Charges Searches
  • Regeneration Checks
  • Consultation responses
  • Formal consultation forms
  • Neighbour responses
  • Petitions
  • Social Media
  • Information provided by the public in respect of a planning enforcement complaint / investigation
  • Record of attendance at an inquiry / hearing (which could become available to the public)
  • Information gathering notices issued in relation to a possible breach of planning control
  • Companies House Search
  • Internet Search
  • Land Registry Search
  • Information provided by other organisations i.e. Natural Resources Wales, DVLA, Welsh Government.
  • Information provided by other public sector organisations e.g. referrals by Health, DWP
  • Information provided by private sector organisations e.g. data subject’s solicitors, mortgage provider, agents or employers; private or social landlords
  • Information provided by third sector e.g. Care and Repair Agency
  • Other service areas within the Council eg Council Tax, Housing Benefits, NNDR
  • Information provided by other local authorities e.g. Merthyr & Bridgend Council.

4.   What we will do with your personal information?

  • To provide pre-application advice
  • To provide our business support service
  • As part of our provision of our Pre-purchase and Completion Certificates services
  • To process and administer Building Control statutory function
  • To administer (including assessing any claim for exemption/relief) the Community Infrastructure Levy
  • To process and administer Section 106 legal agreements
  • To check with other Council departments such as NNDR, Council Tax, Licensing, Enforcement to assess eligibility
  • To assess and approve and make payments in respect of your application for Statutory Disabled Facilities Grant and Discretionary Grant Assistance
  • To facilitate the assessment and potential approval of your application for Home Improvement Loan by RCTCBC or a 3rd party provider
  • To enable assessment of Statutory and Discretionary Grant and Home Improvement Loan applications made by members of your household/family
  • For the provision of your Minor Works of Adaptation
  • To enable calculation of a preliminary means test contribution in respect of potential Disabled Facilities Grant application
  • To enable completion of a pre referral assessment of works in respect of a potential Disabled Facilities Grant application
  • When appointed to act as your as your agent.  To engage the services of private contractors, utility companies, specialist engineers, providers of specialist equipment to plan and undertake grant aided work.
  • To make payments to 3rd parties in respect of your grant approval
  • To make payments to you in respect of services provided
  • As part of your appointment for procured services to the Housing Grants team
  • As part of the process of registering of a Legal Charge in respect of your grant award
  • To gather customer feedback information in respect of Grants, Minor Works of Adaptation and loan applications
  • To contact you for research purposes to enable us to improve the services we offer
  • To contact you for marketing purposes to enable us to promote the services we offer and services that we think you might be interested in
  • To administer the Council’s Homestep scheme
  • Maintain an expression of interest list of residents interested in domestic energy schemes and use this list to develop potential energy schemes and initiatives and inform those residents, when schemes become available.
  • Administration of Traveller’s sites and residents.

5. What is the legal basis for the use of this information?

The service has a statutory obligation to use your information as set out in the following legislation so far as they apply to Wales:

  • Town & Country Planning Act 1990
  • Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
  • Planning Act 2008
  • Localism Act 2011
  • The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Wales) Order 2012
  • Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010 (as amended)
  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, 2004
  • Planning (Wales) Act 2015
  • Development Management Procedure (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2016
  • Environmental Impact Assessment (Wales) Regulations 2017
  • The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992
  • Housing Wales (2014) Act
  • Building Act 1984
  • Building Regulations 2010
  • Housing Grants, Construction & Regeneration Act 1996
  • Housing Renewal Grants Regulations
  • Regulatory Reform Order, Private Sector Housing Renewal 2002
  • Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Private Sector Housing Policy 2014
  • The Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2014
  • Energy Act 2016
  • Climate Change & Sustainable Energy Act 2016
  • The Home Energy Efficiency Schemes (Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2018
  • Planning & Energy Act 2008
  • Well Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
  • Warm Homes & Energy Conservation Act 2000
  • The Clean Growth Strategy 2018 (BEIS)
  • Fuel Poverty Strategy 2010 (WG)
  • Vulnerable Consumer Strategy 2013
  • Contractual obligations where individuals are required to enter into or performance of a contact

We will not collect and use personal data for purposes beyond our statutory and contractual duties except where we have your consent or notified you of the relevant legal basis for processing.

6. Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation 

For the Service to undertake its duties in relation to the Regeneration, Planning and Housing, we are required to share information with the following:

Other Council departments:

  • NNDR
  • Council Tax
  • Housing Benefits
  • Licensing
  • Enforcement
  • Legal
  • Finance
  • Transportation
  • Education
  • Parks and Countryside

Other organisations:

  • Department of Work and Pensions
  • South East Wales Local Authorities
  • Natural Resources Wales
  • DVLA
  • Welsh Government
  • Fire Service
  • Care and Repair Agency

Other individuals:

  • Local Members, AM’s, MP’s
  • Developers, Builders, Architects
  • Residents
  • Private and social landlords
  • Your legal representatives
  • Your agent / representative

7. How long will my information be kept?

We will only keep your personal information for as long as we need it to provide the relevant service and to deal with any questions or complaints that we may receive, unless the law requires us to keep it for a longer period.

8. Your information, your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you important rights, including the right to access the personal information the services hold about you.

View further details on your information rights and how to exercise them

 9. Contact Us

If you have any concerns or would like to know more about how the contact centre is using your personal information please contact us in one of the following ways:

By email : PlanningServices@rctcbc.gov.uk

In writing : Regeneration, Planning & Housing Services