PN139 - Torfaen Local Development Plan Privacy Notice

Torfaen County Borough Council is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. This Privacy Notice is designed to give you information about the data we hold about you, how we use it, your rights in relation to it and the safeguards in place to protect it. It is necessary for the council to gather, collect, store and process personal information relating to associated documents of the adopted Torfaen Local Development Plan, including Supplementary Planning Guidance and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

TCBC Service Area: Economy & Place
Work Area: Planning Policy & Implementation
Contact Details: Email ldp@torfaen.gov.uk or adrian.wilcock@torfaen.gov.uk - Telephone: 01633 648039
Privacy Notice Name: Torfaen Local Development Plan

Data controller: Torfaen County Borough Council, c/o Civic Centre, Pontypool, NP4 6YB

If you wish to raise a concern about the handling of your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer on 01495 762200 or email dpa@torfaen.gov.uk

This Privacy Notice has been written specifically to cover the associated documents of the Torfaen Local Development Plan including Supplementary Guidance Documents and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

Who provides your data to the Council?

The personal information we process is provided to us directly by you, or by your agent (as authorised by you), in response to:

  • Public / Stakeholder Consultation Opportunities
  • Requests to be notified of updates and progress regarding Supplementary Planning Guidance and the Community Infrastructure Levy under the Torfaen LDP.

We do not receive personal information indirectly from any other source.

How does the Council collect this information?

  • Electronic forms via OpusConsult (a specific database to support the LDP process)
  • Electronic forms via survey on the TCBC webpages
  • Emails received by the Team
  • Letters received by the Team
  • Face to face contact with the Team

What information does the Council collect about you?

The Planning Policy and Implementation Team collect:

Public Consultation Opportunities

  • Name
  • Job Title and Employer / Organisation (if applicable)
  • Contact details (postal address and / or email address, telephone number)
  • Any personal information revealed by comments made

Requests to be notified of updates and progress regarding the Supplementary Guidance and Community Infrastructure Levy for the Torfaen LDP

  • Name
  • Job Title and Employer / Organisation (if applicable)
  • Contact details (postal address and / or email address)

Why does the Council process your personal data?

Under Article 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

(a)  Your consent. This is if you subscribe to receive updates from us. Consent only relates to the specific purpose for which it has been given, and you can withdraw your consent at any time. We do not rely on consent as a lawful basis for any other processing.

(c) We have a legal obligation.

(e) We need it to perform a public task.

We also require this information to carry out our duties under the:

  • Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and associated Regulations
  • Planning and Compensation Act 1991 - amended the above Act
  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 - amended the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
  • Section 19 of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act (PCPA) 2004
  • Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008
  • Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended)
  • National Planning Policy / Planning Policy Wales
  • Development Plans Manual 3 (2020) published by Welsh Government

We need this information to:

  • Process comments on Supplementary Planning Guidance
  • Process comments on the Community Infrastructure Levy
  • To contact you for research purposes to enable us to improve the services we offer. We may contact you by email, letter or phone.

If we have your consent to use your personal information, you have the right to remove it at any time. If you want to remove your consent, please contact dpa@torfaen.gov.uk tell us which service you’re using so we can deal with your request.

Special categories of personal data

We do not ask you to provide any special category or criminal data, however, these may be collected if you include such information in open text / comments.

Who has access to your data?

To enable the Council to deal with your involvement in the process and comply with our legal obligations, we will share your information with partner organisations, including:

  • Internally within Torfaen County Borough Council
  • Your legal representatives
  • ICT service provider - SRS (shared Resource Service Wales)
  • Planning Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW)

Your data may also be shared externally with organisations for the purpose of maintaining the Opus Consult database and for undertaking appropriate assessment of Supplementary Planning Guidance and the Community Infrastructure Levy. These may include, but not be limited to:

  • JDI Solutions Limited and Blue Fox Technology Limited who maintain the Opus Consult/Map System

Apart from where previously stated, we do not pass your details to third parties unless we are lawfully required do so.

Public Consultation Opportunities

All respondents to public consultations on SPG’s or the CIL are attributed a representor / representation number. Upon completion of each consultation, the Council is required to compile, consider and publish a Report of Consultation in which each response received is detailed and addressed by officers. Comments made by individuals are referred to by representor number only. Comments submitted on behalf of a company / organisation, are referred to by representor number and company / organisation. No individual persons’ name or contact details are published in the Report of Consultation.

CIL Examination

Respondents to the consultation on the Torfaen Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Draft Charging Schedule and Draft Regulation 123 Infrastructure List may be invited to make their representation in person to an independent Inspector during an Examination of the CIL. At an Examination pre-meeting, the Inspector may, to avoid duplication, ask for a spokesperson to be chosen when several representors have made similar comments, but have all indicated that they wish to attend.  If this happens you will be asked for your permission by the Programme Officer to share your contact details.

Those who choose to participate in the Examination should note that any examination statements / documents provided are required to be published by the Council, as is the Inspector’s Report of the Examination. Only the respondents name and comments made will be published.

Is the Data transferred out of the UK?

Yes.  Our processors are located or process data outside of the UK, it is within the European Economic Area, and the appropriate Data Protection provisions are in place.

How does the Council keep your data secure?

The Council has internal policies in place to ensure the data it processes is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed. Access to this data is restricted in accordance with the Council’s internal policies and in compliance with the UK GDPR.

Data will be stored securely in:

  • Secure Network
  • Secure Cloud
  • Secured Physical storage for paper and hard copies

Where the Council engages third parties to process personal data on its behalf, they do so on the basis of written instructions. These third parties are also under a duty of confidentiality and are obliged to implement appropriate measures to ensure the security of data.

How long does the Council keep your data?

The Council will hold your personal data only for the period that is necessary and will follow organisational and Local Authority standards in this area. At the end of the retention period the Council will securely destroy or dispose of the data in line with retention schedules.

Providing accurate information

It is important that we hold accurate and up to date information about you in order to assess your needs and deliver the appropriate services. If any of your details are incorrect or incomplete, please ensure that you tell us as soon as possible so that we can update your records.

Are we making automated decisions/profiling with your data?

No

Your rights

You have a number of Rights you can exercise:

  • Access - to obtain a copy of your data on request
  • Rectification - to require the Council to change incorrect or incomplete data
  • Object, Restrict or Delete - under certain circumstances you can require the Council to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing
  • Data portability - to receive and/or transmit data provided to the Council to other organisations (this applies in limited circumstances)
  • Withdraw your consent at any time (where consent has been given)
  • To know the consequences of failing to provide data to the Council
  • To know the existence of any Automated Decision-making, including profiling, and the consequences of this for you
  • To lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Information Commissioners Office)

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact: Adrian Wilcock, Team Leader: Planning Policy and Implementation, Torfaen County Borough Council, Civic Centre, Glantorfaen Road, Pontypool NP4 6YB: adrian.wilcock@torfaen.gov.uk

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales), 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way, Cardiff, CF10 2HH. Telephone 0330 414 6421 or e-mail: Wales@ico.org.uk

Last Modified: 11/03/2026 Back to top