Development and Building Control's privacy policy

Introduction

Development and Building Control are registered as a ‘data controller’ under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 as we collect and process personal information about you. (Registration 15801) We are part of the Regulation Group which sits under Infrastructure, Housing and Environment.

We process and hold your information in order to provide public services and meet our statutory obligations. This notice explains how we use and share your information. Information may be collected on a paper or online form, by telephone, email, or by a member of our staff, or in some cases, by another Government department.

We will continually review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our services and feedback from service users, as well as to comply with changes in the law.

Information we collect about you

We may collect details of your:

name and title
home and / or business address
telephone number
email address
proposed changes you wish to make, or changes you have made, to your land or property
financial information
health and family information where it may impact on the outcome of a development control application
visual or audio footage of you where you are making a submission at a public meeting
on-line activity when submitting an application through our portal

Why we collect information about you

We need to collect and hold information about you to:

process and determine development control and building bye-law applications
be able to consider your comments on proposed changes to land or property
investigate, regulate and where necessary prosecute where a breach of development control or building by-laws has occurred
provide information relating to land or buildings
answer your query and investigate complaints relating to our service provision and standards
process financial transactions (where charges apply)
carry out stakeholder engagement activities when reviewing our laws and / or policy guidance
to live stream public meetings for those that cannot attend

How we use the information we hold about you

We will use the information you provide in a manner that conforms with the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018. We will endeavour to keep your information accurate and up to date. We will process your information to:

carry out the service you have requested
liaise with our statutory consultees to ensure your proposed development meets the requirements of the Island Plan and any other relevant legislation
monitor and improve our performance in responding to your service request
ensure that we meet our legal obligations
meet our law enforcement functions
prevent and detect criminal offences under the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002
protect individuals from harm or injury where necessary
to obtain feedback from professional bodies (builders, surveyers, etc) when reviewing our laws and policy guidance
allow the statistical analysis of data so we can plan the provision of services

We will not pass any personal data to anyone outside of the Government of Jersey other than:

to those processing information on our behalf
where we are required to assist other organisations in fulfilling their legal obligations
to meet another legal requirement

We will only do this, where possible, after we have ensured that sufficient steps have been taken by the recipient to protect your personal data and where necessary we will ensure that the recipient has signed a data sharing agreement.

A data sharing agreement sets out the purpose of the sharing and the rules that must be followed when processing your data. Copies of our data sharing and processing agreements are available for you to view upon request.

Data Processing

We use the following organisations to process information on our behalf.

Organisation	Reason for processing
NEC Software Solutions UK	For system development and support maintenance as software suppliers for our Planning, Building and Compliance system
C5 Alliance	For system development and support maintenance as software suppliers for our Planning and Building system, portal and website, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology
TCB Consulting	For system development and support maintenance as software suppliers for Planning and Building property searches
CityPay	For managing online payments of planning and building applications

Information processed outside of the European Economic Area (EEA)

We do not process any personal data overseas using web services that are hosted outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

Data sharing

We may need to pass your information to other Government of Jersey departments or organisations to consult with them on your proposed development. These departments and organisations are obliged to keep your details securely, and only use your information for the purposes of commenting on your application.

Organisation	Examples of reasons for consulting	Legal basis (other than the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002)
Airport (Ports of Jersey)	Applications in the airport safety or noise zones or applications that may affect flight operations. For example, wind turbines, solar panels or flag poles.	The Airports Act 1986 (Jersey) Order 2000 Air Navigation (Jersey) Law 2014 Aerodromes (Administration) (Jersey) Law 1952
Arboriculturist	High Hedge applications, tree preservation orders, removal of trees, major developments, or landscaping proposals.	High Hedges (Jersey) Law 2008
Transport section of IHE	Applications involving a new or altered access. Applications that may result in an increase in traffic movements. Advert applications where signs are large, projecting or flashing.	Highways (Jersey) Law 1956 Highway Encroachments (Jersey) Regulations 1957 Roads Administration (Jersey) Law 1960
Drainage section of IHE	Applications that may create additional liquid waste or surface water run-off if not connected to mains drains or other drainage system.	Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005
Tourism	Applications relating to tourist accommodation (for example, hotels, guest houses, self-catering, campsites or hostels holiday villages) or tourism support infrastructure.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Tourism Jersey Law and Tourism General Provisions Order
Education	Applications for education facilities or which are adjacent to schools and nearby residential developments that have more than 60 bedrooms.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007
Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Department	Responsible for Island Plan and for administering Listed Building and Place processes.
Environmental Health section of IHE	Applications in relation to the sale, preparation, processing of food and drinks. Any place of public resort or entertainment. Any application that may have an effect on, or be a nuisance to health or environment (for example, noise, vibration, dust, air quality, fumes, odours, asbestos, light energy or contamination)	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Statutory Nuisances (Jersey) Law 1999 Public Health and Safety (Rented Dwellings) (Jersey) Law 2018 Food Safety (Jersey) Law 1966
Environmental Protection section of IHE	Applications related to waste and water activities. Applications which may require advice on pollution control, pollution prevention, environmental sustainability and contaminated land.	Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007 Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000 Water (Jersey) 1972 Law
Environment Land Control section of IHE	Applications for new agricultural developments, changes of use of agricultural land or buildings and the varying or removal of agricultural conditions.	Agricultural Land (Control of Sales and Leases) Exempted Transactions) (Jersey) Regulations 1974 Agricultural Land (Control of Sales and Leases) (Jersey) Law 1974
Natural Environment section of IHE	Applications where development may have an effect on the surrounding natural environment. For example, greenfield and brownfield sites, loss of natural habitat, impact on trees and woodland, ponds or streams, various species, sites of special interest.	Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000
Marine Resources section of IHE	Offshore infrastructure projects, or on applications for fisheries development.	Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (Jersey) Order 1987
Rural Economy section of Office of the Chief Executive	Applications for agricultural or other rural developments.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007
Fire and Rescue	Applications where development is in or near hazardous installation sites or involves public safety.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Fire and Rescue Service (Jersey) Law 2011 Fire Precautions (Jersey) Law 1977
Solid Waste, Recycling or Contaminated Land section of IHE	Applications for major developments where demolition waste is significant and refuse or recycling provision is required. Applications involving potentially contaminated land.	Waste Management (Jersey) Law 2005 Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005
Harbours (Ports of Jersey)	Applications within the harbours or on land near by that may affect harbour operations.	Harbours (Administration) (Jersey) Law 1961
Health and Safety Inspectorate	Applications for development in a hazardous installation site, or involving storage or use of hazardous substances. Developments of potentially contaminated land as well as applications for the creation of a quarry or reservoir.	Health and Safety (Management in Construction) (Jersey) Regulations 2016 Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989
Historic Environment	Applications relating to a listed building or place and on an archaeological site.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007
Strategic Housing Unit	Applications on housing policy such as social housing needs or requirements, or any loss of residential accommodation (for example, flat or dwelling).	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012
Jersey Farmer's Union	Applications for new, or changes of use to, sheds and glass houses. Applications resulting in a loss of agricultural land.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Agricultural Land (Control of Sales and Leases) (Exempted Transactions) (Jersey) Regulations 1974 Agricultural Land (Control of Sales and Leases) (Jersey) Law 1974
Jersey Sport / Sport section of GHE	Applications for new, or adjacent to existing, sports facilities.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007
Jersey Water	Applications for commercial developments and other developments that are not connected to mains drains. Applications in the water protection safeguard area.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Water (Jersey) Law 1972 Water Pollution (Jersey) Law Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007 Reservoirs (Jersey) Law 1996
Parks and Gardens	Application affecting the island’s parks or open public spaces
Parishes	Applications for major developments in a parish or that may affect visibility splays on parish roads.	Highway Encroachments (Jersey) Regulations 1957 Highways (Jersey) Law 1956
Population Office	Applications related to strategic residential development or changes to lodging accommodation requirements.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012
States of Jersey Police	A variety of development types. For example, projecting or illuminated signs, large developments for housing, office, industrial, retail and leisure schemes, developments involving sale of food and drinks, or affecting transport infrastructure. Detection, investigation and prevention of crime. Apprehension of a person that may have committed an offence.	Building Bye-Law (Jersey) 2007 Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003
States vet	Consulted on applications such as kennels, catteries.	Animal Welfare (Jersey) Law 2004

Other forms of sharing

From time to time the Minister for the Environment may order that a Public Inquiry is held into a planning application. When this happens, the Minister will appoint an Independent Planning Inspector and an Inquiry Programme Officer to undertake the Inquiry.

All information relating to the planning application in question will be shared with the appointed Inspector and Programme Officer so that they can manage the Inquiry independently. Both the Inspector and Programme Officer are required to manage your information in accordance with all Data Protection legislation and we will ensure that they have sufficient security measures in place to protect your information.

After the Inquiry is over all of the information they hold about you will be returned to us or destroyed.

If we need to disclose any sensitive or confidential information about you, we will only do so if we are legally required to, or if it absolutely necessary and when we have obtained your consent where appropriate. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: where the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of the prevention and/or detection of crime or for the purposes of meeting statutory obligations.

At no time will your information be passed to organisations for marketing or sales purposes or for any commercial use without your prior express consent.

Data Security

We have put appropriate security measures in place to prevent your personal data from being used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to only those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a legal or legitimate business need to know.

All of our staff have received training on data protection awareness and security. We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and the Office of the Information Commissioner of any breach where we are legally required to do so.

Publication of your information

We may need to publish your information on our website and in the Jersey Gazette:

where we are required by law to publicise certain information, for example the name of an applicant submitting a planning application
in the interests of demonstrating a fair and transparent decision making process, for example the comments of someone objecting to a planning application
where we are required to provide statistical information about a group of people; although your data will be anonymised to protect your identity
where you have responded to a public consultation, although your comments will be anonymised to protect your identity

We will not publish any of your sensitive personal information unless there is a requirement for us to do so in order to carry out our statutory functions. For example: where information about a disability or illness is crucial in determining the outcome of a planning application, which would otherwise be refused as it contravenes the Policies of the Jersey Island Plan

We may not be able to provide you with a service unless we have enough information or your permission to use your information.

We will not pass any personal data on to anyone outside of the Government of Jersey, other than those who either process information on our behalf, or because of a legal requirement. We will only do this, where possible, after we have ensured that sufficient steps have been taken by the recipient to protect your personal data and where necessary we will ensure that the recipient has signed a data sharing agreement. A data sharing agreement sets out the purpose of the sharing and the rules that must be followed when processing your data.

We will not disclose any information that you provide ‘in confidence’, to anyone else without your permission, except in the few situations where disclosure is required by law, or where we have good reason to believe that failing to share the information would put someone else at risk. You will be told about this.

Planning application advice

Planning advice is not published, even after an application has been submitted. However, it's subject to release through a request under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

Planning applications

We will publish on the online planning and building register applications such as:

adverts
moveable structures
outline planning permission
revised conditions
reserved matters
revised plans
replacement windows
satellite
sites of special interest
tree preservation orders

We will also publish on the register documents associated with an application:

all documents, plans and letters submitted in support of the application
any revisions to an application or amended plans
any letters received from the agent, applicant or owner at any time during the application process
any responses to consultations with other parties
any comments from members of the public, media or other individuals or organisations (representations)
email correspondence where it is material to the determination of the application
officer report and recommendation

For applications presented to the Planning Committee we will publish these documents 1 week prior to the meeting taking place:

officer's report and recommendation
meeting's agenda, venue and date and time

Once planning application has been determined all documents associated with the application will remain published, with the exception of representations (public comments) and consultation responses which will unpublish automatically 6 months after the date of the decision.

Post decision changes and discharge of conditions on planning application

We will publish documentation where changes occur after a decision is made or a discharge of conditions is requested:

all documentation submitted requesting minor amendments or a discharge of conditions
revised plans showing any amendments
department letters confirming the amendment or condition discharge

Building applications

We will publish types of determined applications to the online planning and building register:

building permission
certificate of regularisation
control service and fitting (solid fuel fire, stove or heating boiler)
replacement windows, doors and rooflights
drainage system
fuel storage tanks
unvented hot water system
thermal elements

We will also publish on the register documents associated with an application:

application form
all approved documents and plans submitted in support of the application
decision notices

Removing personal data for publication

In making any information available online we are aware of our responsibilities to properly remove any personal data that might be submitted in connection with an application for planning or building permission.

Forms and documentation

In order to protect people’s personal data, we will remove some personal information before publishing:

signatures
addresses of anyone, other than the site address, or any information which connects individuals to where they live
personal email addresses
private telephone numbers
names and ages of relatives or dependants
any personal family information
details of where people work

Other sensitive personal information will also be removed:

medical information, including disability
medical history, including hospital admittance
death of others

In cases where personal sensitive information has been provided to evidence the Green Zone policy of a dependant relative unit, any detailed information on the dependency or relative will be removed, but the general terms of the submission will be published. For example, the description of works can be published ‘construct one dependant relative unit’, but the details of who that person is and what their dependency is will be removed. There may however be particular circumstances where such information is essential to publish and the decision to publish should only be made of discussion with the applicant or their agent and under advisement of the data protection officer.

We will remove visual information from any photographs you submit:

people depicted in photographs, especially children
vehicle licence plate numbers
views into private property taken from other land
we do not accept video format for written submissions

Whilst commercially sensitive information does not require redaction under data protection legislation, we understand that your expectation would be that this information is removed:

financial information
business cases
land ownership, purchase or transfer

How long we keep information about you

We will endeavour not to keep your information for longer than is necessary. In some instances the law sets the length of time information has to be kept. Our retention schedule is available for you to view at the bottom of this page. This sets out what information we hold, how long we plan to keep it for and what we plan to do with it at the end of its lifecycle.

In some instances we will not be able to remove your data automatically from our files because of the limitations of some of our legacy processes and systems. There are also some instances where we are still working towards meeting the requirements set out in our retention schedules.

If you are concerned about us continuing to hold your personal information you can contact us to ask that we remove the data immediately. We will always seek to comply with your request but we may require further information from you to be able to locate your data or we may still be required to continue to hold or process your information in order to comply with a legal requirement.

Telephone calls

We do not record or monitor any telephone calls you make to us using recording equipment, although if you leave a message on our voicemail systems your message will be kept until we are able to return your call or make a note of your message. File notes of when and why you called may be taken for record keeping purposes. We will not pass on the content of your telephone calls, unless is it necessary for us to do so; either to fulfil your request for a service; to comply with a legal obligation, or where permitted under other legislation.

Emails

If you email us we may keep a record of your email address and a copy of the email for record keeping purposes. For security reasons we will not include any confidential information about you in any email we send to you. We would also suggest that you keep the amount of confidential information you send to us via email to a minimum or use our secure online services where possible or correspond with us by post. We will not share your email address or your email contents unless is it necessary for us to do so; either to fulfil your request for a service; to comply with a legal obligation, or where permitted under other legislation.

Your rights

You can ask us to stop processing your information

You have the right to request that we stop processing your personal data in relation to any of our services. However, this may cause delays or prevent us delivering a service to you. Where possible we will seek to comply with your request but we may be required to hold or process information to comply with a legal requirement.

You can withdraw your consent to the processing of your information

In instances where the processing of your information can only be carried out with your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent to the further processing of your personal data. However, this may cause delays or prevent us delivering a service to you. We will always seek to comply with your request but we may be required to hold or process your information in order to comply with a legal requirement.

You request that the processing of your personal data is restricted

You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information. You can exercise this right in instances where you believe the information being processed in inaccurate, out of date, or there are no legitimate grounds for the processing. We will always seek to comply with your request but we may be required to continue to process your information in order to comply with a legal requirement.

You can ask us to correct or amend your information

You have the right to challenge the accuracy of the information we hold about you and request that it is corrected where necessary. We will seek to ensure that corrections are made not only to the data that we hold but also any data held by other organisations/parties that process your data on our behalf.

You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you

You are legally entitled to request a list of, or a copy of any information that we hold about you. You can submit a subject access request (SAR) using our online form.

However where our records are not held in a way that easily identifies you, for example a land registry, we may not be able to provide you with a copy of your information, although we will do everything we can to comply with your request.

Complaints

If you have an enquiry or concern regarding the Government of Jersey processing your personal data you can contact the Central Data Protection Unit.

You can also complain to the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner about the way your information is being used.