POLICY: Website Privacy Policy

This website is provided and managed by the Ebbsfleet Garden City Trust (EGCT).

EGCT is committed to protecting your privacy. We appreciate that you do not want the personal information you provide to us to be distributed to others without your permission.  We are committed to safeguarding your personal data.

In accordance with the data protection rules as stipulated by the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), this policy explains how we collect information, what we do with it and what controls you have over it.

EGCT is the data controller. The data controller can be contacted via email on info@egctrust.org.uk.

Our website may contain links to other websites. Please note these websites have their own privacy policies and we do not accept responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check their policies before you submit any personal data to them.

DEFINITIONS

Data Controller

The person responsible for deciding what data is held and how it is used.

Personal data

Any information that can be used to identify you as an individual, such as name, email address, phone numbers, IP address etc.

IP Address

An IP address is the address of your computer device so the internet knows where to send information.

Cookies

Cookies are small amounts of information that are placed on computers, mobile phones or other devices, when you access the internet. They are used to do things such as enable the website to remember your preferences and ensure you navigate between pages efficiently etc.

 WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

EGCT will only collect information that you provide, for example  

  • when joining our mailing list,
  • applying for an allotments
  • applying for a grant from Community Funding
  • applying for a voluntary or staff position / role

This will mainly consist of some combination of the following:

  • name
  • contact details (address, email address, phone number)
  • rental charges for allotment plot
  • signature
  • bank details, only where required
  • work experience, only where required
  • skill set, only where required

HOW DO WE COLLECT THIS INFORMATION

We collect personal information about you from one or more of the following sources:

  • completion of form on website when registering your interest in an allotment or community garden, or joining the mailing list
  • your application form when applying for an allotment
  • your agreement to become part of the community gardening group
  • your application for a grant from EGCT Community Fund
  • your application for a voluntary position, such as a trustee
  • your application for a staff position

PURPOSE OF COLLECTING THIS INFORMATION

Below we explain why EGCT collects this information, and how it is used. It enables us to:

  • provide you with information that you have requested, e.g. to send newsletters.
  • Communicate with you by email or phone,
  • Process your tenancy agreement for an allotment
  • Ensure you are kept up to date with information about the Ebbsfleet Garden City, Allotments, Community Gardens, Community Funds etc
  • Send invoices for rental of allotment plots
  • Process applications for Community Funding, including payment of grants
  • Manage waiting lists for the allotments and community gardens
  • Process applications for voluntary or staff positions
  • Provide / work with you, if you are a volunteer or staff member

If you choose to receive newsletters and other communications from us, you may opt-out at any time, simply by sending an email to info@egctrust.org.uk, or clicking the unsubscribe option on the email.

We will not sell, trade, rent or otherwise pass on your personal data to others, unless we are required to do so by law.

LEGAL BASIS FOR COLLECTING THE INFORMATION

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) requires EGCT to state what lawful basis we have to hold and process your data. Data will be held based on

  • Consent – we will obtain express consent from you to send you information
  • Legal obligation – where we have a legal obligation to hold data, we will do so
  • Legitimate business interest – to enable us to deliver the services required of the EGCT, such as managing the allotments, managing the Community Fund grants

SECURITY

Your data will be stored electronically, within the UK, on secure systems. Appropriate tools such as firewalls and anti virus software is kept up to date.

If our web services are hosted outside of the UK, this will only be done where there is a data processing agreement in place that complies with obligations equivalent to those of the UK GDPR regulation.

Where we use third parties, e.g. Mailchimp for bulk email, if they store or transfer data outside the UK we will ensure they are fully certified and compliant with privacy shield frameworks that meet UK GDPR requirements.

Information held on paper (hard copies) is kept safely and to a minimum with access limited to those who need it.

Where there is a suspected data security breach, we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so. If your personal data is involved, you will be informed.

HOW LONG IS INFORMATION KEPT

The Ebbsfleet Garden City Trust will not keep your data for any longer than necessary to provide a service to you, and meet any legal requirements.

Applicants who withdraw from our waiting lists will be deleted immediately from our records.

 

COOKIES

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

Where our website links to external resources or websites, such as Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, these may add their own cookies. These are outside our control. Cookies can be disabled by changing the settings on your computer browser, but you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of our website.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the following rights:

  • You have the right of access – to have a copy of the personal data we have about you, to obtain this, send an email to info@egctrust.org.uk
  • You have the right to rectification – this means we must update your information if it is incorrect. If you would like to update your information, please send an email to info@egctrust.org.uk
  • You have the right to ask us to be forgotten – this means you can request we delete your personal data, you can do this by sending an email to info@egctrust.org.uk or selecting “unsubscribe” from within the email.
  • You have the right to object – this means you can object to us using your data to contact you.
  • You have the right to restriction of processing – you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. We will comply with your request unless we are required to store or process information to comply with our legal duties.
  • You have the right to data portability – you can ask us to transfer the personal data you gave us to another organisations, or to you, in certain circumstances

 

If you wish to see the personal data that we have for you, contact our Data Controller –

In writing: to Data Protection Lead, EGCT, The Observatory, Castle Hill Drive, Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet Valley, DA10 1EE,

Via email: info@egctrust.org.uk and address to the Data Protection Officer.

COMPLAINTS

We aim to resolve any enquiries or concerns about the processing of your personal data to your satisfaction, however if you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number