Privacy Policy

This document was published on 6 January 2024

Summary

Our privacy policy explains what personal information is collected, what it is used for and who it is provided to. The notice also describes why the Lister Drive Allotment Association (‘the society’) requires your data, and the legal basis on which we do this. 

Authority to amend this notice is delegated to the management committee according to the rules of the society. A copy of the privacy policy will be held in the allotment offices or made available upon request. 

Who is the data controller?

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation the data controller is the Society Secretary.

What personal information do we use? 

This service uses personal information, such as: 

• name 

• address 

• telephone number 

• email address 

• date of birth – to support concession allocation 

• information about your use of our services, such as tenancy, schedule of charges, use of plots. 

This service also uses the following special category personal information about health, disability or other conditions in order to: 

• to provide the most appropriate plot for access or provide reasonable adjustments or 

• if you choose to complete an Emergency Contact Form 

What is your personal information used for? 

The Society uses your personal data for the following reasons to comply with our functions to provide an allotment service.  

Data held on our waiting list

We use your contact details to notify you of available allotments and to arrange plot viewings. If you choose to take on a plot, your information is used to draw up a tenancy agreement.  

Members 

We use your information for contractual and billing purposes, as well as for communications relating to the allotment service. 

This includes using your information to: 

• maintain and administer a register of Society members 

• maintain our accounts and financial records, process relevant financial transactions and follow up outstanding plot rental payments 

• identify you when you contact us and when we contact you 

• contact you in the event of a problem with your tenancy/plot or notify you of changes to your plot or agreement e.g. repairs, maintenance 

• send out allotment service information such as tenancy renewal or rent uplift information 

• investigate and respond to enquiries related to allotments 

• investigate complaints such as property damage, anti-social behaviour or other concerns 

• monitor complaints, comments and other feedback 

• support research (where your information will be anonymised) 

If your tenancy has been terminated due to breaches of the society rules we may keep your information on a tenant eviction list for up to five years following the termination of your tenancy. 

What is the lawful basis we are relying on?

General processing of personal data 

Article 6(1)(a) Specific purpose 

• where you have given consent for your details to be held on the Society waiting list 

• where you have given consent for a specific purpose such as marketing, entering a competition or publicity

Article 6(1)(b) Processing of a contract, or prior to entering a contract 

Where processing is necessary for the management and administration of 

• a tenancy agreement with Liverpool City Council  

• Society membership  

Article 6(1)(c) Legal Obligation 

• where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the society is subject 

Article 6(1)(e) Public Interest 

• where processing is necessary in the public interest 

Article 6(1)(d) Vital Interest 

• In an emergency where it is necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another natural person 

Article 9(2)(g) Special Category Data 

• Use of special category data such as disability or health condition for the allocation of suitable plots based on accessibility and equality of opportunity 

Use of personal data for specific purposes 

In some circumstances, we might rely on your consent under Article 6(1)(a) for specific purposes where you have given your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by letting us know. 

Using your personal information for different purposes 

We may need to either use your personal information for a different reason than we originally told you because our purpose for using your personal information has changed or use your information for an extra reason and we did not tell you about this in this privacy notice. 

If we need to do this, and the new reason is not compatible with our original purpose, we will normally either provide you with a specific privacy policy explaining why we need to use your personal information and on what legal basis, or publish an updated privacy policy, a copy of which will be displayed in the site office. 

Where has the personal information come from? 

• The majority of the personal information that we hold will be provided by you when completing your application for an allotment via the waiting list or when you complete your tenancy agreement. 

• We may receive information from Liverpool City Council for the reasons above, or where you are a third party who has raised a concern 

• We may also receive information about you from external organisations or voluntary societies who support the functions of the Society funding bodies, community growing organisations. 

Who will we share your personal information with? 

Your personal data is shared securely with the following organisations or services where it is both necessary and appropriate to do so. We will share your personal data where necessary as part of the Society’s function such as arranging plot-viewings for prospective tenants, inspecting plots and issuing notices. 

We share your personal data with the following external organisations where it is necessary as part of our operations relating to allotment sites or your tenancy of an allotment site: 

Liverpool City Council 

Where it necessary to do so, for example, when entering or terminating a tenancy agreement and providing an annual list of plot holders. 

Other External Public Bodies 

Your information may be shared with other external government and enforcement agencies, for example the Environment Agency, if we need to report issues at an allotment site, or to comply with our legal obligations 

Police and law enforcement 

Exceptionally, we may need to share information about you with the law enforcement agencies such as the police if we need to report theft, criminal damage or if we suspect that an allotment is used for unlawful purposes 

Animal welfare organisations 

Exceptionally, we may need to share information where we have concern for animals or other wildlife associated with your plot 

Other external organisations 

We may, where necessary, share your personal information with other third parties such as those providing legal, financial, insurance or auditing services for the society. 

Where will we store your information? 

Your information may be stored in the following places: 

Google Services – We use services provided by Google including Gmail and contacts. 

Square Up – We store information in Square Up to record payments and refunds 

WhatsApp for Business – We use WhatsApp to contact members and people on our waiting list for direct communications for example if we need to send a reminder to pay your rent. 

Zoho – we use Zoho Books and Inventory to manage the allotment accounts and our register of members. We use Zoho CRM and campaigns to send communications to you including our regular e-mails as well as direct communications, for example if we issue a warning letter to you. 

Who has access to your data? 

We limit access to your personal information and the services listed above to those who require it to carry out our functions. This will include committee and other members who volunteer to support the administration and management of the society. 

How long will we keep your information? 

We will only process the personal information for as long as needed. Personal data will be destroyed as set out below, except where we have a legal obligation or if you ask us retain it, for example, where there is a legal claim. 

Current Tenants or Friends of Lister Drive Members 

• We will hold your personal information, where necessary, for the duration of your tenancy agreement or Friends of Lister Drive member. 

Current Associate Members 

• We will hold your personal information for the duration of the tenancy agreement that you are associated with, or up to three years following a request to be removed from an agreement 

Former tenants and associate members 

• We will hold your personal information for up to two years from the end of a tenancy agreement.  

Tenants whose agreements have been terminated 

• Where your tenancy has been terminated due to breaches of the Society Rules or your Tenancy Agreement, we will hold your details on our eviction list for up to five years.  

Prospective tenants 

• We will hold your details for up to two years on our waiting list from the date of your application, or from your last contact with us. 

Other third parties 

• We will hold your personal information for up to two years, for example where you have raised a concern with us. 

Your personal information and your rights  

You can find out more about your rights on the Information Commissioner’s Office website https://www.ico.org.uk   

Contacting us about your data   

You can contact us about the personal data we hold for example, to update your details or make a correction. To do this you should speak to a committee member or contact the committee by e-mail or in writing. 

If you have any concerns about the way we use your personal information, we ask you to come to us first for help. You do however have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can find out how to do this at https://www.ico.org.uk.