Council have published my home address against my planning objection

leafy211

For my council, i have now been informed that i have the option of asking for all my personal information to be redacted from the online portals (obviously it would all be available at the council offices where viewings are controlled).  Unfortunately that information was tucked away in another document listing general terms about the councils policy on GDPR etc.  The council confirmed the display of my address served no purpose in the process of my objection - its a historical piece of data that has been listed with the objection details. I suggested it would be a better policy to assume permission not given unless explicit. 
Im not sure why postcode might be useful - objections to planning are not for only local people.  Anyone can object from anywhere. Imagine if groups such as Greenpeace, Amnesty International or WWF could only seek opinion from people who lived round the corner from where atrocities to animals, people or the environment etc was happening.  Ignorance, apathy, bribery ... and i could go on ..  We NEED people from outside our blinkerd bubbles, to inject proactivity, expertise, sageness etc.    

user1977

leafy211 said:

Anyone can object from anywhere. Imagine if groups such as Greenpeace, Amnesty International or WWF could only seek opinion from people who lived round the corner from where atrocities to animals, people or the environment etc was happening.  Ignorance, apathy, bribery ... and i could go on ..  We NEED people from outside our blinkerd bubbles, to inject proactivity, expertise, sageness etc.    

Everyone is entitled to make representations, but it is not a matter of complete irrelevance to the council in determining the application whether objections have come from parties with no particular connection or knowledge of the site, or whether they have come from local constituents.

You mention bribery - surely you can see why some transparency about who is making input into the decision-making process is important? Conversely, if objections are anonymous, surely it makes it even easier for them to "disappear"?

leafy211

And the Council has ALL that information on submission of the objection... thats such a funny thing to say!   Id love to know who is involved in the decision-making process and what that process includes.  If one re-reads my initial message, you will be reminded that is exactly what i was asking from the council - key information which they should have gathered in their consideration for the application.  I have not received any information to date, so I dont kow if they have done their even most basic due diligence. There has been no transparency so far from the council. Councils in general are not known for their transparency.  Anonymous objections? GGMS. 

400ixl

This appears to be going around in circles.

They have not breached GDPR at all, so you should not keep repeating they have. You have requested they remove your address details and they have complied, so they have responded to and addressed your complaint.

Could they make it clearer that you can request they withhold your address details from being published, sounds like the could indeed be clearer and even make it optional in some way during the submission. That is something for you to take up with them.

Seeing as they have not broken any laws and have addressed your complaint, sounds like you have the result you wanted and job done. Glad you got what you were looking to achieve in line with the law.

leafy211

400ixl said:

This appears to be going around in circles.

They have not breached GDPR at all, so you should not keep repeating they have. You have requested they remove your address details and they have complied, so they have responded to and addressed your complaint.

Could they make it clearer that you can request they withhold your address details from being published, sounds like the could indeed be clearer and even make it optional in some way during the submission. That is something for you to take up with them.

Seeing as they have not broken any laws and have addressed your complaint, sounds like you have the result you wanted and job done. Glad you got what you were looking to achieve in line with the law.

thank you for summarising your thoughts of my conversation  

DullGreyGuy

Sensitive Personal Information is your race, religion, medical conditions, sexual orientation etc and so not sure what senstive information you think they have published? An address is simply personal information, not sensitive personal information. 

The process of planning needs to have transparancy, if you write an objection stating "your neighbour will be able to see into your side window" then an address from 5 streets away will clearly show that the objection is spurious. Without this information the public cannot have confidence in the process when a council seems to ignore complaints.

PaulSimons91

Everything when it comes to cleaning applications is posted into the public domain. This includes comments from the council itself, highways agencies and neighbours regardless if they agree with the proposal or oppose it

leafy211

PaulSimons91 said:

Everything when it comes to cleaning applications is posted into the public domain. This includes comments from the council itself, highways agencies and neighbours regardless if they agree with the proposal or oppose it

of course all comments should be  included on the portal. I fully agree.  But just the comments, which should then be addressed by the council.

k3lvc

leafy211 said:

PaulSimons91 said:

Everything when it comes to cleaning applications is posted into the public domain. This includes comments from the council itself, highways agencies and neighbours regardless if they agree with the proposal or oppose it

of course all comments should be  included on the portal. I fully agree.  But just the comments, which should then be addressed by the council.

If you feel that strongly about it then lobby for a change in the law (or regulations - not sure which it falls under).

Until then it remains a nice story about how you got your address removed and your own personal views

MalMonroe

I never even thought about this when I objected to a development of 67 houses in my own little village. Three times now I've objected and my address, though not my name, appear each time. The development doesn't affect me personally but it WILL affect the village in terms of increase in traffic and disturbance of wildlife and general making an absolute mess of the whole area.

I don't care if anyone knows my address or not, I object and I've given two paragraphs of valid reasons for the objection. I do not see a problem with it.