Privacy Policy

PRIVACY NOTICE

Updated July 2026

About this notice

This notice explains how personal information is collected and used through blakenall.place and related Blakenall Pride in Place activities.

It applies when you contact us, attend an event, share your views, register for updates, or express an interest in becoming more involved.

  1. Who is responsible for your information?

The data controller is The Change Arc Limited.

Company number: 14295989

Registered office: 1 Queen’s Park Road, Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 7AD

Email: info@blakenall.place

The Change Arc decides why and how personal information collected through the website and associated systems is used.

This is an interim arrangement for the early stage of Blakenall Pride in Place. We will update this notice and inform people where appropriate if responsibility for their information changes.

  1. Information we collect

Depending on how you take part, we may collect:

  • your name and contact details;
  • your postcode and connection to Blakenall;
  • relevant organisations, groups or communities you are connected with;
  • how you would like to take part;
  • information provided in an expression of interest or application;
  • comments, questions, views and experiences;
  • correspondence, meeting and event records;
  • your communication preferences; and
  • technical information, including IP address, browser, device, session and cookie data.

We normally collect this information directly from you. We may also receive limited information from someone who recommends you, a programme participant or a relevant publicly available source.

We do not routinely ask for sensitive personal information. Where it is required, we will explain why it is needed and identify the applicable condition under Article 9 UK GDPR.

  1. Why we use your information

We may use personal information to:

  • respond to enquiries and arrange conversations;
  • support participation in Blakenall Pride in Place;
  • organise events and community activities;
  • manage expressions of interest and recruitment;
  • support the establishment of the Neighbourhood Board;
  • understand community views and produce collective insight;
  • send updates where requested;
  • operate, improve and secure the website;
  • protect engagement activities from duplicate or misleading submissions; and
  • meet legal, governance, safeguarding or reporting requirements.
  1. Our lawful bases

Under Article 6 UK GDPR, we rely on:

  • legitimate interests to operate and secure the website, respond to people, support participation, understand community views, protect the integrity of engagement activities and administer expressions of interest and recruitment;
  • consent for optional email updates, non-essential cookies and any other activity for which consent is specifically requested;
  • legal obligation where processing or disclosure is required by law; and
  • vital interests where processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.

Our legitimate interests are the effective and secure administration of this early-stage programme, reliable community insight, community participation and fair recruitment.

You can withdraw consent at any time. This will not affect processing undertaken before consent was withdrawn.

Providing personal information is normally optional. However, we may be unable to respond, arrange participation or consider an application without the information needed for that purpose.

  1. Who can access or receive your information?

Access within The Change Arc is limited to staff and contractors who need the information for their work on Blakenall Pride in Place. They are required to follow our confidentiality, data-protection and security arrangements.

Personal information may also be shared, where necessary, with:

  • Walsall Council;
  • Valerie Vaz MP and authorised members of her constituency office;
  • the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government;
  • Limited individuals authorised to support Neighbourhood Board recruitment;
  • Relevant service providers processing information on our behalf; and
  • regulators, professional advisers or public authorities where required by law.

Service providers may include providers of website hosting, online forms, email distribution, appointment booking, analytics, document storage and technology services.

Personal information will only be shared where there is a lawful and appropriate reason. Any sharing will be limited to the information necessary for that purpose and covered by suitable data-sharing, confidentiality or processing arrangements.

Where another organisation receives information and determines how it will be used for its own purposes, it will be responsible for that processing.

We do not sell personal information.

  1. AI-assisted community insight TOOL

The website includes an AI-assisted conversation tool used to understand collective views about Blakenall.

The tool does not ask for names or contact details. It records limited technical information, including IP address and session or device identifiers, to maintain system security and prevent repeated submissions from distorting the results.

Our lawful basis for using this technical information is legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR. Our legitimate interests are protecting the service from misuse and producing reliable community insight.

Technical identifiers are kept separate from the insight produced and are not included in reports. Access is restricted and the information is retained only for as long as necessary to prevent duplicate submissions and investigate suspected misuse.

Responses are analysed collectively to identify themes, priorities, broad geographic patterns and differences in local sentiment. Reports do not identify individual participants.

The tool is currently being piloted in beta and may develop over time. We will update this notice before making any material change to the personal information collected or how it is used.

  1. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed. Our current retention periods are:

  • Enquiries and correspondence: up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact;
  • Identifiable community responses: up to 12 months after collection, unless active follow-up continues;
  • Unsuccessful applications: up to 12 months after the selection process ends;
  • Successful applications and governance records: in accordance with the agreed programme records schedule;
  • Event records: up to 12 months after the event;
  • Email-update details: until you unsubscribe or the mailing list closes;
  • Technical identifiers used to protect the integrity of engagement: until duplicate checking and any related misuse investigation are complete; and
  • Other technical and security records: in accordance with the relevant service’s retention period.

We may keep a minimal record of an unsubscribe request to ensure that we do not contact you again.

Anonymised or aggregated information may be kept for the duration of the programme or longer because it no longer identifies an individual.

Organisations receiving information for their own purposes will apply their own retention policies.

  1. Security and international processing

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information. These include access controls, password protection, multi-factor authentication where available, secure sharing arrangements, supplier controls and data-incident procedures.

Some technology providers may process information outside the UK. Where this happens, we will ensure that an appropriate safeguard required by UK data-protection law is in place. Further information about these safeguards is available on request.

  1. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

  • Request access to and a copy of your personal information;
  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • Request deletion or restriction;
  • Object to processing;
  • Receive personal information you provided to us in a portable format, where this right applies; and
  • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

Right to object

You may object to direct marketing at any time. Where processing is based on our legitimate interests, you may also object on grounds relating to your particular circumstances. We will stop unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue or need the information for legal claims.

To exercise a right, contact us using the details in section 1. We may need to confirm your identity before responding.

  1. Complaints

Please contact info@blakenall.place if you have a concern about how your information has been used.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

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

You may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office without contacting us first.

  1. Changes to this notice

We will update this notice if responsibility for the information changes or if there is a material change to how personal information is collected, used or shared.

The current version will be published on blakenall.place.