Privacy Notice

Introduction

We use this privacy notice to disclose the privacy practices of www.townplanning.gov.bb in accordance with privacy regulations, We aim to help you understand what personal data we collect, how we use it, and what control you have over it. This notice applies solely to data collected by www.townplanning.gov.bb. This notice will define the following:

What personal data is collected from the website.
How personal data is collected, used, shared, stored, and otherwise processed.
The security procedures implemented to protect your data.
Your choices and rights regarding the use of your data.
How you can contact us for issues such as to correct inaccuracies of your data or to request the removal of your personal data.

Please read the following privacy notice to understand the processing, collection, sharing, protection, and your rights associated with your personal data.

Who We Are

The Planning and Development Department is a government agency. It is our mission to o ensure that all members of the public are accorded an efficient and timely planning service in order to provide the best physical environment possible for the island and to do so we collect and use personal data that you provide.

For the purposes of this notice, we act as the “data controller.” We take on this role as we determine how your personal data is used and processed.

We have appointed a Privacy Officer for assisting with questions, requests, and complaints in regards to this privacy notice and the collection and processing of your personal data. For details on how to contact us, see the Contact Information section at the end of this notice.

Data We Collect

We have access to any data that you voluntarily provide via email, telephone, forms, chat functions, user registration, newsletter sign-up, contests, surveys.

Through these means, we collect the following types of data:

Full name
Email address
Username
Phone number
Address
Information about any complaints, enquiries, and communication you make with us
Details on services received from us
Location
Photos

How We Use Your Data

Your personal data may be used for the following purposes:

Customization of content and user experience.
Identity you when you use www.townplanning.gov.bb.
Account set up and administration.
Conducting polls, surveys, and contests.
Internal research and development.
Legal obligations.
Internal audits.
Fulfillment of obligations outlined in any agreements with users.
Gathering feedback and opinions on our provided services.
Notification to users of changes to our services.
Respond to your requests and comments.
Process your transactions.

Legal Basis of Processing

We process personal data for purposes of our own legitimate interests, granted that those interests do not override any of our users own interests, rights, and freedoms. This legitimate interest including processing for marketing, research, and business development purposes.

We also process personal data for other purposes with consent, but you have the right to withdraw consent to processing for specific purposes, as outlined below.

Specific Data Use

To fully access the website, you, as a user, can voluntarily register for an account by completing a registration form. Certain data is collected during this process, including your name and email address. This data is used to contact you, suggest appropriate products and services, and improve your user experience.

To place an order, as a registered user or guest, you must provide contact information (such as name and shipping address) and financial information (such as credit card number and expiration date). This data is used for billing and to fulfill your order. If there are issues with the order, we may use this information to contact you.

Personal data may be used without knowledge or consent in situations when legally required or permitted, or when personal data has been anonymized or pseudonymized so it is no longer associated with the user. This means we have removed personally identifying information so the data we’re left with cannot be tied back to you as an individual.

How We Share Your Data

Personal data may be shared with regulators in compliance with legal regulations.

Personal data may also be shared with third parties when it is necessary to provide services to users, and/or for other legitimate interests. Third parties include service providers, professional advisors, and other members of Planning and Development Department's network.

Third parties that may access personal data are fulfilling the following services: web hosting, order/purchase fulfillment, IT and cloud services, advisory services, and processing of planning applications. These parties do retain, share, or use personal data beyond the defined purpose of fulfilling the service.

We share only aggregated demographic data with our partners and advertisers. This data is not linked to the identity of any individual user.

Where We Process Your Data

If you are visiting www.townplanning.gov.bb from outside Barbados or the United States, be aware you are sending personal information to our servers located in the United States and Barbados.

Under certain circumstances, your personal data that we collect may be transferred to other countries for various purposes outlined below.

Country	Data Category	Purpose
United States	Customer data	Research purposes, marketing, planning fulfillment
	Cookie data	Research purposes, website functionality
Barbados	Customer data	Research purposes, marketing, planning fulfillment
	Cookie data	Research purposes, website functionality

We have implemented security measures and controls to ensure data remains appropriately protected in these jurisdictions.

How Long We Store Your Data

We will only retain personal data for the duration necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. Personal data may also be retained for longer periods if it is solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes. When defining the appropriate retention length, we adhere to relevant legal requirements, such as [list any relevant regulations and basic requirements, such as HIPAA, FERPA, or others]. See our [retention schedule] for details for data retention periods.

How We Protect Your Data

Securing your data is a priority for us, while both online and offline. We have implemented appropriate safeguards to prevent personal data from being lost, misused, accessed, altered, or disclosed by unauthorized parties.

We collect credit card information when you place an order. This data is encrypted and secured throughout its transmission. Secure web access can be verified by the lock icon in your internet browser address bar and by the use of “https” at the beginning of the web address, where the “s” indicates a secure connection.

Employees and third parties are provided only with personal data on a need-to-know basis and only the minimum amount they require to complete their specific job. All employees are also subject to confidentiality agreements and undergo annual training on the proper handling of sensitive data.

Procedures have been developed and tested to handle a potential data breach. These procedures are designed to ensure affected individuals and regulators are notified of the breach and damages can be minimized.

Use of Cookies

Cookies are used on townplanning.gov.bb for purposes various purposes. These “cookies” are data elements stored on your hard drive that allow us to improve your usage of our website. By using a cookie to identify you, you do not necessarily need to log in with a password more than once from the same browser, saving you time when accessing our site. In addition, we use cookies for advertising products based on your usage history, storing and managing your preferences on the website, enabling content, and generally analyzing your usage. Usage of cookies may be linked to your personal data on the website. For more information, see our [cookie policy].

Your Rights Regarding Your Personal Data

We aim to maintain data that is accurate and up-to-date. Under the circumstance that your personal data changes (e.g. moving addresses), please notify us of any changes or update your data.

In certain instances, you have the legal right to the following:

Request all data we have collected about you, if any.
Request correction to the personal data we have collected about you.
Request we delete or remove personal data when there is no legitimate need for us to continue processing it.
Object to the processing of personal data.
Request transfer of your personal data.
Opt out of contact with us at any time.
Express any concern about any data we have collected about you.

To exercise these rights, please contact us via the email, mail, or phone information provided below in the “Contact Information” section.

External Links

On our website, you may encounter links to other websites. Be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these other sites. We encourage all users to read the privacy notices of any other sites that collect your personal data.

Contact Information

For any questions, concerns, or requests to exercise your rights outlined in this privacy notice, please contact us via email at privacy@planning.gov.bb, phone at 1(246)-535-3000 , or mail us at:

Warrens Office Complex
Warrens
St. Michael
Barbados

Changes to This Privacy Notice

This privacy notice was last updated on July 12, 2021.

Any changes to this privacy notice can be found on our website at townplanning.gov.bb/privacy.