PlanningScout

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1 January 2026

1. Who We Are

PlanningScout (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates the website at planningscout.co.uk. We are an independent information website providing free UK planning permission guides, tools, and council data. We are not affiliated with any government body.

This privacy policy explains what personal data we collect when you visit our website, how we use it, and your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. What Data We Collect

PlanningScout is a content website. We do not require you to create an account, and we do not collect names, email addresses, or payment information directly through our website. The data we collect is limited to:

2.1 Analytics Data

We use website analytics software (such as Google Analytics or Vercel Analytics) to understand how visitors use our website. This may collect:

  • Pages visited and time spent on each page
  • Referring website (how you found us)
  • General geographic location (country/region level)
  • Device type, browser, and operating system
  • IP address (anonymised or truncated)

This data is collected in aggregate and is used to improve our website content and user experience. We do not use analytics data to identify individual users.

2.2 Cookies

We use cookies to operate certain features of our website and to collect analytics data. Please see our Cookie Policy for full details.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the data we collect to:

  • Understand which content is most useful to our visitors
  • Identify and fix technical issues with the website
  • Improve the accuracy and usefulness of our guides and tools
  • Measure the performance of our website

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Our legal basis for processing analytics data is our legitimate interests in understanding how our website is used and improving it for users (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR). Where cookies that are not strictly necessary are used, we rely on your consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR).

5. Third-Party Services

Our website may use the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:

6. Data Retention

Analytics data is retained in accordance with the retention policies of the third-party analytics provider. We do not retain personal data longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

  • Right of access — to request a copy of the data we hold about you
  • Right to erasure — to request deletion of your personal data
  • Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Right to withdraw consent — you can withdraw cookie consent at any time
  • Right to complain — you can complain to the ICO if you believe your rights have been infringed

To exercise any of these rights, or to make a data protection enquiry, please contact us. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) can be contacted at ico.org.uk.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.