Privacy Notice

We are the Planning & Building Control Directorate (P&BC) which forms part of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) and includes the Planning Committee under powers and functions delegated by the Department.

The Directorate is responsible for taking decisions in respect of applications for approval under the Town and Country Planning and Building Control Acts and Regulations. In order to do this, we collect personal information, including names, addresses, contact details and other information that may be considered relevant to the application(s).

Anything submitted as part of a planning application, an application for Advertisement, Registered Building Consent, Certificate of Lawful Development or Use or registration of a building is usually made available to the public which enables third party comment. Similarly, anything submitted by a third party is generally also publically available.

If there is sensitive information which should not be publically available then the Department may be asked to redact the detail, although in doing so it may not be possible to take the redacted information into account when taking a decision.

Information submitted in respect of Building Regulations is not published and is not generally publically available.

Information submitted as part of the Planning Enforcement process is generally confidential, particularly while a case is 'live' due to a potential compromise of any resulting legal action.

Requests under the Freedom of Information Act may result in information being released. Any enforcement cases brought for formal action, where information collected may constitute evidence, would also be released.

The Directorate is located at:

Murray House
Mount Havelock
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 2SF
Telephone:+44 1624 685950
Email: Send Email

What information is being collected

Applicant, Consultee, Contributor, Agent names and contact details
Parties to any alleged breach
Site relationships
Circumstances/evidence/photographs
Bank details to enable payments
Historical information as to built structure
Vehicle registration numbers

How your information is collected

Application forms
Written copy or email as comment on applications
Notes taken from persons at our counter or over the phone
Responses to public/stakeholder consultations
Website forms
Registration for and via an ‘alert service’
Social media (evidence gathering)
Details provided over the phone or email

Why we collect it and how we will use the information we collect about you

The Directorate will use your information to comply with its statutory functions for the determination of applications and, if necessary, to effect any enforcement action.

For example but not limited to:

Town and Country Planning Acts and subordinate Regulations
Building Control Acts and subordinate Regulations
Area Plans, Policy documents Standing Orders, Codes of Conduct, procedural functions set down
Payment of Members Expenses and Local Authority Acts

The Directorate has a statutory obligation to:

process applications
provide the service which supports interaction and obligations with set down procedures
take payments
maintain registers
maintain historic data relevant to buildings
administer action to ensure compliance with legislation

Any information and documentation collected by P&BC (publicizing all planning detail) may in turn be used by wider authorities to:

comply with statutory functions
help prevent and detect crime including fraud
money laundering
identity theft or other criminal offences

We may also use customer detail as part of appropriate contract groups and relevant mail shots.

How we share the information we collect about you

Third parties we may share your data with include:

all information processed by the Directorate in support of the assessment of planning applications is and must be accessible to the public either at our public counter, via our Online service or the Local Authority
enforcement information is closed and confidential, but can be published in cases of formal action or requests under Freedom of Information
Building Control detail is only shared in the form of statistical detail

Who we will share your information with

Local and Public Authorities, private individuals and bodies in compliance with statute, maintenance of the 'Registers' and to assist in the determination of planning and building control applications
Isle of Man Government Departments, Boards and Offices in seeking relevant input enabling applications to be determined and conducting investigations as to alleged breaches. This includes the conveyance of data ownership to the Public Records Office
Legal advice in processing documents in support of applications, and in support of the planning enforcement function

Please Note – Archive application images accessible via our online services will be considered for redaction on request

Protecting your information

The Department will:

keep your information safe and secure in compliance with its information security policy
only use and disclose your information as necessary and as detailed in this guide
retain the information for no longer than is necessary and your information will then be permanently deleted

Your rights

You have a right to access your personal data to ensure that it is accurate, and to request that it is rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed if it is inaccurate.

To make any request relating to your data held by us, please contact the Data Protection Officer for Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you may also complain to the Information Commissioner or the relevant supervisory authority. You may also have a right to other remedies.

More Information

You can find out more information including:

Looking at the Isle of Man Government Privacy Policy
Contacting our Data Protection Officer (see back page)
Making a subject access request which is a request for all of the personal data we hold about you.

Obtaining this information in large print, braille, or in an alternative language.