Development Services Document and Data Retention Policy

The Planning Development Service collects a variety of documents and data as part of its function as a Local Planning Authority, Building Control Services, Drainage and Lead Local Flood Authority and Highways Authority. Documents are held in our Idox Document Management system and data is stored in our Uniform back office systems.  Our Privacy Notice explains what sort of information we collect in these documents and data, and the legal basis for doing so.

The Council deletes some of the information we have collected after a certain period of time and retains some indefinitely. How we deal with that information is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the Data Protection Act (DPA), the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). Decisions on how long documents and data are kept are based on advice from Government, industry professionals and legal experts relating to that legislation. That advice may change over time as a result of legal decisions, new legislation, or amendments to existing legislation. This document will be updated to reflect any changes in our procedures that result from any new advice.

Rules based on those decisions are listed in this document and are used to determine what is retained and for how long. While the rules give specific timescales for keeping documents and data, the actual deletion dates may vary slightly depending on workloads and the need to manage and maintain our computer systems.

Please note that in order to comply with laws on data privacy not all the document types listed below are publicly available and are for internal use only. Likewise some documents available during the consideration of an application may not be visible once a decision has been made but will be retained until we dispose of them in line with our data retention policy. When supplying us with information as part of a planning application you should bear in mind how that information will be treated and stored. Supporting documentation containing personal data about yourself or others should be separate from other documents so that we can treat them accordingly.

Where applications have been dealt with and a decision has been made, the length of time we keep documents and data varies and is based on a 'Statutory limitation' - in other words the length of time someone would have to challenge a decision. If an application has not proceeded, for example if we were not provided with the information we asked, if it was withdrawn by the applicant, or if our own records are incomplete, we will delete the information after a much shorter time period.

We do not delete a document or data before it is due to be removed unless:

• it has been created by mistake, is held in the wrong place
• information/data has been identified as incorrect
• it has been mistakenly categorised as a document type that can be deleted
• We have received a valid and justified request for the removal of a document and/or data which relates to the individual making the request. The request should be made in writing to us at council.contact@bradford.gov.uk stating specifically what you require us to do
• it contains material that could be considered defamatory, offensive, illegal, or in any other way breaches the legal rights of others. We reserve the right to remove such material without notice and inform relevant authorities where necessary
• historic cases where decisions have been reached but not recorded as such electronically
• System files generated by our planning software that are no longer required

Other information is removed after set periods of time, again depending on the legal advice we have received.

We may also hold personal information in paper or microfiche copies of documents in our archives that have not yet been processed electronically and are not publicly available. Copies of these documents are converted on request, and the information in them is processed according to the rules we list below. Once converted the documents are destroyed.

Older planning applications where all documents were originally paper based have been processed by a private contractor and pre-date modern legislation on data privacy. We aim to make these older documents DPA compliant as much as possible, and to ensure that all documents are categorised appropriately so that they can be processed in line with our retention policy.

We make every effort to ensure our electronic records are accurate and complete, but there is always the possibility that mistakes are made and documents are inappropriately kept or deleted. We aim to identify and correct errors wherever possible to ensure compliance with current legislation and advice.

If you have registered with Bradford Council's online planning website the details you supplied to us will remain on our system unless you ask us to remove them.

You can read the full list of Development Services Retention Rules (PDF, 234 Kb).