Privacy Policy – CLACTON.ORG

1. Who we are

Clacton.org is a local community website and participation platform operated by the Clacton.org team.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Clacton.org is responsible for deciding how personal information submitted through this website is used. This is commonly referred to as being the data controller.

You can contact us about privacy or the use of your information by emailing hello@clacton.org.

2. Information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use Clacton.org. It may include:

Your name, email address, telephone number and postal address.
Your postcode and information confirming whether you live or work in the Clacton area.
Account details, login information and membership status.
Messages, questions and information submitted through contact forms.
Information included in applications, requests, nominations and event submissions.
Photographs, documents and other files you choose to upload.
Information about donations, fundraising activities and payment status.
Volunteer preferences, availability and areas where you have offered to help.
Your participation in Your Voice issues, comments, votes or expressions of support.
Your communication and marketing preferences.
Records of emails sent to you, including delivery, opening and link-click information where tracking is used.
Technical information including IP address, browser type, device type, approximate location, page visits and security logs.
Any other information you voluntarily provide to us.

Please do not provide more personal information than is reasonably needed for the relevant request or service.

3. How we collect information

We may collect information when you:

Complete a form on Clacton.org.
Create or update a member account.
Contact us by email, telephone, post or social media.
Donate or support a fundraiser.
Apply to volunteer or offer assistance.
Submit a local issue, comment or vote through Your Voice.
Submit an event, organisation, business or community listing.
Subscribe to updates or marketing emails.
Use or browse the website.

We may also receive information from service providers that help us process payments, deliver emails, protect forms from spam, operate the website or measure website performance.

4. How we use your information

We may use personal information to:

Respond to enquiries, messages and requests.
Create, verify and administer membership accounts.
Confirm eligibility for local participation or voting features.
Manage donations, fundraising requests and the allocation of funds.
Process volunteer offers and communicate with volunteers.
Review submissions for Your Voice, events, directories and community features.
Publish content you have asked or agreed for us to publish.
Send service messages relating to your account, donation, request or submission.
Send newsletters, campaign updates or fundraising messages where permitted.
Maintain suppression and unsubscribe records.
Prevent fraud, misuse, spam and security threats.
Maintain records, audit activity and investigate complaints.
Improve the website and understand which services are useful.
Comply with legal, financial, electoral, regulatory or safeguarding obligations.
Establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

5. Our lawful bases for using information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for using personal information. The basis used depends on the purpose.

Lawful basis	When it may apply
Consent	Where you actively agree to receive marketing, allow optional cookies, submit information for publication or provide certain sensitive information.
Contract	Where processing is needed to provide a service you requested, administer an agreed arrangement or take steps at your request.
Legal obligation	Where records or information must be processed to comply with legal, financial, tax, electoral, regulatory or law-enforcement requirements.
Legitimate interests	Where it is reasonably necessary to operate and secure the website, respond to communications, administer community activities, prevent abuse, maintain records or improve our services, provided your rights do not override those interests.
Vital interests	In rare situations where using information is necessary to protect somebody’s life or physical safety.

Withdrawing consent: where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This will not make earlier use of your information unlawful.

6. Sensitive and special category information

Some information may reveal matters such as health, disability, political opinions, religious beliefs, ethnicity or other information treated as special category data under UK data protection law.

This may happen, for example, where somebody describes a disability when requesting support, discusses a personal experience in a local issue, or expresses a political view through a campaign or participation feature.

We will only use this information where there is a valid legal condition, such as your explicit consent, substantial public interest supported by law, the establishment or defence of legal claims, or another permitted condition.

Please avoid including sensitive personal information unless it is relevant and necessary.

7. Donations, fundraising and payments

When you donate or make another payment, we may collect your name, contact details, donation amount, date, payment status, donation purpose and any publication preference you select.

Card details are entered into the secure payment system provided by our payment processor. Clacton.org does not need to store your complete card number or card security code.

We may retain payment and donation records where required for accounting, fraud prevention, regulatory, electoral or legal purposes.

Where you choose to have your name displayed publicly, we will use the publication preference you selected. You can ask us to change a public display name, although some underlying financial records may still need to be retained.

8. Members, Your Voice and local participation

Membership and participation features may require enough information to identify you and, where relevant, confirm that you live or work in the Clacton area.

This helps protect the integrity of local votes, comments, submissions and expressions of support. Verification information will not normally be published.

Content submitted for consideration will not automatically be published. We may review, edit, approve, reject or contact you about a submission.

Where information is intended for publication, we will make this clear or obtain your agreement. We will not normally publish your private contact details.

9. Marketing communications

We may send newsletters, community updates, campaign information, fundraising messages, volunteer opportunities or similar communications where we have an appropriate legal basis.

Where consent is required, marketing will only be sent after you have chosen to receive it. Completing a general contact form does not by itself subscribe you to marketing.

You can unsubscribe using the link included in a marketing email or by contacting hello@clacton.org.

We may retain a minimal suppression record after you unsubscribe. This allows us to honour your choice and prevents your address from being accidentally added back to a marketing list.

10. Email delivery and tracking

Marketing emails may contain a small tracking image and individually coded links. These can record whether an email appears to have been delivered or opened and whether a link was selected.

We use this information to understand whether communications are useful, identify delivery problems, prevent duplicate sending and improve future messages.

Email tracking is not always accurate. Some email services block images, preload them automatically or scan links for security. An apparent open or click may therefore not always represent an action taken by the recipient.

11. Who we share information with

We do not sell personal information. We may share limited information with organisations that help us operate the website or deliver services, including:

Website hosting and technical support providers.
Email delivery and mailbox providers.
Payment processors and banking providers.
Cloud security, anti-spam and form-protection services.
Analytics and website-performance providers, where permitted.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers or legal advisers.
Printers, postal providers or delivery services where you request postal communication.
Regulators, public authorities, courts or law-enforcement bodies where disclosure is required or permitted by law.
Community organisations or other recipients where you have asked us to make an introduction or pass on a request.

Service providers should only use information for the service they provide to us and must apply appropriate safeguards.

12. Information processed outside the United Kingdom

Some technology providers may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where this happens, we will rely on an appropriate transfer mechanism or safeguard required by UK data protection law, such as an adequacy regulation, approved contractual clauses or another lawful protection.

13. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably required for the purpose it was collected, including any legal, accounting, regulatory, safeguarding or dispute-resolution requirements.

Type of information	Typical approach
General enquiries	Normally retained while the enquiry is active and for a reasonable period afterwards in case further contact or a complaint arises.
Membership records	Retained while membership is active and afterwards where needed for account history, disputes, legal obligations or suppression records.
Donation and financial records	Retained for the period required by applicable accounting, tax, electoral and legal rules.
Marketing records	Retained while you are subscribed. A minimal unsubscribe or suppression record may be retained for longer.
Unsuccessful or rejected submissions	Deleted or anonymised when no longer required, unless a record is needed to prevent abuse, handle a complaint or show how a decision was made.
Security and technical logs	Retained for a limited period appropriate to detecting abuse, investigating incidents and protecting the service.

Information may be deleted, anonymised or retained for longer where there is a legal requirement, active dispute, safeguarding concern or reasonable need to preserve evidence.

14. How we protect information

We use proportionate technical and organisational safeguards intended to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

These may include:

Secure website connections.
Restricted administrator access.
Password and account controls.
Anti-spam, bot detection and security monitoring.
Software updates and backups.
Access logs and administrative audit records.
Using established providers for payment and email services.

No online system can be guaranteed completely secure. Please use a strong, unique password and contact us promptly if you believe your account or information may have been compromised.

15. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, you may have the right to:

Ask for a copy of your personal information.
Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Ask us to delete information in certain circumstances.
Ask us to restrict how information is used.
Object to certain uses, including direct marketing.
Receive certain information in a portable format.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Ask for human review of a qualifying automated decision.
Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

These rights are not absolute and an exemption may apply. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

To exercise a right, email hello@clacton.org. Please explain what information or activity your request relates to.

16. Children’s information

Clacton.org is primarily intended for adults. Children and young people should not submit private or sensitive personal information without the involvement of a parent, guardian or responsible adult where appropriate.

Where a service or activity is specifically intended for children, we will take proportionate steps concerning age, consent, safeguarding and the information collected.

17. Links and external services

Clacton.org may link to external websites, forms, social networks, maps, videos or other services. Those organisations operate under their own privacy policies and controls.

We are not responsible for how an external organisation uses information after you leave Clacton.org or choose to use its service.

18. Questions and complaints

Please contact us first if you have a concern. We will try to understand and resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the United Kingdom’s independent data protection regulator.

Visit the ICO complaints service for current contact and complaint information.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, systems or legal obligations change.

The date at the top of the page shows when it was last updated. Material changes may also be highlighted on the website or communicated directly where appropriate.