Privacy policy
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with and what your rights are.
About us
ADARA Planning Ltd (“Adara”, “we”, “us”) is the data controller for your information. We’re a company registered in England and Wales under number 09062620, with our registered address at The Old House, Totteridge Green, London N20 8PA. Our ICO registration number is ZA704238, and our planners are members of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
This policy applies when you use our website, contact us, or become a client. For any privacy question, email hello@adara.co.uk or call 020 8446 6622.
The information we collect
We only collect what we need to answer your enquiry and deliver our services.
Contact details: your name, email address, phone number and postal address.
Property and project details: the address of the site, ownership details, photos, drawings, surveys and information about what you want to build.
Payment details: what’s needed to send invoices and take payment. We don’t store card details ourselves.
Communications: emails, calls, WhatsApp messages, website chat and contact form messages, including call recordings where we tell you a call is recorded.
Website and advertising data: your IP address, device, browser, the pages you visit and how you found us, such as which advert you clicked. Most of this is collected through cookies. See our Cookie Policy.
Accessibility needs: occasionally, if you tell us about a health condition so we can design for it, such as step-free access. We’ll only use this with your explicit consent.
Most of this comes directly from you. We may also get information from public sources, such as council planning registers, the Land Registry and Companies House, or from people working on your project, such as other consultants or your contractor.
How we use your information
The law requires us to have a valid reason, called a lawful basis, for each way we use your information.
Reply to your enquiry and send you a quote or proposal
Lawful basis: Taking steps at your request before a contractDeliver our services: design, planning applications, building regulations, appeals and conditions
Lawful basis: ContractSend invoices, take payment and keep financial records
Lawful basis: Contract and legal obligationSend project updates by email, phone, text or WhatsApp
Lawful basis: ContractFollow up on a proposal we’ve sent you
Lawful basis: Legitimate interestsSend newsletters and marketing emails to clients about similar services
Lawful basis: Legitimate interests (you can opt out at any time)Send marketing to people who aren’t yet clients
Lawful basis: ConsentMeasure which adverts and pages bring in enquiries
Lawful basis: Consent, given through our cookie bannerKeep basic website statistics and keep the site secure
Lawful basis: Legitimate interestsDesign for accessibility needs you tell us about
Lawful basis: Explicit consentDeal with complaints, insurance or legal claims
Lawful basis: Legitimate interests and legal obligation
Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we’ve checked that our interests don’t override yours, and you can object.
We don’t make decisions about you based solely on automated processing.
We never sell your information. We only share it where it’s needed for your project or to run our business.
For your project:
Local councils and the Planning Portal, when we submit planning, building regulations or other applications for you. Planning applications are public. Councils usually publish the applicant’s name, the site address and the drawings on their planning register, although they normally remove phone numbers, emails and signatures.
Building control bodies, whether council or private approved inspectors.
Other consultants on your project, such as structural engineers, surveyors, ecologists, transport, heritage or party wall consultants.
Contractors and cost consultants, when we help you tender or manage your build.
The Planning Inspectorate, if we handle an appeal for you.
To run our business, we use trusted service providers who process information on our behalf under contract. These include our CRM and email platform (HubSpot), Microsoft 365, project management and design software, our website host and cookie tool, call tracking, WhatsApp, our accountants, our marketing agency and our legal and insurance advisers.
Advertising platforms. If you accept advertising cookies, Google and Meta receive information about your visit to measure and improve our adverts. They act as separate controllers of that data, under their own privacy policies.
We may also share information where the law requires it, or if Adara’s business is sold or restructured. Any new owner would have to respect this policy.
Where your information is stored and how long we keep it
Some of our service providers, such as HubSpot, Microsoft, Google and Meta, may store information outside the UK, including in the USA. When this happens, we make sure it’s protected by UK adequacy regulations, the UK–US Data Bridge or the ICO’s approved contract clauses.
We keep your information only as long as we need it:
Client project files and records
How long we keep it: 6 years from the end of the tax year in which the project endsEnquiries that don’t become projects
How long we keep it: 3 years from your last contact with usMarketing list
How long we keep it: Until you unsubscribeUnsubscribe (suppression) list
How long we keep it: Kept so we don’t contact you againWebsite and advertising data
How long we keep it: As set out in our Cookie Policy
We may keep some information longer if we need it for a legal or insurance claim.
Your rights
You have the right to:
access the information we hold about you
correct information that’s wrong or incomplete
delete your information, in some circumstances
restrict how we use it
object to how we use it, including at any time to direct marketing
receive a copy of the information you gave us, in a format you can take elsewhere
withdraw your consent, where we rely on it
To use any of these rights, email hello@adara.co.uk. It’s free, and we’ll reply within one month. If your request is complex, we may need up to two more months, and we’ll tell you why.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies. We only use non-essential cookies, such as advertising cookies, if you agree through our cookie banner. See our Cookie Policy for details, or click Cookie Settings at the bottom of any page to change your choices.
Keeping your information safe
We use secure, password-protected systems with two-factor authentication. Access is limited to the people who need it, and we only work with service providers who protect your data to the same standard.
Complaints
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please tell us first at hello@adara.co.uk and we’ll do our best to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
We review this policy regularly and post any changes on this page.
Last updated: 10 November 2026