How we hold information about planning professionals
Last updated: 21 July 2026
Why you're reading this
If we've contacted you, it's because you or your firm act professionally in the UK planning system — as a planning agent, consultant, architect, or applicant organisation — and we hold limited business information about that professional activity. This page explains exactly what we hold, where it came from, and the controls you have.
Tell us to stop, and we stop — permanently
This is your most important control, so it comes first. Every message we send has an unsubscribe link; you can also email [email protected]. Objection to direct marketing is an absolute right (UK GDPR Article 21) and takes effect immediately and permanently — your details go onto a suppression list that every future mailing is checked against.
What we hold
Your firm's name and, where applicable, your name and professional role; business contact details (business email, office address) taken from Companies House or your firm's own public website — never from planning application forms; and your firm's public planning-application activity (application references, local planning authorities, dates and types) as published on the statutory planning register.
Where it came from
The public planning register — the statutory public record of planning applications that councils are required to keep open to inspection (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.69) — plus Companies House and your firm's own website. We do not buy marketing lists, and we do not take contact details from application documents.
What we use it for
Occasionally telling you about PlanningLedger services relevant to your professional work, and understanding which firms are active in planning. We only contact businesses this way: we never build marketing records about private householders, neighbours, objectors, or anyone else who appears on the planning register outside a professional role.
Legal basis
Legitimate interests (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)): business-to-business marketing of services directly relevant to your documented professional activity. Our balancing assessment is documented and available on request. Marketing emails go only to corporate bodies (companies and LLPs), in line with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
How long we keep it
If your firm shows no planning-register activity for three years, it leaves our active records. If you opt out, we keep the minimum needed to make sure we never contact you again.
Your other rights
You can ask what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to erase it — email [email protected] and we respond within one month. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk), though we'd welcome the chance to fix any concern first.