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Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

This policy explains what personal information PlanCheck collects, why we collect it, how we use it, and what rights you have over it. Written in plain English so it is easy to understand.

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1. Who we are

PlanCheck is a property planning information service for homeowners in England. We help people understand whether their home improvement project may require planning permission before they commit time and money to it. PlanCheck is operated by K Henry, a qualified town planner based in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. PlanCheck is intended for homeowners and other adults. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you have any questions about how we handle your data, you can contact us via the contact page on this website.

2. What information we collect and why

We collect different types of information depending on how you use PlanCheck.

When you use the planning checker

We collect your postcode, property type, project description, and the answers you give to the planning questions. We use this information to generate your planning assessment. If you provide your email address, we use it to send you your results and to contact you if you request a professional review. Providing your email address is optional.

When you create a Property Hub account

If you create a free Property Hub, we store your email address and property postcode. We use these to send you a secure magic sign in link, as we do not use passwords, to save your property, and to send you monthly planning summaries and updates about nearby planning activity. You can delete your account and the information held against it at any time from within your Property Hub, or by contacting us.

When you use Ask PlanCheck

The questions you type into Ask PlanCheck are sent to Anthropic, the company that provides the AI technology that powers this feature. Anthropic processes your question in order to generate a response. Please do not include sensitive personal information in your questions. We log the questions asked (without identifying you personally) so we can improve the service over time.

When you request a professional review

If you purchase a review, we collect your name, email address, phone number (optional), property address, project description, and any documents you upload such as photos or sketch plans. We use this information to carry out and deliver your review. Uploaded documents are stored securely using Cloudflare R2 cloud storage. We retain uploaded files for up to 12 months after your review is delivered, after which they are deleted.

When you make a payment

Payments are processed securely by Stripe. We do not see or store your card details. Stripe handles payment processing and provides us with a confirmation that payment has been made. Stripe's own privacy policy applies to the information you provide during checkout.

When you sign up for planning alerts

If you subscribe to receive weekly planning alerts, we store your email address and postcode so we can send you updates about planning activity near your property. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any alert email or by contacting us directly.

When you use the contact form

If you contact us via the contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the contents of your message. We use Cloudflare Turnstile on the contact form to prevent automated spam submissions. Cloudflare's privacy policy applies to the information collected as part of that process.

Information collected automatically

When you visit PlanCheck, our servers automatically collect standard log information including your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and the time of your visit. We use this information to keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and understand how people use the site. IP addresses used for rate limiting are stored in hashed form so we never retain your raw IP address. Where you agree to analytics cookies, we also use Google Analytics to collect usage statistics about how the site is used. Our cookie policy explains this in more detail.

3. Third party services we use

To deliver PlanCheck, we work with a number of trusted third party services. Each of these services processes some of your information as part of delivering the overall service.

  • Stripe: Handles payment processing securely. We never see your card details.
  • Resend: Sends transactional emails including your assessment results, review delivery, magic sign in links, and planning alert digests.
  • Anthropic: Powers the Ask PlanCheck AI assistant. Questions you ask are processed by Anthropic's systems to generate responses.
  • Cloudflare: Provides cloud storage for uploaded documents via Cloudflare R2, and spam protection via Cloudflare Turnstile on the contact form.
  • Neon: Provides the secure database where your assessment data and account information is stored.
  • Vercel: Hosts and serves the PlanCheck website and application.
  • Google Analytics: Helps us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. Only active if you accept analytics cookies. Provided by Google, which may process this information outside the UK.
  • planning.data.gov.uk and Historic England: Public government data sources used to check planning constraints near your property. No personal data is shared with these services.
  • HomeData API: Used to retrieve nearby planning application data. Your postcode is used to search for local planning activity. No other personal data is shared.

4. Our lawful basis for processing your data

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful reason for processing your personal information. We rely on the following bases:

  • Contract: when you purchase a review, we process your information because it is necessary to deliver the service you have paid for.
  • Legitimate interests: we process standard log data and usage information to keep the service secure and improve it over time.
  • Consent: where you provide your email address voluntarily or sign up for planning alerts, we rely on your consent. You can withdraw this at any time.

5. How long we keep your information

We keep your information only for as long as necessary.

  • Planning assessment data is retained for up to 3 years.
  • Uploaded documents are deleted within 12 months of your review being delivered.
  • Planning alert subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe.
  • Property Hub account information is kept until you delete your account.
  • Contact form messages are kept for up to 12 months.
  • Server logs are retained for up to 90 days.

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have a number of rights over your personal data. You have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Delete your personal data, subject to any legal obligations we may have to retain it.
  • Restrict how we process your data in certain circumstances.
  • Object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
  • Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent as our lawful basis.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via the contact page on this website. We will respond within one month. If you are not happy with how we handle your request, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

7. Cookies and analytics

PlanCheck uses essential cookies to keep you signed in to your Property Hub and to maintain your session securely. With your agreement, we also use Google Analytics cookies to understand how the site is used so we can improve it. Analytics cookies are switched off until you accept them through the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time. We do not use advertising cookies or track you across other websites. Our separate cookie policy explains every cookie we use.

8. Where your information is processed

Some of the services we use to run PlanCheck are based outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States. This means your information may be transferred to and processed in countries whose data protection laws differ from those in the UK. Where this happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as UK approved standard contractual clauses or a finding that the country offers adequate protection, so your information stays protected. The services most likely to involve a transfer outside the UK are Anthropic, Stripe, Cloudflare, Google and Resend.

9. How we keep your information secure

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information. Data is encrypted in transit, access to personal information is limited to what is needed to run the service, IP addresses used for rate limiting are stored only in hashed form, and postcodes are masked in our internal logs. No method of storing or sending data over the internet is completely secure, but we use established providers and good security practice to keep your information safe.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page. We encourage you to check back periodically if you use PlanCheck regularly.

11. Contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us via the contact page on this website.