Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 27th October 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how Influence Landscape Planning and Design Ltd (“Influence”, “we”, “our”, “us”) collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you visit our website www.influence.co.uk, contact us, or use our professional services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and all applicable privacy legislation. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number [insert ICO number once registered].

If you have any questions about this policy or your data, please contact us:

Email: info@influence.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1636 702152
Address: Influence Landscape Planning and Design Ltd, [Insert Registered Office Address]

1. Who We Are

Influence is a multidisciplinary practice of landscape architects, urban designers, environmental planners, and arborists providing professional consultancy services to public and private sector clients across the United Kingdom.

We act as a data controller for the personal information we collect. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing that data.

2. Personal Information We Collect

We may collect, store, and use the following categories of personal data:

Information you provide directly:

Name, job title, company name, and contact details (email address, telephone number, postal address)
Enquiry or project details submitted through our website forms or by email
Billing, payment, and invoicing information (where applicable)
Recruitment data such as CVs, cover letters, and references (if you apply for a position)
Communication preferences and feedback

Information we collect automatically:

IP address, browser type, operating system, and referring URLs
Website usage information including pages visited, session duration, and interactions
Cookies and similar technologies (see Section 9 below)

Information from third parties:

Publicly available data such as LinkedIn profiles or business websites
Professional contacts shared by mutual clients or project partners
Credit references or background checks where legally permissible

3. How We Use Your Information

We process your personal data only where it is necessary and lawful. Typical purposes include:

Responding to enquiries, requests, and professional correspondence
Providing and managing professional services and contracts
Sending project proposals, invoices, or statements
Managing supplier and subcontractor relationships
Fulfilling our legal and regulatory obligations
Maintaining internal records and improving business processes
Marketing our services and sharing company updates (with consent)
Recruitment, HR, and staff management

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: Processing necessary to perform a contract or take steps before entering a contract.
Legal obligation: Processing required to comply with a legal or regulatory duty.
Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights do not override those interests (for example, responding to enquiries, service improvement, and marketing to existing clients).
Consent: Where you have given explicit consent (for example, subscribing to newsletters or optional communications). You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your data. We may share your information with trusted third parties only where necessary to fulfil our business obligations, including:

Professional partners or subcontractors involved in your project
Service providers such as IT support, cloud storage, website hosting, and accounting software (all subject to GDPR-compliant agreements)
Legal or regulatory authorities where required by law
The Information Commissioner’s Office or other regulators if we are obliged to report a breach

All third parties are required to handle your data securely and use it only for the agreed purpose.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, and reporting requirements.

Typical retention periods are:

Client project records: up to 7 years after project completion
Financial and invoice data: 7 years (per HMRC requirements)
Recruitment records: 6 months after a position is filled, unless consent for longer retention is obtained
Website enquiry logs: 12 months

After these periods, data will be securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right to access – to request copies of your personal data.
Right to rectification – to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data where it is no longer necessary or where you withdraw consent.
Right to restrict processing – to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability – to request that data be transferred to you or another organisation.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@influence.co.uk.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

8. Data Security

We take data security seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. These include:

Secure servers and firewalls
Password-protected systems and multi-factor authentication
Regular data backups and encryption where appropriate
Staff training in data protection and information security
Restricted access to personal data based on role necessity

If a data breach occurs that may compromise your personal data, we will notify you and the ICO as required by law.

9. Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses cookies to improve functionality, analyse visitor behaviour, and personalise your experience. Cookies are small files placed on your device that help us understand site usage patterns.

We use:

Essential cookies for site functionality.
Analytical cookies (such as Google Analytics) to understand website performance.
Preference cookies to remember user settings.

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. For more details, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

10. Marketing and Communications

We may contact you about our services or industry insights if you have an existing business relationship with us or if you have opted in to receive communications. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails or contacting info@influence.co.uk.

We do not send unsolicited marketing to individuals without consent.

11. International Data Transfers

We store and process data primarily within the United Kingdom.
If any personal data is transferred outside the UK (for example, via cloud services located in the EEA or US), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or ICO-approved Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

12. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to individuals under 16 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child, we will delete it promptly.

13. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of any site you visit.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, guidance, or our practices. The most recent version will always be available on our website. Please check this page periodically for updates.

15. Contact Us

For all privacy-related enquiries, please contact:

Influence Landscape Planning and Design Ltd
Email: info@influence.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1636 702152
Website: www.influence.co.uk

If you believe your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Website: www.ico.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 1113