Privacy notice
What we do with the information you give us, why we are allowed to, how long we keep it, and how to make us stop.
Who we are
Eco-Logical Landscapes Sussex Ltd, trading as Swift Natural Capital, is the data controller for the personal data described in this notice. That means we decide what is collected and what happens to it.
- Registered office: 202 Walmer Road, Portsmouth PO1 5AU
- Company number: 15612702
- Email: office@swiftbng.co.uk
We are not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer. Data protection questions go to the email address above and reach someone who can deal with them.
What we collect
When you use our enquiry form. Your name and email address, which are required, and — if you choose to give them — your phone number, organisation, the type of organisation you work for, your site location, the local planning authority, your planning stage, the number of units you think you need, and anything you write in the message field.
If you attach a file to the enquiry form. The file itself, usually a biodiversity metric, and its filename. We accept spreadsheets, PDFs and zip files up to 15MB. The file is passed straight to our email system as an attachment and reaches us the same way an email would. The website itself keeps no copy. Once it reaches us it is stored securely with your enquiry, alongside any other correspondence, for as long as it stays relevant to it.
When you email or call us. Whatever you tell us, plus the contact details you use.
When you browse the site. Nothing that identifies you, unless you allow analytics. We use Google Analytics to see which pages are read and how people arrive at the site, and it runs only if you press "Allow" in the banner on your first visit. If you decline, or your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, nothing from Google is loaded and no analytics cookie is set. We do not use advertising pixels or anything that builds a profile of you. Our web host processes standard server request data, including IP addresses, to deliver pages and protect against attacks.
Please do not send us special category data — health information, for example — as we have no reason to hold it.
Why we use it, and our lawful basis
| What for | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Replying to your enquiry and preparing a quote | Legitimate interests — you asked us to, and responding is the entire point of the form |
| Negotiating and performing a sale of biodiversity units | Performance of a contract, or steps taken at your request before entering one |
| Keeping records of transactions and correspondence | Legal obligation, and our legitimate interest in being able to evidence what was agreed |
| Occasional follow-up about a live enquiry | Legitimate interests in not letting an enquiry go cold |
| Marketing emails, if we ever send them | Your consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Understanding how the website is used (Google Analytics) | Your consent, given in the cookie banner and changeable at any time under Cookies below |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether our interest is outweighed by your rights, and concluded it is not for the uses above. You can object at any time and we will stop unless we have compelling grounds to continue.
Who we share it with
We do not sell your data, and we do not share it for anyone else's marketing.
We do share it with:
- Habitat bank operators and landowners, where progressing your enquiry requires it — for example, confirming availability or preparing an agreement.
- Solicitors and professional advisers acting on a transaction.
- Planning authorities and responsible bodies, where allocation of units has to be registered or evidenced.
- Our suppliers, who act on our instructions only: our website host and our email delivery provider, who transmit enquiry form submissions to our inbox, and our email and document providers.
- Google, as the provider of Google Analytics, but only if you have allowed analytics. Google processes the usage data on our behalf. Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses, and we have not enabled Google Signals or any advertising features.
- Anyone we are legally required to disclose to, such as HMRC, regulators, or a court.
Where your data goes
Some of our suppliers process data outside the UK. Where that happens, the transfer is covered by UK adequacy regulations or by the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, which are the safeguards UK law provides for this purpose.
Our typefaces are served from our own domain rather than from a font service, so loading a page on this site does not disclose your IP address to Google or to any other third-party font provider.
How long we keep it
- Correspondence and files you send us, including metrics, whether attached to the form or emailed: stored securely with the enquiry or project they relate to, and kept while they remain relevant to it. That means no longer than the periods on either side of this entry, and often shorter.
- Enquiries that do not proceed: up to two years from your last contact with us, then deleted. BNG requirements often sit dormant while planning is determined, so a short window would mean asking you to repeat yourself.
- Enquiries that become customers: for the duration of the relationship and then seven years, to meet accounting and tax record-keeping requirements.
- Records relating to a completed unit sale: longer where necessary, because biodiversity gain sites are secured for at least thirty years and evidence of allocation may be needed for that period.
- Marketing consents: until you withdraw them, plus a record of the withdrawal so we do not contact you again by mistake.
How we protect it
Enquiry form submissions are sent over an encrypted connection and delivered to our email system. We do not store them in a public-facing database — there is no customer database attached to this website to be breached. Access is limited to people who need it, and our accounts are protected by multi-factor authentication.
A file you attach to the enquiry form passes through the website only for as long as it takes to put it on the outgoing email. The website keeps no copy. From then on it is stored securely in our email and document systems with the rest of your correspondence, protected in the same way, and kept for the periods set out above.
If you would rather your documents travelled through your own email system, email them to us instead of using the form. Either route is fine.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask what personal data we hold about you, and get a copy
- have inaccurate data corrected
- have data erased, where we have no continuing reason to hold it
- restrict how we use it while a dispute is resolved
- object to processing based on legitimate interests
- receive data you gave us in a portable format
- withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the basis
Email office@swiftbng.co.uk and we will respond within one month. There is no charge unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
Cookies
The only non-essential cookies on this site are the ones Google
Analytics sets, and it sets them only if you allow it. The banner on
your first visit asks; your answer is stored in your browser so you
are not asked again. Google's analytics cookies (named _ga
and _ga_ followed by an identifier) distinguish one
browser from another and last up to two years. They do not contain
your name, email address or anything you type into the site.
We do not use advertising cookies or pixels. You can change your answer at any time: . Clearing your browser's site data does the same.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, tell us first and we will try 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 notice
We will update this page when our practices change, and the date at the top will tell you when it last happened. Where a change materially affects you, we will contact you directly rather than relying on you noticing.
Drafted to reflect what this website actually does. It is a solid starting point, not legal advice — have it reviewed before launch, and fill in the registered address and company number above.