Privacy policy

Plain English about your personal data.

This is the privacy notice for Louisa Cottages Charity, registered charity number 220078. It explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we keep it, and the rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Last updated: May 2026

A small stack of policy folders and a pair of reading glasses on a wooden desk, with a teapot in soft light.

In short

  • We are Louisa Cottages Charity, registered charity 220078, on Akeman Street in Tring.
  • We collect only what we need: names, contact details, donation records, and a small amount of website analytics.
  • We never sell your data, and we share it only with named processors we use to run the trust.
  • You have the right to ask us what we hold, to ask us to correct it, and (in most cases) to ask us to erase it.
  • If we have got something wrong, write to us first. You can also complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk.

Who we are

We are Louisa Cottages Charity, a small almshouse trust in Tring, Hertfordshire. We are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 220078, and co-regulated by Homes England. For the purposes of UK GDPR we are the data controller for the personal data described in this notice. Our registered office is at Louisa Cottages, Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6AA.

What personal data we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

  • Your name and contact details (postal address, email, telephone) — if you write to us, donate, volunteer, apply for a cottage, register for an event, or sign up for our quarterly dispatches.
  • Details of your donation — amount, frequency, payment method, and Gift Aid declaration if applicable.
  • Information about your application for residency — including financial circumstances, local connection, and references — provided by you as part of the application process.
  • Information you give us about an accessibility need at an event.
  • Limited analytics data when you visit the website — broadly, your IP address (truncated), the pages you visit, the time of visit, the device type, and the referring source.

Why we collect it and the lawful basis

We process your personal data on the following UK GDPR lawful bases:

  • Consent — for the quarterly dispatches newsletter and for non-essential analytics cookies.
  • Contract — for managing residency arrangements with our almspeople, and processing donations you have asked us to take.
  • Legitimate interests — for responding to enquiries, processing volunteer applications, organising events, keeping our charity records in order, and a small amount of essential website analytics.
  • Legal obligation — for keeping financial records to comply with HMRC, Charity Commission and Companies House requirements, and for reporting safeguarding incidents.

Who we share it with

We share your personal data with a small number of named processors who help us run the trust:

  • Our payment processor, for taking card donations. They do not receive your full card details from us — the card details are entered directly on their secure pages.
  • Our email platform, for sending the quarterly dispatches if you have subscribed.
  • Our independent examiner of accounts, who reviews the annual accounts and may need limited donor records.
  • The Charity Commission for England and Wales, for statutory reporting.
  • HMRC, where you have made a Gift Aid declaration on your donation.
  • The parish of St Peter & St Paul, Tring, for the administration of the Sunday Doors befriending rota (volunteer DBS checks).

We do not sell, rent, or otherwise commercially exchange your data with any third party.

How long we keep it

We keep personal data for as long as we need it, and then no longer. Specifically:

  • Donation records: seven years from the year of the donation, to meet Gift Aid and HMRC retention requirements.
  • General enquiries: 24 months after the last contact.
  • Volunteer records: for the duration of the volunteer’s involvement, and three years after they end.
  • Resident records: for the duration of residency, and seven years after the residency ends.
  • Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe, plus a short period to log the unsubscribe.
  • Website analytics: 14 months.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

  • Be told what personal data we hold about you (the right of access).
  • Ask us to correct anything that is inaccurate (rectification).
  • Ask us to delete what we hold, in most cases (erasure).
  • Ask us to limit what we do with your data (restriction of processing).
  • Ask for your data in a portable format (data portability), where relevant.
  • Object to our processing on the legitimate-interest basis.
  • Withdraw your consent at any time, where we are relying on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, write to the clerk by post to the address at the top of this page, or by email to [email protected]. We will respond within one calendar month.

Cookies

We use a small number of cookies on the website. They are described in detail in our cookie policy. In summary: essential cookies that remember whether you have dismissed our cookie banner; and a single analytics cookie, set only with your consent, that gives us anonymised page-view information.

Children’s data

We do not direct our website or our work towards children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. We do not send marketing to children. Where children appear in safeguarding contexts (for example, family members of a resident), we follow the safeguarding lead of the parish of St Peter & St Paul, Tring.

Security

We hold your personal data on a small number of carefully chosen platforms, with up-to-date software and access restricted to the clerk and the trustees. Paper records are kept in a locked filing cabinet at the cottages. We will report any serious personal data breach to the ICO within 72 hours, and to you where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms.

Changes to this policy

We update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last updated. Material changes will be flagged in the next quarterly dispatches and on the homepage.

How to complain

If you think we have got something wrong with your personal data, please write to us first — we are a very small office and we would like to put it right quickly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

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