Privacy Policy

For the Lenches website and community mailing list.

1. Introduction

The Lenches Community Mailing List ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Who we are

The Lenches Community Mailing List is operated as part of the website thelenches.org.uk, which serves the local community. It is run by a local volunteer as a private individual, not by the Village Hall or the Parish Council. The Lenches Club CIC (Ab Lench Road, Church Lench, WR11 4UQ) is collaborating with us to manage a joint mailing list to provide news, events, and community information. The Data Controller responsible for your data is the volunteer who runs thelenches.org.uk, who can be contacted at website@thelenches.org.uk.

3. What data we collect

This website counts visits anonymously (see section 11) but does not track you. Its only forms are the newsletter sign-up, which sends us the email address you type, and “Suggest an update” at the foot of each page, which sends us your message, the page you were on and, only if you choose to give it, your email address. We collect and process the following personal data only when you ask to join our mailing list, email us, or give your email address in one of those forms:

• Name
• Email address
• Communication preferences
• Any additional information provided voluntarily (e.g., event interests, community involvement)

4. How we use your data

We use your data to run the newsletter and to respond to you. We process your personal data to:

• Send newsletters and updates about local events, community initiatives, and news
• Respond to enquiries and manage our communications
• Improve our services based on feedback and interactions
• Comply with legal obligations

If you send us news or events, we keep a short record of who you are and what you have sent (for example your organisation and role), so we can deal with you consistently and occasionally ask whether you have anything new to share. You can ask to see, correct or delete it at any time.

5. Lawful basis for processing

We rely on the following lawful bases under UK GDPR:

• Consent: You have explicitly opted in to receive communications, either by emailing us to ask to be added or through a written sign-up process.
• Legitimate interests: To provide relevant community information that benefits residents.
• Legal obligations: Where necessary to comply with applicable laws.

6. Data sharing

Your personal data will be shared by The Lenches Club CIC with The Lenches Community Mailing List to ensure seamless communication about community events and news. Our newsletter is sent from our own Google Workspace email account, and subscriber details are kept in a private Google spreadsheet. Google processes this data on our behalf. We also use Anthropic’s Claude AI service to read emails sent to us, so we can turn them into website items and draft replies. Replies are checked by a person before they are sent, apart from routine ones such as acknowledgements. Cloudflare runs the links we use to approve items and replies. These providers process data only on our behalf. We do not sell or share data with third parties, including sponsors, for marketing purposes.

7. Data security

We take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. This website is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection, and access to personal data is restricted to authorised personnel only.

8. Data retention

We will retain your personal data for as long as you remain subscribed to our mailing list. You may unsubscribe at any time, and your data will be deleted unless required to be retained for legal reasons. The record we keep about people who send us news is kept while you continue to contribute, and deleted if you ask.

If you give your email address in the “Suggest an update” form, we hold it only so we can reply to let you know what happens. It is deleted once we’ve replied, or after 6 months at the latest. Your message is kept without it, as a record of changes to the website.

If you sign up on the website, we email you a link to confirm. If you don’t confirm within 30 days, we delete your address.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your data
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Withdraw consent for data processing
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your data rights have been violated

10. How to contact us

If you have any questions about this policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at website@thelenches.org.uk.

11. Cookies and website tracking

This website does not set any cookies and does not track you. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count how many people visit and which pages are most viewed. We see only totals, never anything about an individual visitor, and we do not build a profile of anyone. When a page loads, your browser sends your IP address and some browser details to Cloudflare, which does not use cookies or fingerprinting to recognise you; Cloudflare’s own privacy policy applies.

Some pages link out to other organisations — for example Google Calendar for hall and club bookings, and ticketing, club and parish websites. Those services set their own cookies once you follow the link, and are covered by their own privacy policies rather than this one.

The newsletter sign-up and “Suggest an update” forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to check that they are used by people rather than robots. It loads only when you start using one of them, sending your IP address and some browser details to Cloudflare, whose own privacy policy applies.

The map on our Roads page uses map images from OpenStreetMap and map software delivered by Cloudflare (cdnjs), so viewing that page sends your IP address to the OpenStreetMap Foundation and to Cloudflare, whose own privacy policies apply.

We count, anonymously, how many times each newsletter is opened and how many times each link in it is clicked, and when. To do this, each newsletter contains a tiny image, and its links pass briefly through our Cloudflare service on the way to the page. These counts are totals for each issue only: they contain nothing that identifies you, and we cannot tell who opened a newsletter or clicked a link. If your email program blocks images, opens are not counted. To unsubscribe, reply to any newsletter with the word UNSUBSCRIBE, or email website@thelenches.org.uk. You can also rejoin at any time through the sign-up form.

12. Updates to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on the website and, where appropriate, notified via email.

Effective date: 27th October 2026. By subscribing to our mailing list, you confirm that you have read and agree to this Privacy Policy.