Public Rights of Way - Volunteers - Privacy Notice

Public Rights of Way, Green Infrastructure Team, Rural and Cultural Economy Service

As a Public Rights of Way team, we manage approximately 2000km of Public Rights of Way consisting of footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic. The team also work to improve wider countryside access through permissive paths and open access land, for example.

All Public Rights of Way are highways and are protected by highway law and other legislation. Services provided by the Public Rights of Way team include:

• Public Path Orders and Temporary Closures
• Definitive Map Modification Orders to alter the Definitive Map and Statement
• Land Searches
• Landowner declarations, deposits, and statements
• Enforcement
• Working with landowners and land managers to maintain the public rights of way network.

Why personal information is being processed and what for

As a volunteer for the Public Rights of Way team, we hold your:

• name
• address
• email address
• phone numbers
• emergency contact details
• and which voluntary/user group you represent (if applicable). 

We hold this information so as to contact you and for health and safety matters.

Why we are allowed to use your information

The Council is the Highway Authority for Cheshire East. A volunteer with a Letter of Authority acts on behalf of the Council to carry out minor maintenance on Public Rights of Way, namely the removal of overhanging vegetation and undergrowth affecting Public Rights of Way, and maintenance and replacement of waymark discs. The lawful basis we are relying on to process your personal data is article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, which allows us to process personal data when this is necessary for the performance of our public task.

Who we will share your information with

The personal information you provided in your application form will not be shared with anyone outside of the Green Infrastructure team, unless required by law or by emergency services for your own safety.

Where we get your information from

You provided your personal information during the application process for a Letter of Authority. We do not obtain your personal data from any other source.

How long we will keep your personal information

We store your information for as long as you are a volunteer. 

Full details of the retention periods for different types of data are contained in the Council’s Information Asset Register

How your information is stored

The information is held in electronic format within the Council’s secure IT servers with access restricted to authorised users only. 

What happens if you don’t provide us with your information

If you do not provide us with your information, then you will not be able to hold a Letter of Authority as a volunteer.

Will your information be used to make automated decisions

No.

Will this information be transferred abroad

No.

Your rights

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data, including withdrawing your consent where we have asked for it. You can also ask for a copy of the information we hold about you and ask us to correct anything that is wrong. For detailed information about your rights, see our Privacy Notice page at or our Data Protection page.