Privacy Policy & use of Cookies

Privacy Policy

1. Introduction
Thame Green Living (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information through our website www.thamegreenliving.org.uk (the “Site”) in connection with our promotion of voluntary, community based opportunities and supporting local community action (the “Service”).

We are based in the United Kingdom. UK organisations are legally required to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, which set out how personal data must be collected, stored, used, and shared. These laws require organisations to process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently, collect only what is necessary, keep it accurate and secure, and ensure individuals can access and control their own data. Organisations must also have a lawful basis for processing data, such as consent or legitimate interest, and are held accountable for how they handle personal information.

Please read this policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By using the Site and/or submitting your personal data via our contact forms, you accept and consent to the practices described in this policy.

2. What information we collect
We collect personal information from you when you voluntarily provide it to us via our contact/enquiry forms (for example when you indicate interest in a voluntary opportunity, sign up for an email update, request further information, or otherwise contact us). The types of information we may collect include:

  • your name

  • your email address

  • your telephone number (mobile or landline)

  • any additional information you choose to submit (for example your volunteer interest area, availability, skills, interests)

  • any other information you provide in free‑text fields of the form

We also collect certain technical information automatically when you visit the Site (for example IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited) via cookies or other tracking technologies (see point 8 below).

3. How we use your personal data
We will use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • to respond to your enquiry and provide the information or service you have requested;

  • to connect you with relevant partner organisations (for example local voluntary or community organisations offering opportunities you have expressed an interest in) and to share your contact details and relevant information with those organisations so that they may contact you about opportunities;

  • to administer and operate the Site and our Services;

  • to send you updates, newsletters or information about voluntary opportunities (but only where you have opted in or it is otherwise lawful);

  • to ensure the security and integrity of the Site and our systems;

  • for internal record‑keeping, statistical and analytical purposes (for example to monitor interest in particular types of opportunities, improve our Service)

  • Children: We will not process any data relating to a child (under 13) without the express parental/ guardian consent of the child concerned.

4. Lawful basis for processing
We rely on the following lawful bases under the UK GDPR for processing your personal data:

  • Consent – where you have given your clear consent for us to share your contact details with partner organisations and/or to send you updates about opportunities.

  • Legitimate interests – in so far as necessary for our legitimate interest in promoting local community volunteering and connecting individuals with opportunities, provided that such interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

  • Contractual or pre‑contractual – where you have entered into an arrangement with us (for example you submit a form to express interest) and we need to process your data in that context.

Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time (see Section 8).

5. Sharing your personal data
As part of providing our Service we will share your personal information with selected third‑party partner organisations (for example voluntary sector organisations, community groups, charities, social enterprises) who deliver or facilitate the opportunities being promoted on the Site. We share only the information necessary for them to contact you about the opportunity you expressed interest in (e.g., your name, email address, telephone number, relevant interest/skills information).

We ensure that these partner organisations are aware of their data‑protection obligations and that they handle your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. We do not sell your personal data to any organisation for marketing or unrelated purposes.

If required to do so by law (for example under a legal obligation or in the prevention or detection of crime) we may also disclose your personal data to governmental or regulatory authorities.

6. Data retention
We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. In practice this means:

  • we will keep the personal data we collect via the contact/enquiry form until you ask us to delete it, withdraw your consent, or we determine it is no longer needed for the purpose; and

  • we will periodically review our data holdings and delete or anonymise personal data that is no longer required.

7. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have certain rights in relation to your personal data. These include the right to:

  • request access to the personal data we hold about you;

  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;

  • request erasure of your personal data (in certain circumstances);

  • request restriction of processing of your personal data;

  • object to the processing of your personal data (in certain circumstances);

  • request the transfer (portability) of your personal data to another controller (in certain circumstances);

  • withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on your consent to process your personal data.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 10. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe we have not complied with applicable data‑protection law.

8. Cookies and tracking technologies

Our website uses Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors interact with the site and improve the user experience. Google Analytics sets several cookies, including _ga (used to distinguish users), _gid (tracks user behavior over 24 hours), and _gat (limits the number of requests sent to Google servers). The _ga cookie is a persistent cookie that typically lasts for 2 years, _gid is also persistent but expires after 24 hours, and _gat is a session cookie that expires after 1 minute. These cookies do not collect personal information like names or email addresses, and the data is anonymized. However, as a third-party service, Google may process this data according to their own privacy policy. We do not share your personal data directly with any third parties.

The legal basis for using non-essential cookies like Google Analytics is explicit user consent under GDPR and similar privacy laws. When you first visit our site, you will be presented with a cookie banner where you can choose to accept or reject analytics cookies. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by accessing the cookie settings link at the bottom of our site or by clearing cookies in your browser.

  • Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

9. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised or unlawful processing, and from accidental loss, destruction or damage. We restrict access to your personal data, using password control, to those staff, volunteers and partner organisations who need to know the information to support administration of the Service. We also evaluate and review our security practices.

10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on our Site and indicate the date of the latest revision. Please check this page regularly to keep up to date on any changes.

12. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal data, please contact:
Thame Green Living
Address: c/o Thame Town Council, Town Hall, High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3DP
Email: thamegreenliving@gmail.com

LAST UPDATED: 22/10/25