About this mapping site

The Southend-on-Sea interactive cycle map site shows cycle routes in and around Sandwell, as well as providing information on local points of interest. Other areas will be added to the map over time.

The service is hosted by Pindar Creative on behalf of Southend-on-Sea City Council.

Comments should be directed to:

About this notice

This privacy notice explains what Southend-on-Sea City Council ("we", "us") does with your personal information when you use this website or contact us through it. The site is hosted by Pindar Creative on our behalf.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your information lawfully, fairly and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who is the controller?

Southend-on-Sea City Council is the data controller for the personal information processed through this website, unless stated otherwise.

Postal address:

Website: southend.activemap.co.uk

General enquiries: websupport@pindarcreative.co.uk

Data Protection Officer

As a public authority we have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing how we use your personal information.

DPO email: websupport@pindarcreative.co.uk

Postal: Data Protection Officer,

What information we collect and why

The personal information we process through this site is limited. It depends on how you interact with us:

When you browse the site

• IP address, browser type and operating system (collected by our web application firewall for security and performance).
• Pages visited, time spent and referring site (collected by Google Analytics in a form that does not directly identify you).
• Information stored in or read from cookies you have agreed to (see the Cookies section below).

When you contact us

• Your name, email address, postal address or phone number (whichever you provide).
• The content of your message and any attachments.
• Any other personal information you choose to include.

We use this information to respond to you, to provide the service you have asked for, and to monitor and improve the website.

Our lawful basis for processing

Under the UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis to process personal information. For this website we rely on:

• Article 6(1)(e) - public task: where we process information as part of our functions as a local authority (for example, responding to enquiries about council services).
• Article 6(1)(f) - legitimate interests: for analytics, security monitoring and maintaining the performance of the website. Our legitimate interest is in running a secure, reliable and useful service.
• Article 6(1)(a) - consent: for non-essential cookies and for any optional mailing list or alert subscriptions.
• Article 6(1)(c) - legal obligation: where we have to process information to comply with a legal duty (for example, responding to a subject access request).

How we collect your information

Most personal information we hold has been provided directly by you — for example when you fill in a contact form, send us an email, or subscribe to updates.

Some information is collected automatically when you visit the site (such as IP address and cookie data, as described above).

Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it with third parties for direct marketing.

We may share information with:

• Pindar Creative, which hosts and maintains this website on our behalf, acting as our data processor under a written contract.
• Google, which provides our analytics service (data is processed in a way that does not directly identify you).
• WatchGuard, which provides our web application firewall and processes IP addresses to detect and block malicious traffic.
• Selcom, which provides UK-based hosting for the website.
• Other council teams or services, where this is necessary to deal with your enquiry.
• Other organisations where we are legally required to share information (for example under a court order, or to prevent or detect crime).

All processors are bound by contract to use your information only on our instructions and to keep it secure.

International transfers

The website is hosted in the United Kingdom. Most processing takes place in the UK or the European Economic Area, where data protection standards are recognised as equivalent to the UK.

Where any of our processors transfer data outside the UK (for example Google Analytics), we rely on the safeguards required by UK data protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations or the International Data Transfer Agreement.

How long we keep your information

• Enquiry and contact form messages: typically held for up to 3 years from your last contact, then deleted, in line with our corporate retention schedule.
• Mailing list / alert subscriptions: held until you unsubscribe.
• Website analytics data: retained according to the Google Analytics retention setting we have selected (currently 12 months).
• Security and firewall logs: typically held for 90 days.

If a longer retention period is required by law, we will keep the information for that period.

Cookies

This website uses cookies. Strictly necessary cookies (for example, those needed to remember your cookie preferences and to keep the site secure) are set automatically because the site cannot function properly without them.

All other cookies, including analytics and any third-party cookies, are only set after you have given explicit consent through our cookie banner. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time through the cookie settings link on the site.

For more information about the specific cookies used, please see our Cookies page.

Website analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how people use the site so we can improve it. Google Analytics sets cookies and processes information such as the pages you visit, how long you spend on them and the type of device you are using.

Analytics cookies are only set if you have given consent. We have configured Google Analytics to use IP anonymisation where available, and we do not attempt to identify individual visitors.

Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. These include:

• Hosting the website in the UK with a reputable provider.
• Using a web application firewall to detect and block malicious traffic.
• Using Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt traffic to and from the site, and to protect email in transit.
• Scanning incoming email and attachments for viruses and malicious software.

Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law you have a number of rights. The rights available depend on our lawful basis for processing your information.

Right of access

You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Right to rectification

You can ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right to erasure

You can ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.

Right to restrict processing

You can ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.

Right to object

You can object to processing where we rely on public task or legitimate interests as our lawful basis.

Right to data portability

Where we process your information by automated means on the basis of consent or contract, you can ask us to transfer it to you or another organisation in a structured, commonly used format.

Rights relating to automated decision-making

We do not use this website to make automated decisions or to carry out profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

Withdrawing consent

Where we rely on your consent (for example for non-essential cookies or marketing emails), you can withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

There is normally no charge for exercising these rights. We will respond within one month of receiving a valid request. Complex or numerous requests may take up to two further months, in which case we will let you know.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer using the details above.

Links to other websites

This site contains links to other websites. This privacy notice only applies to our site, so we encourage you to read the privacy notices of any other sites you visit.

Your right to complain

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact our Data Protection Officer in the first instance so we can try to put things right.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection authority:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Helpline: 0303 123 1113

Website: ico.org.uk

Changes to this notice

We keep this privacy notice under review and may update it from time to time. The version date below shows when it was last updated. Significant changes will be highlighted on the website.

Version: 2.14

Last reviewed: 14 May 2026

Next review due: 13 May 2027