Who We Are
Our website address is: https://sherwooddales.org.uk.
Sherwood Dales Neighbourhood Watch and Community Group (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates this website and related community platforms, including associated Facebook and WhatsApp community.
What Personal Data We Collect and Why
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string. This helps us detect spam and protect the site.
An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check whether you use it. The Gravatar privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/
After approval, your profile picture may be visible publicly alongside your comment.
User Accounts and Registration
If you register for an account on our website, we collect and store the personal information you provide in your user profile. This may include your name, email address, and other details relevant to community membership.
This information is used to:
- Manage access to our platforms.
- Administer community participation.
- Send essential communications related to safety, moderation, or community administration.
These essential communications are not promotional in nature and may be sent regardless of newsletter subscription preferences where necessary for the operation, moderation, or safety of the community.
Non-Essential Communications
We offer optional email communications, such as community newsletters and surveys.
- Subscription to non-essential communications is opt-in only.
- Consent is managed on a per-category basis (for example, newsletters or surveys).
- Consent can be given, withdrawn, or changed at any time through a user’s account settings or by using unsubscribe links provided in emails.
- Changes to subscription preferences take effect immediately.
We do not send marketing or newsletter emails without explicit consent.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors may be able to download images and extract such data if it is present.
Cookies
We use cookies to ensure the site works correctly and to improve usability.
If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies for convenience. These cookies last for one year.
If you visit our login page, a temporary cookie is set to check whether your browser accepts cookies. This contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in:
- Login cookies last for two days.
- Screen preference cookies last for one year.
- Selecting “Remember Me” keeps you logged in for two weeks.
If you log out, login cookies are removed.
If you edit or publish content, an additional cookie is stored containing the post ID. This expires after one day and contains no personal data.
We display a cookie notice to comply with UK GDPR and related regulations.
Embedded Content From Other Websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles).
Embedded content behaves as if you visited the external website directly. These websites may:
- Collect data about you.
- Use cookies.
- Embed additional third-party tracking.
- Monitor your interaction with that content.
This includes tracking if you are logged in to that external service.
Analytics
We use Matomo Analytics, which is self-hosted and configured to be privacy-friendly. It helps us understand how the site is used so we can improve it.
Where possible, data is anonymised and processed without relying on third-party advertising networks.
We do not sell or rent your personal data.
Data may be shared only where necessary, for example:
- Spam detection services (e.g. Akismet).
- Email delivery systems used to send essential or consented communications, configured to comply with UK GDPR.
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
How Long We Retain Your Data
- Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely to allow follow-up comments to be recognised automatically.
- Registered user data is retained for as long as the account remains active.
- Users may delete their account, after which personal data is removed unless retention is required for legal, administrative, or security purposes.
- If you unsubscribe from non-essential communications, your subscription preferences are updated immediately.
- If you delete your account, associated newsletter subscription data is also removed.
What Rights You Have Over Your Data
You have the right to request:
- A copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction of inaccurate data.
- Deletion of your personal data.
- Withdraw consent for non-essential communications at any time.
This does not include data we are required to keep for legal, administrative, or security reasons.
Requests can be made by contacting us using the details below.
Where Your Data is Sent
Visitor comments may be checked through automated spam detection services.
Some services we use may process data outside the UK, but only where appropriate safeguards are in place.
How We Protect Your Data
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including:
- HTTPS encryption.
- Access controls.
- Account verification and rate-limiting.
However, no online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Significant changes will be announced on the website or through our community platforms.
Contact Us
For questions, concerns, or to report issues, use our contact form or email us at info@sherwooddales.org.uk.
Last updated: 14th December 2025.