We offer both 'in-person' and online sessions.
Site visits can be carried out 'in-person' or online using 360 degree virtual photographic tours (click here to see an example).Sessions should be booked using our online booking system.
Privacy & Cookies Policy
The Design Review Panel — a trading name of Design Review Ltd
Last updated: 1 July 2026
About this policy
This privacy and cookies policy explains how Design Review Ltd, trading as The Design Review Panel (“we”, “us”, “our”), collects, uses, stores and protects personal data, and sets out your rights. It applies to this website (www.designreviewpanel.co.uk), to the online applications we operate, and to the personal data we handle in the course of providing independent design review and related services.
We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
We may update this policy from time to time. Any change takes effect when we post the revised policy on our website, and we will highlight substantial changes.
Who we are
Design Review Ltd is the data controller responsible for your personal data. We are a company registered in England and Wales (company number 06512522), with our registered office at 5 Barnfield Crescent, Exeter, Devon, EX1 1QT.
We are an independent body providing design review. We are not a statutory consultee or a decision-making authority; our role is advisory.
For any question about this policy or how we handle your personal data, or to exercise your rights, please contact us:
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Telephone: 01395 265768
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Post: Data Protection, Design Review Ltd, 5 Barnfield Crescent, Exeter, Devon, EX1 1QT
Our data protection principles
We are committed to handling personal data in line with the principles of the UK GDPR. Personal data must be:
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processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way;
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collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes;
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adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary;
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accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date;
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kept in a form that identifies you for no longer than is necessary;
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processed securely, protecting against unauthorised processing, loss or damage.
We are also accountable for, and able to demonstrate, our compliance with these principles.
Personal data we collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
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contact and identity details, such as your name, organisation, job title, email address, telephone number and postal address;
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information you provide about a project or scheme submitted for design review, which may include documents, drawings, images and correspondence;
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information relating to Panel members and Chairs, including professional details and, where expenses are claimed, the additional information described in “Panel member expenses and payments” below;
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records of your communications with us;
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technical information when you use our website or applications, such as your IP address, browser type and interactions with the page, collected for security and audit purposes;
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any other personal information, including special category data, that you choose to provide.
How we collect your personal data
We collect personal data:
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directly from you, when you book or take part in a design review, submit information, correspond with us, or use our website or applications;
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from those acting on your behalf, such as an agent, architect or local authority officer;
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automatically, through cookies and similar technologies when you use our website (see “Cookies” below).
Digital platforms: we use a range of established third-party tools to deliver our services. These include Dropbox, Wix, Netlify, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Acuity Scheduling, Brevo (Sendinblue), ZOHO, GitHub, Xero, Telleroo, JotForm, Google Drive, Google Forms, Google Sheets, Smartsheet, Airtable, OtterAi, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter/X, Pinterest, Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube, and a private NAS server.
Why we use your personal data and our lawful bases
We use personal data to:
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arrange, carry out and follow up design review sessions, and to provide feedback and related services;
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administer bookings, correspondence and payments;
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share relevant information with the volunteer Panel members and Chairs involved in a review;
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maintain accurate records and meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations;
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with your consent, keep you informed about our services and invite you to take part in surveys;
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with your consent, use material (which may include images) in research and marketing.
Our lawful bases, depending on the activity, are: your consent; the performance of a contract or steps taken at your request; our legitimate interests in running and improving our services and administering payments; and compliance with our legal obligations. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
Panel member expenses and payments
Where you attend a Design Review Panel session as a volunteer Panel member and claim expenses, we collect and process additional personal information to administer and pay your claim. This includes your name, home address, date of birth, National Insurance number, telephone number, email address, professional details, the session and project you attended, the amount claimed, and your bank account details (bank name, branch, sort code, account number and account name) for payment by BACS.
We process this information to verify and reimburse your expenses, to keep accurate financial and audit records, and to meet our tax and accounting obligations. Our lawful bases are the performance of, and steps taken in connection with, our arrangement with you as a Panel member; our legitimate interests in administering payments and maintaining proper records; and compliance with our legal obligations.
With your consent, we securely retain your personal and bank details so that your next claim is pre-filled. You may ask us to remove these stored details at any time by contacting contact@designreviewpanel.co.uk; withdrawing consent does not affect any claim already processed.
Claim records are held in our operational database, supporting documents in our secure file storage, and the claim form is delivered through our own secure, link-based application. Information is transmitted over encrypted connections, access is restricted to those who need it to administer payments, and each submission is recorded with a time-stamp and technical details for audit purposes.
To pay your claim, we share the information necessary for that purpose with our accounting provider (Xero) and our payment provider (Telleroo), and with our accountant. We may also disclose information where required to comply with our legal obligations, including to HM Revenue & Customs. We keep financial records relating to expenses for at least six years after the end of the relevant financial year, in line with HM Revenue & Customs requirements.
Special category data
Some information you provide may be special category data (for example, information about health). We only process such data where you have voluntarily provided it and we have a lawful basis to do so, and we treat it with additional care.
Sharing your data and our processors
We share personal data only where necessary:
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with the volunteer Panel members and Chairs involved in a design review;
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with our service providers who process data on our behalf (for example hosting, file storage, email, accounting and payment providers), under contracts that require them to protect your data and act only on our instructions;
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with our professional advisers, such as our accountant;
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where we are required to do so to comply with the law or a lawful request, or to protect our rights, our users or our systems.
We do not sell or rent your personal data, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.
Transfers outside the UK
Some of our processors are based outside the United Kingdom. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as a UK adequacy decision or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses).
How long we keep your data
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. Financial records relating to expenses and payments are kept for at least six years after the end of the relevant financial year, in line with HM Revenue & Customs requirements. When personal data is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymise it.
How we protect your data
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss or misuse. Information submitted through our applications is transmitted over encrypted connections, access to personal and financial data is restricted to those who need it, and submissions are logged for audit purposes. No transmission of information over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and any transmission is at your own risk.
Your rights
Under data protection law you have the right to: be informed about how we use your data; access the personal data we hold about you; have inaccurate data corrected; have your data erased in certain circumstances; restrict or object to certain processing; and data portability where applicable. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. To exercise any of these rights, please contact
contact@designreviewpanel.co.uk. You will not usually have to pay a fee, and we will respond within the time limits set by law.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. A cookie is a small file stored on your device that records information about your use of the site. Where applicable, our cookie control system lets you allow or decline non-essential cookies on your first visit, in line with the requirement to obtain your consent before non-essential cookies are set. You can also block cookies through your browser settings, although parts of the site may not then function properly.
Analytics and tracking
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. It uses cookies to collect standard internet and usage information, processed in a way that does not identify individuals. You can read Google’s privacy policy at google.com/privacy.html. Other cookies may be set by third parties where we use referral or sponsored links; these are used for referral tracking and typically expire after 30 days.
Email newsletters and marketing
We may operate an email newsletter to keep subscribers informed about our services. You can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time, and every campaign includes an unsubscribe option. Subscriptions are handled in compliance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and the Data Protection Act 2018, and details are held securely and not shared with third parties. Our email campaigns may include tracking (for example whether an email is opened or a link clicked) to help us improve the relevance of our communications.
External links, social media and shortened links
Our website and communications may contain links to external websites and social media platforms that we do not control. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices, and you follow such links at your own risk. Communication through our social media accounts is subject to the terms and privacy policies of each platform; we will never ask for sensitive personal information through social media. Where links are shortened for social media, please take care before clicking.
Email communications
When you email us, your message travels over the public internet and may not be secure. Once received, we treat the contents as confidential. Emails and any attachments are intended only for the named recipient; if you receive an email in error, please notify the sender and delete it.
Complaints
If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk), the UK supervisory authority for data protection.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post any updated version on our website and, where the changes are substantial, we will highlight them. Please check this page periodically.
Contact us
Design Review Ltd (The Design Review Panel)
5 Barnfield Crescent, Exeter, Devon, EX1 1QT
Email: contact@designreviewpanel.co.uk · Telephone: 01395 265768
Company registered in England and Wales, number 06512522.