Privacy policy

Within this policy we explain how we typically collect, store, process and share your personal data and what your various options are in regard to the personal data we hold about you. This policy has been created to ensure compliance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which came into force on 25 May 2018. The policy will be updated from time to time and it is important that you continue to check our website, where the policy resides, to ensure you remain happy with it.

Who we are

Bluelime Home Design LLP, Bluelime Retail Ltd and Bluelime Construction Services Ltd are the companies responsible for delivering design, construction and project management services to you, depending on which services you select from us. The Architects Of London is a trading name of the Bluelime companies above and specifically provides design, construction and project management services to the London property market.

For the purposes of the GDPR, Bluelime Home Design LLP is the data controller and decides how your data is controlled and processed and for what purpose. Our contact details are:

Registered office: Bluelime Home Design LLP, Gwynfa House, 677 Princes Road, Dartford, Kent DA2 6EF
01322 521026 · fresh@bluelimeprojects.com

The Data Protection and Security Officer is the Managing Director, Glenn Williams (01322 521026, fresh@bluelimeprojects.com).

Data we collect from you

Before you appoint us

Typically we collect your first name and surname, address, telephone number and email address. The data we collect depends on the information or service you have requested from us.

• If you have requested one of our How To guides from our website, we ask for your first name, email address and postcode. This is so we can get back in touch with you, ensure you have the information you requested and help further if you need it. It also allows us to regularly send you relevant hints and tips about your property, newsletters and other services we can provide to help you with your project.
• If you have requested a design consultation, either from our website or by calling our office, we ask for your first name, email and phone number. We may also ask what you want to achieve with your project, how far along you are, when you would like to start building, what your budget for the works is and when is best for your design consultation. Occasionally we may ask and record other questions specifically about your project that will help us provide a better service to you. During this interaction we will also inform you of our minimum fee charges.

We obtain this information so we can prepare in advance and research your property type and what we think could be achievable with your project ahead of meeting up, so you get the most out of the time we have together at your design consultation. Your personal data is only shared within our business up to this point, and only with the staff who specifically need it, such as the member of staff who will be undertaking the design consultation with you.

As your project proceeds

We will often ask for more information from you as your project proceeds in order to fulfil our services to you. From your design consultation we write up a design brief which contains specific information about your project, including budget and financial information. This is not shared outside our business; it is for the purpose of agreeing the specifics of your project. We may also ask for specific information about your property or project which helps us understand your requirements and any restrictions: property boundaries, neighbour relationships or restrictions, the past history of your property or properties nearby, other or previous applications, land ownership, hidden services, drainage, or any other information that could affect the design or construction of your project.

Once you appoint us

When you appoint us, our designers use the design brief as the basis for their one-to-one discussion with you on site. The design brief is held privately on our internal systems for our staff only to view and use in regard to your project. We do not share it with third parties outside our business.

It is a legal requirement when making planning applications to the local authority that certain personal data is made publicly available. So when we make a planning application on your behalf, personal data like your name, address, the existing and proposed designs of your home and other data relevant to your application and property is displayed on the local authority's planning website for anyone to view and comment on. We supply this information to your local authority via the Planning Portal, which has restricted access for our staff only. It is only when your application is validated by your local authority that it goes live on their website.

We may also display this data on our website, social media and literature for the purpose of demonstrating our capabilities as a business to other prospective customers. The data displayed by us is normally no more than is publicly available on the local authority planning website. During any building works, whether undertaken by our approved contractors or your own, we occasionally take pictures of the work as it progresses and on completion, which we may also show on our website, social media and literature for the same purpose.

How we ask permission to use your personal data

• If filling in a form on our website or landing pages, we ask you to tick a box to confirm you are happy with us collecting your personal data, and whether you are happy for us to email or call you with information relevant to your project.
• If calling our office, we ask you verbally the same questions.
• We operate a double opt-in procedure for emails from us, which requires you to click to accept us emailing you.
• Within the design report issued to you there is an agreement clause (effectively the contract signed between us should you go ahead with our services) which asks you to confirm if you are not happy for us to use your personal data for marketing purposes.
• Our emails have an unsubscribe option, updated in line with GDPR guidelines, which gives you options on how you want us to handle emails to you.

We never obtain contact lists from organisations or make unsolicited contact. Everyone we contact has been in contact with us in the first instance, normally asking for a guide, a design consultation or our assistance in some way.

How we share your personal data

We keep your personal data confidential and only disclose it to third parties with your specific consent, except for: contractors, suppliers, consultants and service providers who have been vetted by us and deemed suitable to provide services to you, selected specifically to assist with your project and the services we provide; and anyone we transfer our service responsibilities to or subcontract our duties to, in full or in part.

Typically our approved contractors, suppliers, consultants and service providers consist of (but are not limited to) designers, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical designers and contractors, HVAC designers and contractors, quantity surveyors, project managers, party wall surveyors, building surveyors, building contractors, glazing, bifold and sliding door companies, kitchen suppliers and installers, printing and posting suppliers, and our accountant and bookkeeper. Anyone we pass your personal data to is also obliged to keep the information confidential and is not permitted to pass it on to third parties except to fulfil their duties to us so we can provide the agreed services to you. If any of them end up providing services to you directly, you need to check their own GDPR processes and privacy policies.

How we use your personal data

Other than sharing it with our approved contractors, suppliers, consultants and service providers to fulfil our duties and services to you, we use your personal data to retain it on our customer relationship management system for record keeping and to help our staff communicate with you with full information at key milestones; for accounting purposes such as raising invoices; to regularly send by email and post relevant information, guides, hints and tips relevant to you and your project; to send newsletters and details of other services we can provide to help with your project; to send updated information specifically about your project, such as planning information, invoices, costs and key milestone events; and to improve our services to you.

How long we keep your personal data

We keep your personal data for no longer than is reasonably necessary, but typically anything from 7 to 12 years after initial contact or, if you appoint us, after our contract with you has finished. This is because in some cases it is a legal requirement to retain this data for up to 6 years, and we need to keep your personal data on file in the unlikely event anything should go wrong with your project in the future, and to handle any latent defect matters raised by our professional indemnity insurers, who remain responsible for our insurance on your project for several years after it has been completed.

Your rights

You are under no contractual or legal obligation to share your personal data with us, but if you do not we are unable to fulfil our duties fully to you. If you are unsure, please contact us on 01322 521026 or fresh@bluelimeprojects.com. Most of our email communication has an unsubscribe option at the bottom, which you can use at any time; please note this may also reduce communication specifically about your project.

• Access and portability: you have the right to ask us to show you the personal data we hold about you, which we will provide as quickly as possible, normally as a screenshot of the data emailed to you. You can also ask where we got the data, what we are using it for and who we are passing it to.
• Rectification: you have the right to ask us to correct any inaccuracies or errors in the personal data we hold about you, to add data to your record, to remove some data or to update out-of-date information.
• Erasure: you have the right to ask us to remove your personal data completely from our database. Please be aware that in doing so you or your property could be at risk if we have carried out services for you, and there may be situations where we have reason to deny the request, for example where we have a contract to fulfil with you. In that case we will cease general marketing emails to you until we find a resolution.
• Restrict processing: you have the right to ask us not to process your personal data any further, so that while we hold it on our system we do nothing more with it nor pass it to any third parties. Please note this may detrimentally affect the service we are contracted to provide to you.

To invoke any of these rights, please contact us on 01322 521026 or fresh@bluelimeprojects.com.

Third party links

Occasionally we may have links to third party contractors, suppliers, consultants and service providers on our website, or may email you details about them. Such third parties have their own privacy policies and you should satisfy yourself that they meet your requirements directly with them. We cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or errors within their policies.

Cookies

When visiting our website, landing pages or social media pages, cookies may be placed by the relevant systems on your device. These cookies are used only to assist you with access to our sites when you return and for us to retain analytical data, so we can improve the relevance of the information we give you, improve our website and refine our marketing. You can decline the use of cookies within each service provider's website or within your own browser settings. See also our cookie policy.

Changes to this policy

Changes to our privacy policy may happen from time to time and will be posted on this page. Please check back regularly.

Make a complaint or get in contact

If you wish to make a complaint, are not happy with anything stated in this privacy policy or wish to get in touch about anything relating to the GDPR, please call Glenn Williams on 01322 521026 or email fresh@bluelimeprojects.com.