Privacy Policy
Darlington Anglers Club
Privacy Policy – UK GDPR and Data Protection
Effective from: 18th
September 2026
Last reviewed: 17th September 2027
1. Introduction
Darlington Anglers Club
("the Club", "we", "us" or "our") is a fishing club based in northern England with approximately 300 members.
We respect the privacy of our members, prospective members, guests, landowners, volunteers, committee members and other people whose personal information we may hold.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, how we protect it and the rights individuals have in relation to their personal information.
We will handle personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended from time to time.
2. Who is responsible for your personal information?
The Club is responsible for the personal information it holds and uses.
If you have any questions about how the Club uses your personal information, please contact us using the details above.
Club secretary – Bob Smith
3. What information do we collect?
Depending on your relationship with the Club, we may collect some or all of the following:
- Full name
- Postal address
- Telephone/mobile number
- Email address
- Date of birth or age, where necessary
- Membership number
- Membership category
- Fishing licence or permit information, where relevant
- Emergency contact details, where voluntarily provided
- Payment and subscription information
- Records of correspondence with the Club
- Details of Club meetings, competitions and events you participate in
- Photographs or videos taken at Club events, where applicable
- Information required to administer Club waters, permits or fishing activities
- Information relating to complaints, incidents or disciplinary matters where necessary.
We will only collect information that is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which we use it.
4. How do we use your information?
We may use personal information to:
- Process and administer Club membership
- Maintain the Club's membership records
- Collect membership fees and other payments
- Issue membership cards, permits and other Club documents
- Communicate with members about Club matters
- Provide information about Club meetings, work parties, competitions and events
- Administer Club fishing waters and fishing permissions
- Contact members regarding important changes affecting their membership or fishing rights
- Organise competitions and Club activities
- Deal with enquiries, complaints and incidents
- Maintain appropriate records for the management of the Club
- Meet our legal and regulatory obligations
- Protect the Club, its members, its property and its fishing waters
- Contact a nominated emergency contact where this is necessary and appropriate
- Deal with suspected theft, trespassing, poaching or other serious incidents where appropriate.
We will not use members' personal information for unrelated purposes without an appropriate lawful basis.
5. Our lawful basis for using personal information
Data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.
Depending on the circumstances, the Club may rely on:
Contract
We may need to process personal information because it is necessary to administer your membership and provide the membership services you have requested.
Legitimate interests
We may use personal information where this is reasonably necessary for the legitimate running and administration of the Club, provided that our interests do not override an individual's rights and interests.
This may include communicating with members, administering Club activities, protecting Club property and fishing waters and maintaining appropriate membership records.
The ICO (Information Commissioners Office) notes that legitimate interests can be appropriate where the processing is reasonably expected by individuals and has a limited impact on their privacy.
Legal obligation
We may process information where necessary to comply with a legal obligation.
Consent
Where appropriate, we may ask for consent, particularly where information is being used for purposes that are not necessary for membership administration.
Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
6. Sensitive or special category information
The Club will generally try to avoid collecting sensitive personal information unless there is a genuine need to do so.
For example, we may occasionally need limited health or medical information where it is voluntarily provided for a specific purpose, such as an organised activity where relevant safety information is required.
Special category information receives additional protection under UK data protection law. Where such information is processed, the Club will ensure that both an appropriate UK GDPR lawful basis and an additional condition for processing are identified.
7. Who might we share information with?
We will not routinely sell, rent or trade members' personal information.
Where necessary for the administration and operation of the Club, we may share limited information with:
- Club committee members who need the information to carry out their responsibilities
- Club officials, bailiffs, water managers or authorised volunteers where necessary
- Organisations involved in administering competitions or fishing activities
- Relevant governing or membership bodies where necessary
- Insurance companies or professional advisers where appropriate
- Our IT, email, membership-management or payment service providers
- Emergency services where necessary
- Police or other authorities where we are legally required to do so or where disclosure is otherwise lawful and appropriate.
We will only provide information that is reasonably necessary for the particular purpose.
8. Membership lists
The Club may maintain a membership list for the purposes of administering the Club.
Members' personal contact information will not normally be made publicly available.
A membership list will not be provided to another member for their own unrelated use without an appropriate lawful basis.
9. Email and electronic communications
We may use members' email addresses and telephone numbers to send information relating to:
- Membership
- Fishing arrangements
- Club meetings
- Competitions
- Club work parties
- Changes to Club rules or fishing arrangements
- Important notices concerning Club waters
- Other matters directly connected with Club activities.
We will not routinely use membership contact details for unrelated commercial marketing.
10. Photographs and videos
Photographs or videos may occasionally be taken at Club meetings, competitions, work parties and other Club activities.
Where appropriate, photographs may be used for legitimate Club purposes, such as reporting Club activities, maintaining a Club website or social-media presence, or promoting the Club.
We will take reasonable steps to avoid identifying individuals where they have indicated that they do not wish to appear in published photographs.
11. Keeping information secure
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information against:
- Unauthorised access
- Accidental loss
- Unauthorised disclosure
- Alteration or destruction.
Electronic information will be protected using appropriate passwords and security measures.
Paper records containing personal information will be stored securely and should only be accessible to authorised Club officials.
Committee members and volunteers who have access to personal information are expected to treat it confidentially and only use it for legitimate Club purposes.
12. How long do we keep information?
We will keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
Membership information will normally be retained for the duration of membership and for a reasonable period afterwards where necessary for legitimate administrative, accounting, insurance or legal purposes.
Financial and accounting records will be retained for the period required by applicable legal or regulatory requirements.
Information relating to complaints, incidents or disputes may be retained for longer where reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised.
13. Your rights
Subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions, you have rights under UK data protection law, including the right to:
- Ask what personal information we hold about you
- Request a copy of your personal information
- Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Ask us to delete personal information where there is no good reason for us to continue holding it
- Ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances
- Object to certain types of processing
- Withdraw consent where we rely on consent as our lawful basis.
Some of these rights are subject to exceptions and may not apply in every circumstance.
14. Making a request
If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, please contact:
Bob Smith - CLUB SECRETARY
Email: Robsmith7165@gmail.com
Postal address: 58 Swaledale Avenue, Darlington
We may need to verify your identity before providing information or making changes to our records.
We will normally respond to requests within the period required by applicable data protection law.
15. Data breaches
If the Club becomes aware that personal information has been accidentally lost, disclosed, accessed or otherwise compromised, we will assess the incident and take appropriate action.
Where required by law, we will notify the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and affected individuals.
16. Complaints
If you have concerns about how the Club has handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve the matter.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which is the UK's independent data protection regulator.
Information about making a complaint can be found on the ICO website.
17. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law or the way the Club operates.
The latest version will be made available to members and, where appropriate, published on the Club's website.
We recommend that this Privacy Policy is reviewed regularly and whenever the Club makes significant changes to the way it handles personal information. The ICO recommends that privacy notices are kept up to date and reviewed regularly.
Policy approved by: CLUB
COMMITTEE
Date approved: 15th September 2026
Next review date: 15th September 2027