Privacy Notice

Meanwhile Gardens Community Association (MGCA) is a UK charity (registered charity number 296921) based at 156–158 Kensal Road, London W10 5BN. We operate Meanwhile Gardens and community activities including the Playhut, volunteering, events, gardening and wellbeing programmes.

MGCA is the data controller for personal information that we decide how and why to use. For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, email admin@meanwhilegardens.org.uk or write to the address above.

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect your name, contact details, organisation, enquiry and correspondence; event or activity booking details, attendance and accessibility requirements; volunteering interests, availability and relevant safeguarding or emergency-contact information; and donation and Gift Aid declaration details.

Where a programme genuinely requires health, accessibility or safeguarding information, we will explain why it is needed, restrict access and identify an appropriate lawful basis and, where applicable, a special-category condition. Please do not include sensitive information in general website enquiry forms unless requested.

When you use our website, limited technical information may be processed to operate and protect the site. With your permission, Google Analytics may collect information about visits and interactions as explained below.

We use personal information to answer enquiries; manage Playhut and other programme participation; arrange and administer volunteering; register people for events and communicate booking information; process donations and Gift Aid; maintain safe activities and meet safeguarding duties; manage our charity and financial records; and maintain the security and performance of our website.

Our lawful bases under UK GDPR depend on the activity. They may include legitimate interests (responding to enquiries and running appropriate community services, balanced against your rights); contract or steps before a contract (where a booking or other arrangement requires this); legal obligation (such as accounting, Gift Aid or safeguarding requirements); and consent where specifically requested, including optional analytics cookies and any future marketing subscriptions.

We do not rely on a general “accept the Privacy Notice” checkbox as consent to all processing. Where we rely on consent, we will make the choice specific and allow withdrawal.

Contact forms: information submitted through our website is directed to admin@meanwhilegardens.org.uk. Authorised staff use it to respond and manage your enquiry. Where appropriate, relevant details are shared internally with the staff member responsible for the programme, such as the Playhut Manager for Playhut enquiries.

Playhut, events and community activities: we use registration and attendance details to manage places, communicate practical information and run activities safely. We collect information about children only where necessary and normally communicate with a parent or carer.

Volunteer forms: we use details to respond to expressions of interest, organise opportunities and, where appropriate, complete safety or safeguarding arrangements.

Event booking platform: MGCA plans to use Ticket Tailor for free events requiring advance registration. If this service is available on the website, information you provide when booking is processed through Ticket Tailor, and its privacy information will be available during booking.

Newsletter: no newsletter signup is planned at website launch. If introduced later, we will provide a separate opt-in choice and update this notice as necessary.

Where online giving is available, MGCA uses or plans to use Donorbox for one-off and recurring donations, with PayPal as a payment option. These providers process information needed to arrange and complete payments. MGCA does not intend to collect full payment-card details through its own website. Please see the providers’ privacy information during the donation process.

If you make a Gift Aid declaration, we use the information needed to administer and evidence the claim and comply with HMRC requirements. Donation and Gift Aid information may need to be retained for statutory recordkeeping. Please review the privacy information provided by Donorbox and the payment provider when donating.

understand how visitors use the website, including page views and interactions. Non-essential analytics cookies or similar technologies will be activated only if you choose to accept them through the cookie banner.

The website's cookie banner allows visitors to accept or decline non-essential cookies. Information about the cookies used, including their purposes and duration, will be made available through the website's cookie information or settings. You can also contact us at admin@meanwhilegardens.org.uk with questions about cookies and your privacy choices.

Our web developer has advised that no additional tracking services are planned at launch. Booking, donation and payment services, if enabled, may process personal information and use their own technologies. Relevant information will be presented at the point of use, and any non-essential tracking on MGCA-controlled pages will be subject to appropriate consent.

We share information where needed with authorised MGCA staff, relevant activity facilitators, website and IT providers, booking and donation providers, professional advisers, and public authorities where required by law. We aim to provide funders with anonymised or aggregated reporting where possible.

We do not sell personal information. Some of the third-party services we use may process personal information outside the UK. Where international transfers of personal information are subject to UK data protection requirements, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the necessary protections are in place.

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose collected, including providing services, responding to enquiries, safeguarding, financial recordkeeping and meeting legal obligations. As a general guide, routine enquiries are kept for around 12 months after resolution; ordinary event bookings for around 12 months after the event; routine Playhut registration and attendance records for around two years after last attendance; and volunteer records for around three years after last involvement. These periods may be extended where a continuing need or legal requirement applies.

Financial and Gift Aid records are generally kept for at least six years, with longer retention where required, including for ongoing Gift Aid declarations. Safeguarding and serious incident records follow separate retention arrangements and may be kept substantially longer. We periodically review our records and securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required. Contact admin@meanwhilegardens.org.uk if you would like further information about a particular record type.

We use proportionate organisational and technical measures to protect information, including limiting access to people who need it and using appropriate security measures for systems and service providers. No online service can be guaranteed completely secure.

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to access your personal information; ask us to correct or erase it; restrict or object to certain uses; receive information in a portable form; and withdraw consent where we rely on it. Some rights are subject to exceptions.

To make a request, contact admin@meanwhilegardens.org.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk. We would welcome the opportunity to address concerns first.

We may update this notice when our services, providers or legal obligations change. The current version will be published on our website.