Harlow Masonic Hall Ltd

Privacy Notice

Effective date: 10 August 2026
Last reviewed: 10 August 2026

1. Who we are

Harlow Masonic Hall Limited is the controller responsible for the personal information described in this notice.

Harlow Masonic Hall Limited
Church Road
Harlow
Essex
CM17 9FQ

Company registered in England and Wales, company number 01018234.

For privacy enquiries, requests or complaints, contact:

Email: admin@harlowmasonichall.co.uk
Post: Data Protection Enquiries, Harlow Masonic Hall Limited, Church Road, Harlow, Essex, CM17 9FQ

In this notice, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Harlow Masonic Hall Limited.

2. Scope of this notice

This notice explains how we collect and use personal information when you:

  • visit harlowmasonichall.co.uk;
  • make or administer a hall booking;
  • contact us by email, telephone, post or another method;
  • subscribe or consent to receive marketing communications;
  • attend or participate in an event that we publicise;
  • make a data protection request or complaint; or
  • otherwise deal with Harlow Masonic Hall Limited.

Separate privacy information may be provided where necessary for directors, employees, volunteers, shareholders, contractors or members of Masonic units.

3. Personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Booking information

  • your name;
  • email address and telephone number, where provided;
  • the name of your Masonic unit or organisation;
  • requested booking date, time and recurrence;
  • the room required;
  • booking charges or room rate;
  • additional information included with a booking;
  • confirmation that you accepted the applicable tenancy terms and privacy information; and
  • records of booking communications, amendments and cancellations.

Enquiry and correspondence information

  • your name and contact details;
  • the contents of emails, letters and other messages;
  • records of telephone conversations or follow-up actions; and
  • information needed to respond to your enquiry.

Marketing information

  • your marketing preference;
  • the date, time and method by which consent was given;
  • records of marketing communications sent to you; and
  • details of any withdrawal of consent or unsubscribe request.

Website and technical information

  • Internet Protocol address;
  • browser, device and operating-system information;
  • dates, times and pages visited;
  • referring website or link;
  • server, security and error logs;
  • anti-spam and bot-detection information;
  • cookie and consent preferences; and
  • information collected through similar storage and access technologies.

Events, news and photographs

Where appropriate, we may collect or publish:

  • names and roles connected with events or news;
  • photographs or recordings from events;
  • information about charitable, ceremonial or community activities; and
  • information supplied for publication by a Masonic unit or event organiser.

Data protection requests and complaints

If you exercise a privacy right or make a complaint, we may collect:

  • your identity and contact details;
  • information required to verify your identity;
  • details of the request or complaint;
  • relevant correspondence and evidence; and
  • our investigation, response and outcome.

4. Information we ask you not to provide

We do not normally need special-category information, such as medical information, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, sexual orientation or information about racial or ethnic origin.

Please do not include this type of information, criminal-offence information or confidential information about another person in the booking form’s free-text box unless it is necessary and you are authorised to provide it.

If we receive such information, we will only use it where we have a valid legal basis and, where required, an additional condition under data protection law.

5. How we obtain personal information

We normally receive personal information:

  • directly from you;
  • from the secretary, representative or officer of a Masonic unit;
  • from someone making or administering a booking on behalf of others;
  • through our website and its security, consent and form systems;
  • from correspondence and telephone communications;
  • from event organisers or contributors providing material for publication; or
  • from publicly available sources where appropriate.

If you give us information about another person, you should ensure that you are authorised to do so and that they have been given appropriate privacy information.

6. How and why we use personal information

We use personal information only where we have a lawful basis.

Purpose Lawful basis
Receiving, considering and administering hall bookings Taking steps at your request before entering into an agreement; performing an agreement; and our legitimate interest in managing the hall and its facilities
Communicating with unit secretaries, officers and booking contacts Performance of an agreement and our legitimate interest in operating the hall efficiently
Managing tenancy arrangements, charges, accounts and payments Performance of an agreement and compliance with legal obligations relating to accounting, taxation and company records
Answering enquiries and maintaining correspondence Our legitimate interest in responding to people who contact us
Operating, maintaining and securing the website Our legitimate interest in providing a reliable and secure website and preventing spam, fraud and misuse
Maintaining records of cookie and marketing preferences Compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interest in demonstrating compliance
Sending optional marketing emails Consent
Publishing news about the hall, Freemasonry, community work and charitable activities Our legitimate interest in informing members and the public about our activities; consent where appropriate
Publishing identifiable photographs or recordings Our legitimate interest where publication is reasonably expected and has limited privacy impact; consent where the circumstances require it
Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims Our legitimate interest in protecting the company and its legal rights
Responding to privacy requests and complaints Compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interest in handling requests and complaints properly

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the necessity of the processing, its likely effect on individuals and whether those interests are overridden by a person’s rights and freedoms.

We do not sell personal information.

7. Marketing

We will send marketing emails to individuals only where we have a lawful basis and the communication is permitted under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

Where we rely on consent:

  • marketing consent is optional;
  • it is kept separate from acceptance of booking or tenancy terms;
  • boxes will not be pre-ticked;
  • refusing marketing will not prevent you from making a booking; and
  • you may withdraw consent at any time.

To stop receiving marketing, use the unsubscribe method provided in the message or email admin@harlowmasonichall.co.uk.

Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn. We may retain a minimal suppression record so that we can respect your request and avoid sending further marketing.

8. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar storage and access technologies to:

  • operate essential website functions;
  • maintain security and prevent spam or automated misuse;
  • remember cookie choices;
  • understand website use, where permitted; and
  • provide embedded content or functionality.

We provide clear information about the technologies used through our cookie banner or cookie-settings facility.

Where consent is legally required, the relevant technology will not be used until consent has been given. Where the law permits use without consent, including certain strictly necessary, statistical or preference-related purposes, we will meet the applicable conditions and provide a simple means of objecting where required.

You can change your choices through the cookie-settings control displayed on the website. You can also restrict cookies using your browser, although doing so may affect website functions.

Further details, including cookie names, providers, purposes and durations, should be provided in our Cookie Policy or cookie-settings panel.

9. Who we share personal information with

Where necessary, we may share personal information with:

  • directors, officers, authorised staff and volunteers of Harlow Masonic Hall Limited;
  • the relevant Masonic unit, its secretary or authorised representatives;
  • caterers, bar staff, facilities personnel or other service providers where needed for a booking;
  • accountants, auditors, insurers, banks and professional advisers;
  • website hosting, email, backup, security, anti-spam, form-delivery and cookie-management providers;
  • providers supporting embedded maps, directions or website content;
  • law-enforcement bodies, courts, regulators or public authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and
  • a successor organisation in connection with a restructuring, merger or transfer of the company’s activities, subject to appropriate protections.

Website service providers currently used may include Hostinger for hosting and related infrastructure, CookieYes for consent management, Cloudflare Turnstile for bot detection and Automattic’s Akismet service for spam prevention where it is enabled.

These providers may receive technical identifiers such as an IP address as part of delivering or protecting the website.

We require service providers acting as processors to use personal information only on our instructions, keep it secure and comply with applicable data protection requirements.

10. Embedded and third-party services

Pages may contain embedded maps or links to services such as OpenStreetMap or What3Words. These organisations operate independently and may receive technical information when embedded content is loaded or when you follow a link.

Their use of personal information is governed by their own privacy notices. We encourage you to review those notices before using an external service.

11. International transfers

Some service providers may process or make personal information accessible outside the United Kingdom.

Where this results in a restricted international transfer, we will use an approved legal mechanism. This may include:

  • UK adequacy regulations;
  • the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
  • the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses; or
  • another safeguard permitted by UK data protection law.

Where required, we will assess whether the transfer provides an appropriate standard of protection and implement supplementary measures.

You may contact us for further information about the safeguards applying to a particular transfer.

12. How long we retain personal information

We retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, security and dispute-resolution requirements.

Our normal retention periods are:

  • Unsuccessful or abandoned booking enquiries: up to 12 months after the last communication.
  • Completed bookings and tenancy records: six years after the end of the relevant financial year or agreement.
  • Financial and accounting records: six years after the end of the relevant financial year, or longer where legally required.
  • General enquiries: up to 12 months after the enquiry has been resolved.
  • Marketing records: while consent remains valid; inactive records are reviewed after 24 months.
  • Marketing suppression records: for as long as reasonably necessary to ensure that the opt-out is respected.
  • Website security and server logs: normally no longer than 12 months, unless required to investigate an incident.
  • Cookie-consent records: up to six years after the consent or preference was recorded or withdrawn.
  • Privacy requests and complaints: six years after the matter is closed.
  • News, event reports and photographs: while they remain relevant to the hall’s current or historical record, subject to periodic review.

Information may be retained for longer where this is required by law, necessary for legal proceedings or needed to investigate fraud, security incidents or misuse.

When information is no longer required, we will delete it, anonymise it or securely destroy it.

13. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised or unlawful access;
  • accidental loss, destruction or damage;
  • inappropriate alteration or disclosure; and
  • misuse.

Measures may include access controls, encrypted connections, backups, software updates, security monitoring, anti-spam protection and limiting access to people who need the information for their role.

No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we become aware of a personal-data breach, we will assess it and notify affected individuals and the Information Commissioner’s Office where required by law.

14. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

  • be informed about how your personal information is used;
  • ask for access to your personal information;
  • ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • ask us to erase your information;
  • ask us to restrict its use;
  • object to processing based on legitimate interests;
  • object at any time to direct marketing;
  • receive certain information in a portable format;
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
  • challenge a decision based solely on automated processing where it produces legal or similarly significant effects.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exemptions.

We do not currently make decisions about individuals using solely automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise a right, contact admin@harlowmasonichall.co.uk. We may ask for information reasonably needed to confirm your identity and locate the relevant records.

We will respond within the period required by law. We do not normally charge a fee, although the law permits a reasonable fee or refusal in certain limited circumstances.

15. Data protection complaints

If you are concerned about how we have used your personal information, please contact us first:

Email: admin@harlowmasonichall.co.uk
Post: Data Protection Complaints, Harlow Masonic Hall Limited, Church Road, Harlow, Essex, CM17 9FQ

Please include enough information for us to understand and investigate your concern.

We will:

  • provide a clear means for making a complaint;
  • acknowledge receipt within 30 days;
  • take appropriate steps to investigate and respond without undue delay;
  • keep you informed about progress where appropriate; and
  • tell you the outcome without undue delay.

You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

You may contact the ICO without contacting us first, although the ICO may recommend that you raise the matter with us initially.

16. Children

The website and booking service are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through the booking form.

Where photographs or information about children are considered for publication, we will take particular care and obtain appropriate permission where required. Parents or guardians may contact us about information concerning a child.

17. Links to other websites

Our website contains links to websites operated by other organisations. We are not responsible for their content, security or privacy practices.

This notice applies only to processing for which Harlow Masonic Hall Limited is the controller.

18. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice when our services, suppliers or legal obligations change.

The effective date and last-reviewed date at the top will be amended when the notice is updated. Where a change has a significant effect on how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to draw it to the attention of affected individuals.