Wells Community Network Website Privacy Notice

Effective date: 24 July 2026
Last reviewed: 24 July 2026

1. Who we are

Wells Community Network (CIO) is a registered charity in England and Wales, charity number 1212091.

For data-protection purposes, Wells Community Network is the controller of the personal information described in this notice.

Registered office:
40 Churchill Road East
Wells
BA5 3HU

General enquiries:info@wellscommunity.network
Data-protection contact: Annalisa Checchi annalisa@wellscommunity.network
Telephone: 01749 467079

This notice explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information obtained through our website and related online services.

Friends Scheme applications and memberships are also covered by our separate Friends Scheme Privacy Notice .

2. The information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us. It may include:

  • Your name, address and postcode

  • Your telephone number and email address

  • Information submitted in an enquiry, feedback form or survey

  • Information provided when requesting support

  • Volunteer applications, availability, skills and references

  • Event registrations and attendance information

  • Donation, payment and Gift Aid records

  • Newsletter and communication preferences

  • Photographs, video, testimonials or case studies where permission has been obtained

  • Records of correspondence with you

  • Information provided by someone acting on your behalf

  • Technical information about your use of our website, including your IP address, browser, device and cookie preferences

Please provide only the information needed for your enquiry or request.

3. Sensitive personal information

Some of our community services may require information about a person’s health, disability, caring responsibilities, support needs or circumstances.

This may be “special category” personal information and receives additional protection under data-protection law.

We collect and use this information only where it is necessary and where we have both:

  • A lawful basis under UK GDPR; and

  • An additional legal condition for processing special category information.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include explicit consent, protecting someone’s vital interests, providing social care or support, safeguarding, or another condition permitted by law.

Please do not provide sensitive information through a general website form unless the form asks for it or it is necessary to explain an urgent support need.

4. How we collect information

We may receive information:

  • Directly from you through website forms, email, telephone, post or in person

  • When you subscribe to updates

  • When you register for or attend an event

  • When you volunteer, donate or complete a survey

  • From a family member, carer, referrer or representative acting on your behalf

  • From a partner organisation where sharing is appropriate and lawful

  • Automatically through cookies and similar website technologies

  • From social-media platforms when you communicate with us through them

If you give us information about another person, please ensure you have authority to do so and, where appropriate, tell them about this privacy notice.

5. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

  • Respond to enquiries and feedback

  • Assess and respond to requests for community support

  • Operate our helpline and community services

  • Connect people with relevant services or organisations

  • Administer volunteering enquiries and placements

  • Organise and manage events and activities

  • Conduct surveys and evaluate our work

  • Process donations, payments and Gift Aid

  • Send newsletters, event information, fundraising messages and other updates

  • Maintain appropriate safeguarding records

  • Manage complaints and concerns

  • Keep our website and systems secure

  • Improve our website, services and communications

  • Produce anonymised statistics and reports

  • Meet our legal, financial and regulatory responsibilities

  • Establish, exercise or defend legal claims

We will not sell personal information.

We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with those described in this notice unless the law allows or requires us to do so.

6. Our lawful bases

The lawful basis depends on why we are using the information.

Consent

We may rely on consent when:

  • You choose to receive particular marketing communications

  • You agree to take part in an optional survey

  • You give permission for a photograph, testimonial or case study

  • We need explicit consent to use particular sensitive information

You may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

Contract

We may use information where it is necessary to take steps at your request or to provide a service, activity or arrangement you have requested.

Legal obligation

We may use or retain information to comply with charity, tax, accounting, employment, safeguarding or other legal requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may use information where it is reasonably necessary to operate and improve the charity, respond to enquiries, protect our systems, maintain records, communicate with supporters or safeguard our legal rights.

Before relying on legitimate interests, we consider whether our interests are outweighed by the person’s rights and reasonable expectations.

Vital interests

In an emergency, we may use or share information where it is necessary to protect someone’s life or physical safety.

7. Helpline and community-support enquiries

If you contact our helpline or ask for support, we may record:

  • Your contact details

  • The nature of your enquiry

  • Relevant support needs

  • Actions agreed or taken

  • Referrals or introductions made

  • Necessary safeguarding information

We will explain when information needs to be shared with another organisation to provide the requested help.

Where possible, we will obtain permission before sharing identifiable information. However, we may share information without consent if this is necessary to protect someone from serious harm or to comply with the law.

Our helpline is not an emergency service. Call 999 where there is an immediate risk to life or safety.

8. Volunteers

When you enquire about volunteering, we may use your information to:

  • Assess your interests, skills and availability

  • Contact you about suitable opportunities

  • Conduct appropriate checks or obtain references

  • Arrange training and supervision

  • Manage volunteer activities

  • Maintain safeguarding, attendance and incident records

Where a role requires a criminal-record check, additional information will be provided about how that process works.

9. Donations and Gift Aid

If you donate, we may collect information needed to:

  • Process and acknowledge the donation

  • Maintain financial records

  • Administer Gift Aid

  • Prevent fraud

  • Meet accounting and regulatory obligations

  • Contact you about the donation

Payment-card details are normally processed directly by the relevant payment provider. Wells Community Network does not receive or store complete card details unless explicitly stated at the point of payment.

Payment providers process information under their own privacy notices.

10. Newsletters, fundraising and other updates

If you sign up for updates, we may send information about:

  • Our services and activities

  • Community events

  • Volunteering opportunities

  • Fundraising appeals

  • The impact of our work

  • Ways to support or participate in the charity

We will use consent or another lawful basis permitted by data-protection and electronic-marketing law.

You can change your preferences or object to direct marketing at any time by:

Opting out of marketing will not prevent us from sending necessary messages about a service, donation, event or volunteering arrangement.

We may retain a minimal suppression record so that we can respect your request not to receive further marketing.

11. Photographs, video and case studies

We may take photographs or video at events and activities or invite people to share their experiences.

Where an individual is identifiable, we will consider the circumstances and obtain appropriate permission where required. Additional care will be taken with children and adults who may be at risk.

We will explain:

  • How the material will be used

  • Where it may be published

  • Whether a person’s name will be included

  • How permission can be withdrawn for future use

Withdrawal may not enable us to retrieve material that has already been printed, published or shared by others.

12. Children and young people

Our website is not primarily directed at children.

Where we collect information about a child or young person, we will use age-appropriate explanations and obtain permission from a parent or guardian where required.

We may process information without parental permission where the law allows or requires it, including in certain safeguarding situations.

13. Who we share information with

Where necessary, we may share relevant information with:

  • Authorised Wells Community Network trustees, staff and volunteers

  • Organisations working with us to provide requested services or support

  • Event venues and activity providers

  • Squarespace, which hosts our website

  • Providers of online forms, surveys, email, document storage and databases

  • Payment processors and banks

  • HM Revenue & Customs for Gift Aid and tax purposes

  • Accountants, independent examiners, insurers and professional advisers

  • IT and website-support providers

  • Safeguarding authorities, emergency services or healthcare services where necessary

  • Regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or public authorities where required by law

We limit sharing to what is reasonably necessary and expect organisations processing information on our behalf to protect it appropriately.

Some links on our website lead to external websites or services. Those organisations are responsible for their own privacy practices, and you should read their privacy notices.

14. International transfers

Some website, email, form, analytics, social-media or storage providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is lawful and protected by an appropriate transfer mechanism and safeguards.

15. How long we keep information

We retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably required for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet legal, regulatory, safeguarding and insurance requirements.

Our retention periods may include:

  • General enquiries: 3 years after the last contact

  • Helpline and service-user records:  6 years after the case closes

  • Volunteer enquiries that do not proceed: 3 years after the last contact

  • Active volunteer records: for the volunteering period and 6 years afterwards

  • Event registrations: normally 3 years after the event

  • Survey responses: until the analysis is complete, after which responses will be deleted or anonymised where possible

  • Donation, financial and Gift Aid records: for the period required by HM Revenue & Customs and applicable accounting rules

  • Safeguarding records: in accordance with our safeguarding and retention policies

  • Marketing records: until you unsubscribe, object or we determine that the information is no longer needed

  • Suppression records: for as long as reasonably necessary to honour an opt-out

We may retain information for longer where this is required by law or is necessary for a complaint, safeguarding matter, insurance issue or legal claim.

16. How we protect information

We use reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, misuse, alteration, unauthorised access or disclosure.

These measures include:

  • Limiting access to authorised people

  • Using password-protected accounts and appropriate access controls

  • Reviewing who has access to our systems

  • Giving trustees, staff and volunteers appropriate data-protection guidance

  • Using reputable service providers

  • Reviewing and deleting information that is no longer required

No method of sending or storing information online is completely secure. If you believe information has been lost, misused or disclosed incorrectly, please contact us promptly.

17. Cookies and website analytics

Squarespace hosting

This website is hosted by Squarespace. When you visit the website, Squarespace may collect:

  • Information about your browser, network and device

  • Your IP address

  • Web pages you visited before arriving at this website

  • Pages you view while using this website

Squarespace uses this information to operate, protect and improve its website platform and services. You can learn more in the Squarespace Privacy Policy.

Website analytics

With your permission, we use Squarespace Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. The information collected may include:

  • Information about your browser, network and device

  • Your IP address

  • The website or page you visited before arriving

  • Pages visited

  • Clicks and internal links

  • Scrolling activity

  • Searches

  • Dates and timestamps

We use this information to understand website traffic and activity and to improve the accessibility, content and performance of our website.

Where required, analytics and performance cookies are used only after you have accepted them through our cookie banner.

Cookies

Cookies are small files or pieces of text placed on a device when someone visits a website.

Squarespace uses necessary cookies to securely operate and display this website. These cookies are required for the website to function and cannot be disabled through our cookie banner.

Analytics and performance cookies are optional. They are used only where you have made the appropriate choice through our cookie banner.

You can accept, reject or change your cookie choices using [insert description or link for reopening the cookie settings]. You can also control cookies through your browser, although blocking necessary cookies may affect how the website works.

For further information about the cookies used by Squarespace, visit The cookies Squarespace uses.

18. Your rights

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

  • Be informed about how your information is used

  • Request access to the information we hold about you

  • Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information

  • Ask us to delete information

  • Ask us to restrict how information is used

  • Object to processing, including direct marketing

  • Request transfer of information in an appropriate format

  • Withdraw consent

  • Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

These rights are not absolute. We may need to retain or continue using certain information where the law permits or requires it.

To exercise a right, contact our data-protection contact using the details in section 1. We may ask for information to confirm your identity.

19. Automated decision-making

We do not make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on people solely through automated processing.

20. Complaints

Please contact us first if you have concerns about how we use your personal information. We will investigate and try to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Website:www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

21. Changes to this notice

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

The current version will be published on our website, and the effective date will appear at the top. If a change is particularly significant, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals.