Privacy Policy

This policy will explain how Town Crier uses the personal data we collect from you when you use our Website or contact you.

Privacy and Cookie Policy

Last updated: 27th August 2026

Who we are

The Town Crier is a local community publication serving East Grinstead and the surrounding area.

The website is www.towncrier.uk⁠.

The person responsible for how personal information is handled is Steve Cook, publisher of The Town Crier.

For questions about this policy or your personal information, please email:

towncrierdistribution@gmail.com⁠

Submissions can be sent to:

egtowncrier@gmail.com⁠

Information we collect

Depending on why you contact us, we may collect:

• Your name and contact details.

• Your organisation, charity, community group or business name.

• Articles, photographs, event information, letters and other material submitted for publication.

• Advertising and sponsorship details.

• Invoice and payment information.

• Emails and other correspondence.

• Your communication preferences.

When you visit the website, Google, Issuu and other services used by the site may also receive technical information such as your IP address, browser, device type, pages visited and cookie choices.

How we collect information

We may receive information when you:

• Contact us by email.

• Send something for possible publication.

• Enquire about advertising or sponsorship.

• Make a payment or donation.

• Ask us to promote an event or organisation.

Some technical information is collected automatically by the services used to host and display the website.

How we use information

We use personal information to:

• Produce digital editions of The Town Crier.

• Arrange advertising and sponsorship.

• Prepare invoices and keep appropriate financial records.

• Administer and protect the website.

• Meet our legal and accounting responsibilities.

We use information where it is necessary to carry out an agreement, comply with the law, where you have given consent, or pursue our legitimate interest in operating a local community publication.

We do not sell personal information.

Material submitted for publication

If you send us an article, photograph, notice, letter or other material, you understand that accepted material may appear:

• On the Town Crier website.

• In PDF editions.

• In the Issuu digital reader.

• In back-issue and historical archives.

• In reasonable promotion of the publication.

You must have permission to submit photographs or personal information concerning another person.

Please tell us if submitted material includes information about a child or anything that requires particular care.

Submitting something does not guarantee that it will be published. We may edit or decline material in accordance with our editorial policy.

Advertising, sponsorship and payments

We use advertiser and sponsor information to answer enquiries, arrange advertisements, produce invoices, record payments and manage the working relationship.

Financial records may be kept where necessary for accounting, tax or legal purposes.

Donations are processed through PayPal and advertising payments are made directly by bank transfer.

The Town Crier does not collect or store payment-card details directly through this website.

Sharing information

We only share information where it is reasonably necessary.

Services and organisations involved may include:

• Google, which provides Google Sites, Gmail and Google Drive.

• Issuu, which provides the online magazine reader.

• PayPal, which processes online donations, and banking providers which process advertising payments.

• Accounting providers and professional advisers.

• Regulators or public authorities where required by law.

Material accepted for publication is made publicly available through the online magazine, website, PDFs, Issuu and back-issue archives.

Information about Google’s practices can be found in the Google Privacy Policy⁠.

Information about Issuu’s practices can be found in the Issuu Privacy Policy⁠.

Information about PayPal’s practices can be found in the PayPal Privacy Statement⁠.

Information processed outside the UK

Google, Issuu, PayPal and other online providers may process information in the UK and other countries.

Where information is processed outside the UK, the provider is responsible for using an appropriate legal transfer arrangement or safeguard, as explained in its privacy information.

How long we keep information

We only keep personal information for as long as it is reasonably required.

Our usual periods are:

• General enquiries: normally up to 12 months after the enquiry is resolved.

• Advertising and sponsorship enquiries: normally up to 12 months if no arrangement is made.

• Advertiser, sponsor and financial records: normally up to six years where required for accounting or tax purposes.

• Contributor correspondence and permissions: for as long as the relevant publication remains available.

• Published editions: these may be retained indefinitely as part of the Town Crier’s public and historical archive.

• Complaints and disputes: for as long as reasonably necessary to resolve the matter.

Google, Issuu, PayPal and other independent providers apply their own retention periods to information they hold.

These rights are not absolute. For example, financial records may need to be retained by law, and we may be unable to remove information from PDF editions that have already been downloaded or from copies retained by third parties.

To make a request, email towncrierdistribution@gmail.com⁠. We will normally respond within one calendar month.

Complaints

If you are concerned about how your information has been handled, please contact us first at:

towncrierdistribution@gmail.com⁠

Please explain what has happened and what you would like us to do. We will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days and investigate it without unnecessary delay.

If you remain dissatisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office:

www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint⁠

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

External websites

The Town Crier website contains links to advertisers, sponsors and other organisations.

Those websites have their own privacy and cookie policies. The Town Crier is not responsible for how an independent website handles information after a visitor follows an external link.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the website, our working practices or the law changes.

The latest version will be published on this page with the date of the update.

You can contact us any time at:

towncrierdistribution@gmail.com.