Privacy Policy
Purpose of policy
We are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about what information we hold about you.
Using personal information allows us to develop a better understanding of our customers and in turn to provide you with relevant and timely information about the work that we do. This also helps us to engage with potential donors and supporters.
The purpose of this policy is to give you a clear explanation about how we collect and use the information we collect from you directly and from third parties.
We use your information in accordance with all applicable laws concerning the protection of personal information. This policy explains:
- What information we may collect about you
- How we may use that information
- In what situations we may disclose your details to third parties
- Our use of cookies to improve your use of our website
- Information about how we keep your personal information secure, how we maintain it and your rights to be able to access it
If you have any queries about this policy, please contact Jack Barber, Director at Whitby Lit Fest or email: info@whitbylitfest.org.uk
Who we are
Whitby Lit Fest is operated by:
- Lois Kirtlan (Hetty & Betty, Whitby)
- James Wallis (North Yorkshire Council)
- Mark Williamson (English Heritage)
- Fiona Duncan (Whitby Bookshop)
- Adele Duffield (Whitby Library)
- Jack Barber (Hello Technology Ltd, Whitby)
We are in the process of establishing Whitby Lit Fest as a CIO.
Information collection
Information you give us
For example when you register on our website, buy tickets or make a donation, we’ll store personal information you give us such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone number and card details. We will also store a record of your purchases and donations.
Information about your interactions with us
We do not store personally identifiable website visitor data. However, when we send you an email we store a record of this, and we do keep a record of which ones you have opened and which links you have clicked on.
Information from third parties
We may occasionally receive information about you from third parties, such as Eventbrite. Any data that we receive from these third parties you will have already given your permission to share or will be publicly available.
Sensitive personal data
Data Protection law recognises that certain categories of personal information are more sensitive such as health information, race, religious beliefs and political opinions. We do not usually collect this type of information about our customers unless there is a clear reason for doing so. As an example, we collect health information about participants in our writing groups, workshops, classes and courses.
Such sensitive personal data shall only be collected after having obtained your explicit consent to do so or where it is necessary to do so to comply with legal requirements. Some sensitive data is requested in our customer surveys but is analysed anonymously and there is no obligation to provide us with this information.
Use of the information
Contract purposes/Legitimate interests
When you make a purchase from us or make a donation to us, you are entering into a contract with us. In order to perform this contract and/or to provide you with services, we need to process and store your data. For example we may need to contact you by email or telephone in the case of cancellation of an event, or in the case of problems with your payment.
In certain situations, we collect and process your personal for other purposes that are also in our legitimate organisational interests. However, we only do this if there is no overriding prejudice to you by using your personal information in this way. We describe below all situations where we may use this basis for processing.
With your explicit consent
For any situations where information is not collected or processed as part of performance of a contract or within the scope of another legitimate organisational interest, we will ask for your explicit consent to the purpose for which we may hold or process your data before using your personal information for such purpose.
Marketing communications
We aim to communicate with you about the work that we do in ways that you find relevant, timely and respectful. To do this, we use data that we have stored about you, such as what events you have booked for in the past, as well as any preferences you may have told us about. You may register for these emails directly via our website. We will also send emails to individuals who have made a purchase from us or donation to us. You may withdraw your consent at any time.
Other processing activities
In addition to marketing communications, we also process personal information in the following ways for our legitimate organisational interests:
- We may analyse data we hold about you to ensure that the content and timing of communications that we send you are as relevant to you as possible.
- We may analyse data we hold about you in order to identify and prevent fraud.
- In order to improve our website we may analyse information about how you use it and the content that you interact with.
You have the right to object to any of this processing at any time. If you wish to do this, please use the contact details at the end of this policy.
Third parties
There are certain circumstances under which we may disclose your personal information to third parties. These are as follows:
- To our own service providers who process data on our behalf and on our instructions such as Eventbrite (ticket sales) and Brevo (email communication).
- Where we are under a duty to disclose your personal information in order to comply with any legal obligation.
- To partner arts organisations where you have given us your explicit consent to do so.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files that are automatically placed onto your device by some websites that you visit. They are widely used to allow a website to function as well as to provide website operators with information on how the site is being used.
We use cookies to keep track of your basket as well as to identify how the website is being used and what improvements we can make.
Your debit and credit card information
If you use your credit or debit card to purchase from us or to make a donation, we will ensure that this is carried out securely and in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS).
Storing and securing your personal information
The data that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (‘EEA’). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.
We will put in place appropriate safeguards (both in terms of our procedures and the technology we use) to keep your personal information as secure as possible. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure, but once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
Your rights to your personal information
You have a right to request a copy of the personal information that we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. You also have the right to object to our processing of your personal information or request its erasure under certain circumstances.
Contact details and further information
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about any aspect of this privacy policy.
Whitby Lit Festc/o Hetty & Betty
7 Baxtergate
Whitby
North Yorkshire
YO21 1BW
info@whitbylitfest.org.uk
Updated 27th August 2025