Privacy Notice

Meridian Advisory & Consulting Ltd
Last updated: [date of publication]

1. Who we are

Meridian Advisory & Consulting Ltd ("Meridian", "we", "us") is a company registered in Scotland, company number SC882152. Our registered office is Room 128, Midlothian Innovation Centre, Pentlandfield, EH25 9RE.

Meridian is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. This means we decide how and why your information is used.

If you have any questions about this notice or how we handle your information, please contact us:

  • Email: brendan.forbes@outlook.com

  • Telephone: 07977 195784

  • Post: Data Protection, Meridian Advisory & Consulting Ltd, Room 128, Midlothian Innovation Centre, Pentlandfield, EH25 9RE

ICO registration number: [number]

2. What information we collect

When you contact us through our website form, by email or by telephone, we collect:

  • your name and contact details, such as email address and telephone number

  • your organisation and role, if you give them

  • information about your property, project or requirement

  • anything else you choose to include in your message

When you become a client, we may also collect:

  • billing and invoicing details

  • project information, such as addresses, programme details, correspondence and records of meetings

  • the names and contact details of others involved in your project, such as designers, contractors and specialists

When you visit our website, our website platform collects technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type and pages visited. Some of this is collected through cookies (see Section 8).

We do not ask for special category information, such as health information. Please do not include it in an enquiry.

3. How we use your information and our lawful basis

The points below sets out what we use your information for and the lawful basis under UK data protection law.

  • Responding to your enquiry and discussing your requirements

    • Taking steps at your request before entering into a contract, or our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries about our services

  • Providing our services and managing our engagement with you

    • Performance of a contract

  • Coordinating specialists, designers and contractors on your project

    • Performance of a contract

  • Invoicing, accounting and record keeping

    • Legal obligation

  • Meeting our health and safety duties, including under CDM 2015

    • Legal obligation

  • Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims

    • Legitimate interests

  • Understanding how our website is used and improving it

    • Consent (for non-essential cookies)

We will not use your information for marketing unless you have asked us to keep in touch. You can withdraw that request at any time.

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing.

4. Who we share your information with

We share your information only where we need to, and only as much as is necessary. This may include:

  • Specialists and professionals we coordinate on your behalf, such as surveyors, structural engineers, architects and fire door inspectors, and only with your knowledge

  • Service providers who support our business, such as our website host, email provider and accountants, who act on our instructions

  • Professional advisers, such as our lawyers and insurers, where needed

  • Regulators, local authorities or law enforcement where we are required to by law

Our independence. Meridian is a separate legal and commercial entity from McKenzie Projects (Scotland) Ltd. We do not share your information with McKenzie Projects unless you ask us to, or give your agreement in writing.

We never sell your personal information.

5. International transfers

Some of our service providers, including our website platform and email provider, may store or process information outside the UK. Where this happens, we rely on the safeguards permitted by UK data protection law. These include UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or the UK Extension to the EU US Data Privacy Framework.

6. How long we keep your information

  • Enquiries that do not lead to an engagement: up to 12 months from our last contact, then deleted.

  • Client and project records: six years from the end of the engagement, to meet our legal, tax and insurance obligations. We may keep records longer where there is an ongoing or potential claim.

  • Website analytics data: in line with our website platform's retention settings.

7. Your rights

You have the right to:

  • ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you

  • ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete

  • ask us to delete your information

  • ask us to restrict how we use your information

  • object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests

  • ask for your information to be transferred to another organisation, where this applies

  • withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent

To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 1. We will respond within one month. We will not usually charge a fee.

8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. Essential cookies are needed for the site to work and are always on. Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors use the site and are only set if you accept them through the cookie banner.

You can change your choice at any time through the cookie settings link on our website or in your browser settings.

9. Keeping your information secure

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information. These include access controls, password protection and secure storage. We only allow access to those who need it.

10. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we use your information, please contact us first using the details in Section 1. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to resolve it.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator:

11. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.