Gardeners St Margarets Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Gardeners St Margarets uses cookies and similar technologies on our website. It describes what cookies are, the types of cookies we use, why we use them, and the choices you have to manage your cookie preferences. By continuing to use our website after seeing a cookie notice, you agree that cookies may be placed on your device as described in this policy.

What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer, tablet, or mobile device when you visit a website. They help the website recognise your device and remember information about your visit, such as your preferences and previous actions. Some cookies are necessary for the website to function, while others help us improve the performance and relevance of our services.

Types of Cookies We Use

Gardeners St Margarets uses several types of cookies to support the operation and improvement of our website. These include essential cookies, analytics cookies, and marketing cookies.

Essential Cookies

Essential cookies are required for the basic functioning of our website. They enable core features such as navigating between pages, accessing secure areas, and remembering basic settings. Without these cookies, the website may not work correctly. These cookies do not collect information that can be used for marketing or to remember your browsing history on other sites. Because they are strictly necessary, they are usually set in response to actions you take, such as submitting a form or changing your privacy settings.

Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve its performance and usability. They allow us to collect information such as which pages are visited most often, how long visitors stay on each page, and whether they encounter errors. The data collected is aggregated and does not directly identify you. We use this information to monitor website performance, measure the effectiveness of content, and make informed decisions about updates and improvements. Disabling analytics cookies may reduce our ability to understand how our website is being used but will not affect core functionality.

Marketing Cookies

Marketing cookies are used to deliver content and information that is more relevant to your interests. They may be set by us or by third party partners who provide marketing or advertising services. These cookies can help measure the effectiveness of campaigns and may be used to tailor messages based on how you interact with our website. Marketing cookies can also limit how often you see certain messages and help us understand the overall reach of our communications. If you choose to disable these cookies, you may still see general content, but it may be less tailored to your interests.

Purpose of Cookies for Performance Monitoring

A key reason we use cookies is to support performance monitoring of our website. By using analytics and certain functional cookies, we can track website speed, technical errors, and usage patterns. This information helps us identify issues such as slow loading pages or broken features and take action to resolve them. Performance monitoring also allows us to understand which content is most useful to visitors so we can develop and prioritise improvements that benefit you. All performance data is handled in an aggregated form and is not used to make personal decisions about individual visitors.

Your Cookie Choices and Control

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject non essential cookies. When you first visit our website, you may see a notice that provides options to manage your cookie preferences. You can choose to accept all cookies, reject non essential cookies, or adjust settings to allow only certain categories, such as analytics but not marketing.

Most web browsers also allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can usually configure your browser to block new cookies, delete existing cookies, or notify you before cookies are placed. Please be aware that blocking some types of cookies, particularly essential cookies, may affect how the website functions and may limit access to certain features or services.

Retention of Cookie Data

Cookies are stored on your device for varying durations. Some are session cookies that are deleted when you close your browser, while others are persistent cookies that remain for a set period or until you delete them. We aim to keep cookie durations only as long as necessary to achieve the purposes described in this policy, including security, performance monitoring, and providing you with a consistent and user friendly experience on the Gardeners St Margarets website.

Updates to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legal requirements, or how we operate our website. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how Gardeners St Margarets uses cookies and how you can manage your preferences.