Last updated: 7 September 2026
The Central Belt is Scotland's local business directory. We are an independent Scottish publisher and can be contacted by email at hello@thecentralbelt.com.
When you use the Add Your Business form we collect the details you submit: business name, trade category, town or city, website address, a short description, and a contact email or phone number. The business name, category, town and description are intended for public display in the directory. Your contact details are used only to reply to your submission.
Like every website, our hosting provider keeps standard server logs (such as IP address and request time) for security and to keep the site working. We do not run analytics and we do not set tracking cookies.
We process listing information to run the directory you asked to appear in (that is the service we provide) and to contact you about your submission. Legal basis: your consent when you submit, plus our legitimate interest in operating a public business directory.
Submitted details are sent by email to the directory operator's inbox for manual review before anything is published. They are not written to a public database on this site. We do not sell personal data and we do not share it with anyone except our email and hosting providers (Hostinger), who process it on our behalf. Published listings are public by design — only submit information you are happy for the public to see.
If you subscribe to The Belt & Braces, our weekly email for Scottish businesses, we collect the name and email address you give us, plus your phone number if you choose to provide one. You confirm when subscribing that you are 18 or older and that you are happy to be contacted using those details.
We use your details to send the newsletter and to contact you about your subscription. Subscriber details are stored in a password-protected, non-public file on our server and are also emailed to the directory operator so the list can be managed. We do not sell or share subscriber data with anyone else, and we do not use it for anything other than the newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying to any issue or emailing hello@thecentralbelt.com.
If you register your interest in appearing on The Central Belter, we collect your name, business name, town or city, email address and — optionally — your phone number and a short note about what you would like to talk about. We use these details only to contact you about appearing on the podcast and to plan the episode. Registrations are stored in a password-protected, non-public file on our server and are also emailed to the directory operator so the guest list can be managed. We do not sell or share them with anyone else, and registering does not add you to The Belt & Braces newsletter. You can ask us to delete your details at any time by emailing hello@thecentralbelt.com.
Businesses shown as Sponsored on the home page have taken a paid premium placement. This is advertising. Placing a sponsored listing does not require you to submit any personal data to us beyond what the business already provides for its listing.
This website does not set its own cookies and does not run analytics trackers. It serves advertising through Google AdSense, but only for visitors who have chosen "Allow ads" in the consent notice — ad tags are not loaded for anyone who has not opted in. The search suggestions you see while typing are generated on your own device from the public directory data loaded in your browser — nothing you type is sent to us until you submit a search.
Advertising (Google AdSense): advertising keeps the free directory running. Ad tags load only after you choose "Allow ads" in the consent notice, and that choice is stored on your device (localStorage), not as a cookie. Google may set its own advertising cookies in line with its policies once ads are served to you; we do not receive your personal data from those cookies. You can withdraw ad consent at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser (removing the cb_consent_v2 entry) — the consent notice will then ask you again on your next visit. Verification file: ads.txt.
Submission emails are kept in the operator inbox while your listing is live or while your request is being handled, and deleted once it is no longer needed. If your listing is approved, its public details stay live until you ask us to remove them or the listing is no longer accurate.
Under UK data protection law you can ask us to see, correct, or delete the personal data we hold about you, and to stop processing it. To do any of this, or to report a listing, email hello@thecentralbelt.com and we will respond within 30 days. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date above.
Premium local businesses, hand-picked across the Central Belt