Local planning authorities (LPAs) are clustered into different communities within Open Digital Planning:
- Some are working to co-design new digital planning services: PlanX, BOPS (Back Office Planning System) and the Digital Planning Register (DPR)
- Others are working through a series of practical structured steps to improve the digital maturity of their planning service, publish data and get ready to adopt better technology
- We also have local authorities supported by the PropTech Innovation Fund to deliver projects in partnership with companies that provide new solutions to planning challenges
We provide different spaces for connecting and collaborating with each other, such as through regional meet ups and thematic working groups. All LPAs are invited to take part in whole-community activities and to engage with each other across organisational boundaries.
3 areas of the community
Each LPA team initially sits in a specific focus area that relates to the work they are doing at a particular moment in time. You’ll be able to move between these areas, and will always have access to activities and resources as part of the whole ODP community.
1. ODP product co-design
Some members of the community are working together to co-design the products and services of the future, and to collaborate with the current suppliers to improve existing services.
Members co-design, adopt and launch modern planning technology that meets modern technology standards like the government’s Technology Code of Practice. Some of this work is done with existing software providers to develop integrations and improvements to their products.
There are currently approx. 45 LPAs working together with private sector delivery partners and MHCLG to design and/or implement at least one of the ODP products:
- PlanX
- BOPS
- Digital Planning Register
PlanX and BOPS have been in development since 2020, with support and funding from MHCLG. These products are now being adopted across the country for planning application submissions and processing. The early results are encouraging, with time-savings of around 30% being recorded so far.
ODP partners are also developing a Digital Planning Register product to improve transparency and resident engagement with the planning process. And MHCLG are piloting the use of a national API for planning application submissions, which is currently being tested with PlanX and BOPS.
There’s also another project - Planning Application API alpha - which is a project led by MHCLG .
All LPAs will have the opportunity to adopt these products once their data is published.
2. ODP digital planning improvement
Members adopt modern planning practices within planning data, digital capabilities and development management software.
Around 100 LPAs are working in this area. They work together to:
- Complete the Digital Planning Maturity Assessment (DPMA) and agree their action plans
- Identify, clean and publish their planning data
- Undertake capability building in line with their action plan
- Undertake improvements in line with their action plan
- Get access to data and commercial support
All LPAs will get the opportunity to adopt our products (PlanX, BOPS and DSN) once they publish their data.
3. PropTech innovation
Members are demonstrating the benefits of how digital solutions can be leveraged across land assessment. They’re improving current approaches to identifying and evaluating sites. This includes viability and feasibility assessments, analysing small sites, and land assembly projects.
They’re also carrying out digital citizen engagement work on visualising planning and development proposals.
The groups and activities that sit under this area are:
- Procurement support
- Identify and evaluate
- Viable and feasible
- Analysis and assembly
Find out more about the PropTech Innovation Fund.
MHCLG Digital Planning team
The MHCLG Digital Planning team provides a range of support for the community and the focus areas. These include:
- Community management
- Product and delivery management
- Planning data support
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Learning and development
- Service improvement and action plan design
- Procurement and contracting advice
- Communications