Imagine being able to instantly check whether a property sits in a conservation area or whether a tree is protected, without wading through PDFs or making a phone call to your local authority. This February, 49 more local planning authorities (LPAs) are joining the Digital Planning Improvement Fund to make this a reality.
Each LPA is receiving £50,000 to help them publish their essential planning data in standardised, open formats on the national Planning Data platform.
This important step will transform how residents, businesses and other stakeholders access vital planning information, moving from fragmented, hard-to-find data to data that is standardised, searchable and up to date. This shift enables better decision-making, greater transparency and efficiency, and will support real innovation in housing and development.
Reading Borough Council, one of the authorities joining, said: “By improving data quality and creating transparent workflows, we’ll give residents and businesses better access to accurate planning information, making it simpler to understand what’s happening in their area. These improvements will support well-informed decisions that help shape sustainable, vibrant communities for the future.”
Four priority datasets
Each LPA is committing to publishing 4 planning datasets – Conservation areas, listed buildings, Tree Preservation Orders and Article 4 Directions. Once published, this data powers tools like PlanX, software that can guide applicants to find out if they need planning permission or report a planning breach.
Accelerating progress through shared expertise
The fund doesn’t just provide financial support. LPAs also join Open Digital Planning, a transformation network of local planning authorities tackling the same data and digital challenges, with access to training and specialist support from MHCLG’s Digital Planning community and data teams.
Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: “Being awarded funding from the Digital Planning Improvement Fund means Dartmoor National Park can progress our data improvements at a much faster pace, provides the resource to access specialist advice and will help us realise our ambition of becoming a data driven accessible planning service.”
ODP helps authorities avoid reinventing the wheel. Members learn from each other including other LPAs further along in their data publishing and digital planning journey, adopting proven approaches rather than duplicating effort.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, said: "Gaining this funding and being part of the ODP community will be a fantastic opportunity for us to learn from other council’s that are already part of the community, gain best practice insights, collaborate on improving digitally and move forward into a new era of digitally enabling and enhancing planning practices and system techniques.”
A growing movement
The Digital Planning Improvement Fund now supports 171 LPAs, more than a third of councils across England, to publish their planning data – including 70 who joined last year, 46 who joined in March 2025 and 24 who started in September 2025.
New LPAs begin with the Digital Planning Maturity Assessment, a self-assessment process that helps planning teams understand their digital strengths and identify areas to improve. This creates a clear starting point and helps shape realistic, achievable action plans.
The 49 LPAs starting their digital journey next month are:
- Bedford Borough Council
- Blaby District Council
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
- Broads Authority
- Burnley Borough Council
- Cherwell District Council
- Cheshire East Council
- Chorley Borough Council
- City of Bradford Metropolitan Council
- Cornwall Council
- Dartmoor National Park Authority
- Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
- East Suffolk Council
- Fareham Borough Council
- Gravesham Borough Council
- Kirklees Council
- Lancaster City Council
- Lichfield District Council
- London Borough of Ealing
- London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
- London Borough of Merton
- London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
- London Borough of Sutton
- Luton Borough Council
- Middlesbrough Council
- Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council
- North West Leicestershire District Council
- North York Moors National Park Authority
- Norwich City Council
- Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
- Peak District National Park Authority
- Portsmouth City Council
- Preston City Council
- Reading Borough Council
- Ribble Valley Council
- Royal Borough of Greenwich
- Rushcliffe Borough Council
- Sevenoaks District Council
- Slough Borough Council
- South Ribble Borough Council
- Stroud District Council
- Sunderland City Council
- Telford and Wrekin Council
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
- West Lancashire Borough Council
- Woking Borough Council
- Wokingham Borough Council
- Wyre Forest District Council
Get involved
Follow their journey through case studies on the Open Digital Planning website.
LPAs can check and provide their data using the Planning Data platform.
For more information visit the Open Digital Planning website or follow on LinkedIn.
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