Read about our year transforming England's planning system through new partnerships, innovations and momentum. Everything we do aims to give communities a planning system that is data-driven, efficient and accessible, supporting the government's mission to deliver 1.5 million homes this Parliament.
Read about the details of a new plan-making system for England. It will ensure local plans, which are created by councils to shape development in their area, are simpler, faster to prepare, and more accessible for everyone. Learn about new user-tested digital guidance and tools published in draft to help plan-makers deliver local plans faster.
Modernising planning relies on standardised data that enables digital systems to communicate effectively. The Digital Planning programme is funding 5 pilot projects with local authorities and software suppliers to test emerging data standards for planning applications. Read about how these partnerships will help create more transparent and efficient planning services across England.
User research is underway on standardising planning decision notices. Local authorities currently use different formats to record planning application outcomes, but standardisation would make crucial data instantly available for effective planning, analysis and forecasting. The data standards community has been providing invaluable feedback on where standardisation can deliver the biggest positive impact for the sector.
Following rigorous judging, 12 project teams have been selected from 84 applications to tackle three fundamental problems holding back housing delivery in England. Working alongside local authority and developer partners, each innovator will work until March 2026 testing their solutions in the real world.
Open Digital Planning (ODP) is becoming a powerful force for change in local government, allowing planning authorities to modernise planning services. With 24 authorities joining this month, through the Digital Planning Improvement Fund, the movement is gaining momentum. Read about how ODP brings councils and experts together to drive innovation in the planning sector.
Crucial planning decisions data is stored inconsistently across different local authority systems. We're now expanding our data specification work to standardise planning application decisions, creating consistent data flow throughout the system. Help shape this work to ensure it helps local authorities, central government, developers, and communities better understand how our places are changing.
Through strategic partnerships with Geovation, the UK PropTech Association, and the Digital Task Force for Planning, the Digital Planning programme is evolving its approach to scale the adoption of PropTech. We're bridging public and private sectors with one shared goal: converting PropTech's proven potential into systematic change that can help deliver 1.5 million homes and …
Our work continues to standardise the planning application process to build a more data-rich planning system. After inviting everyone to review the baseline specifications for submitting an application, we’re now focused on preparing them to become mandated national standards, through rigorous testing and active collaboration. Working in the open remains our priority and we’re particularly …
The PropTech Innovation Challenge has revealed the potential for technology to revolutionise planning and housing delivery. Attracting 84 applications, with 225 partners, it demonstrates industry-wide commitment to finding innovative solutions which can help us meet our ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes.
