photo credit: Nomadic Lass via photopin cc
While gunpowder, treason and plot were being commemorated across the country last week, we were recording a significant event of our own…
November 5th saw the 2 millionth planning application submitted via the Planning Portal.
It took 86 months to get the first million, another 19 months to reach 1.5 million and a further 15 months to get to 2 million.
Here’s to the next million, perhaps even some time in 2015?
Our colleagues in Defra have been in touch regarding a project they are working on for local authority planners.
The project aims to help planners assess applications that could affect protected species.
To research, develop and test the new content they are looking for volunteers from local planning authorities to help them. This will involve a roughly 30 minute phone call.
If you can help please get in touch with Defra’s Kate Evans direct.
DCLG has reported 123,200 total applications for English councils in the quarter ending June 2014 – a 1% decrease from April-June 2013.
In the same period, Wales Government reported 7,017 total applications – a rise of 14.1%.
For the same period the Planning Portal processed 112,817 online applications (a rise of 19.4% on the same quarter last year).
This means that approximately 86% of planning applications were submitted via the Portal in Q1 2014/15.
DCLG’s latest planning statistics.
WG’s latest planning statistics.
Updated: 9 October 2014 in response to comments
Below is a breakdown of applications through the Portal for Apr-June 2013 and the same period 2014. Some of the changes are as a result of policy changes or the introduction of new form types into 1app, but it gives you an idea of how different the profile is. We can’t show this in relation to the PS1/2 data as it collected/published by application type.
The number of local planning authorities (LPAs) in England who have successfully achieved Champion status in our Smarter Planning scheme continues to grow.
A number of tough best-practice standards must be met before LPAs can be recognised as Smarter Planning Champions, all of which must be fully adopted to confirm their commitment to accept planning applications online and to process them in smarter, faster and more consistent way for their customers.
The map can be viewed on the Portal’s Smarter Planning pages. Read more…
You can now make non-material amendments to existing planning permissions in Wales.
The Planning Portal team have been working alongside Welsh Government to make the Welsh NMA paper forms available on the Portal.
The forms and associated help guide went live on Monday 1 September and can be accessed here:
We intend to introduce the Welsh non-material amendments form into the online application system, fee calculator and paper form chooser in due course.
As part of our ongoing work with local authorities on Smarter Planning, our account managers have been documenting the practices and processes that LPAs have been implementing around England and Wales.
Robin Vaissiere, our account manager for the South, recently visited Reigate and Banstead Borough Council Development Management (RBBC), which made the move to a paperless department in recent months and have offered to share their experiences with other authorities engaged in the process… Read more…
While our Portal Director Chris is temporarily working in a separate team putting together our bid to run the Planning Portal in the future, he’s also got other things on his mind, recently posting this on LinkedIn:
After a few weeks lay off with a dodgy knee i’ve decided to let the sin of pride win out over the sin of sloth and commit to the Bristol half marathon. I may end up walking half the distance but I’m going to go for it anyway. It just wouldn’t feel right taking the donations otherwise. So here I am a few weeks out asking for your support. Thanks. Chris
He’s raising money for St Mungo’s Broadway who provide beds and support to homeless people. If you can spare anything to help them and support him through what will no doubt be a painful 13 miles, then please visit his Just Giving page and make a donation.
The workflow of the Portal’s online application service doesn’t allow applications to be submitted to a Local Planning Authority (LPA) until the payment method is chosen.
When the online payment option is selected and a successful payment taken, the application is transferred to the LPA. This means the LPA doesn’t need to reconcile the payment with the received application.
This saves the LPA time and resources and avoids by far the most common cause of delayed registration or the invalidation of applications.
We’ve had lots of feedback from planning agents over the years on why they choose not to use this payment method.
Now it seems the tide is beginning to turn.
Now we’re seeing growing evidence that increasing numbers of planning agents, practices and organisations are using the online payment option, not just for small and minor applications but for submissions of all types and sizes.
We’re well aware of all the reasons why some planning agents don’t use this option, but it would be a great help for us to get feedback from those of you who do use it, particularly on what encouraged you to pay online and, perhaps more importantly, what benefits you have gained from doing so.
We realise choosing to pay online required some changes to your business practices and may have presented some hurdles which you have obviously overcome – we’d love to know what they were and how you resolved them.
By the way, the selected payment option is automatically added to the notification sent by the Portal to the LPA with each and every application.
From our Head of Corporate Development, Stuart Mockford:
…well no, not always.
Our Account Managers often receive calls from planning professionals that are desperate to get applications in at the last minute. These are usually to do with attachments – compressing detailed plans and drawings; dividing large documents (e.g. transport assessments, Environmental Impact Studies) or converting files into acceptable formats and so on. Read more…
UPDATE: I’ve been asked what the actual number was. It was a whopping 41, 483!
We saw an increase almost across the board on applications submitted through the Planning Portal last month, a large increase from July last year. Read more…
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