Update: We have now completed this and all the CIL forms are now ‘fillable’ and can be accessed from this page.
Following several requests, we are in the process of amending the Community Infrastructure Levy PDF forms to let users fill, save and upload the electronic form as part of their online planning application.
The ‘Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – Determining whether a Development may be CIL Liable’ form has now been published.
The other six CIL forms will be amended and uploaded shortly – we’re aiming to get these done within the next two weeks. I’ll keep you updated on timelines.
First, let me say that you have no idea how much self-restraint it took, to not head up this post with a tree- or sign-related pun, there are so many to choose from.
What follows is a pun-free note on how two respected trade associations have helped us drive online take-up in their respective industries for the benefit of their members and the environment. Read more…
I wrote to you recently about our decision to archive supporting documents on planning applications submitted more than five years ago. We’re going a step further with this in late July.
Over 1,000 applications are submitted to the Planning Portal every working day – this puts significant strain on our system storage.
If our system storage reaches capacity, and we don’t free up space, it will not be possible for new applications to be submitted to local planning authorities via the Portal. Read more…
The 1APP changes which went live last week have bedded in nicely. Users are reporting improved productivity and our service desk is reporting very few issues.
Most of the communications last week focussed on the changes to the Supporting Documents process but we also introduced some improvements just for LPAs. Read more…
If you love Lego too you should be here
This is not a spurious post! it is planning related honestly (well architecture anyway) and is part of RIBA’s Love Architecture Festival.
I do think that all future Lego housebuilding sets should be accompanied by links to the online Lego planning system though.
From the middle of next week (Wednesday 20th June) we will start to remove supporting documents from applications that were created more than five years ago.
The applications themselves will remain on the Portal – it’s just the supporting documents that are being removed.
The weight of well over a million applications submitted over the years has put a real strain on our storage capacity so we need to make room for the next million.
If you need to save any supporting documents on applications older than five years, please take a moment to log in and retrieve them between now and next Wednesday.
Just 10 million page views in May that’s all!
Averaging 325,000 page views, from 30,ooo+ visitors every day.
Thanks to you all for continuing to read and respond to my witterings.
There have now been more than 1,000 comments posted excluding my own, which is gratifying as it’s become aprimary communication channel for us.
I do take notice of all your suggestions most of which are added to our list of potential improvements. Being human I take great pleasure in the many positive things you have to say and sometimes umbrage at the negative. Either way though please keep it coming.
Chris
We went live with further 1APP improvements last night. Just a couple of simple changes – an entrée before the main course, if you will. Read more…
Yes, we’ll be 10 years old on Thursday, 31st May – the Portal went live on this day in 2002.
Remarkably, given the turbulence over the years, there are several members of the original project team still slaving away. I joined the party in December 2002, thinking I’d give the Public Sector a go for a while and here I stoically remain.
The original vision for the Portal went something like this:
“Our objectives are to improve the planning system and to create a ‘value adding’ portal business (that delivers services wanted and liked by customers, both public and private).”
I think we’ve just about achieved that, but I’ll let you guys be the ultimate judges and it would be wonderful to hear any of your feedback on our journey so far.
We’ve passed through PINS, ODPM and now DCLG in our time and gone from zero customers and traffic to more than 9 million page views and 25,000 planning applications a month.
Having launched in May 2002 we then had to wait until electronic signature legislation was passed in April 2003 for the first online planning application to be made. It was a simple standard form which was made available to any LPA that wished to offer an electronic option to their customers.
The service has never been mandatory, despite which by early 2006 every LPA was using the form.
The following years saw great progress with the number of users and applications growing steadily and awards being picked up with frankly embarrassing regularity, capped off by the Civil Service Public Value award in 2008/09.
Meanwhile, in 2008 1APP was launched, reducing the number of local variations of sets of application forms from several thousands to one, at a stroke. While not perfect I hope you’ll agree it has made a positive difference.
It’s clear that there is still somewhere to go to reach our internal vision for where we’d like the Portal to be but we are as committed now as we were back then to help wherever we can.
I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone that has helped us along the way, in particular Graham Saunders whose idea it was and Richard Goodwin, who as the first Director set the direction of travel for the Portal and more importantly had the great good sense to employ me.
Planning Portal Blog 