A shared service organisation for public services in South West England has outlined an intention to develop a joint local plan digital tool.
Delt Shared Services, a company owned by Plymouth City Council and NHS Devon Integrated Care Board, has published a market notice for support on the plan for software that can make site assessment processes more efficient.
It is aimed at replacing manual processes in the compilation of large databases of land information with a solution that can be used more widely that existing geographical information systems (GIS), which have a limited capacity for integration with the everyday workflow of planning officers.
The notice emphasises the importance of a user-friendly interface for planning teams with various levels of technical expertise, a layout that works with smartphones and tables, an offline capability and easy access to predesigned templates.
GIS integration
It also has to be integrated with leading GIS platforms such as ArcGIS, QGIS and CadCorp, and with mapping services such as Google Maps and OpenStreetMap. There is also a requirement to support the input of data in various formats.
Other requirements include instant data sharing between team members, automated report generation, a high level of data security, and the capacity for customisation to meet the specific needs of different planning teams.
The effort is funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“The funding aims to secure and trial a solution with existing or new suppliers to streamline the process for officers, making site assessment more agile and consistent in anticipation of planning reform and accelerated plan making timetables,” the notice says.
