The Digital Planning team in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has produced a draft set of data standards for planning applications.
They are aimed at standardising the structure and exchange of planning application data, as part of the effort to improve interoperability of systems and services in the sector.
MHCLG said it has a set of baseline specifications in place after having worked on the project with over 40 organisations, and has called for feedback on whether they will work for local authorities.
The baseline includes 21 compiled specifications for all the main types of application, such as householder applications and listed building consent, and several sub-types, including prior removal for a larger extension and for additional storeys.
It also has 83 components, each representing a reusable section of an application, and 29 codelists, which are sets of predefined values for features such as types of trees or site constraints.
Each specification begins with a description of the application type and a list or required components and codelists.
Plan for improvements
MHCLG said: “To avoid disrupting current processes, we’ve tried to keep the specifications as close as possible to existing forms. We plan to make improvements—like rationalising components—in future iterations.”
It added: “These standards will enable interoperability and help create better services, smarter tools, and joined-up decision-making, unlocking the potential for innovation across the whole planning system.”
The draft specifications have been added to GitHub with a call for anyone involved in planning to review them and provide feedback. MHCLG said it is interested in suggestions on what is missing, what is confusing and what might work in real situations.
