The Planning Inspectorate is preparing to pilot an online appeals service to replace its Appeals Casework Portal.
It said the new service will be used selectively from the end of this month, only for appeals following the written representation procedure against planning authorities in East Sussex, West Sussex and Kent.
There are plans for it to be made available for other types of cases further down the line.
The inspectorate said the new service has been designed to make it easier to submit appeals and fill in questionnaires from planning authorities, and to enable the tracking of cases. It also has an account management feature that organisations can use to enable several people to access and work on a case, and an electronic reminder capability.
Tom Warth, product manager at the inspectorate, said: “The new online service represents a complete redesign of the way we receive appeals and how users interact with us.
“A key goal for the new portal is to ensure the appeals we receive are valid on submission thereby reducing the number of incomplete cases we currently handle that require valuable time and effort to resolve.
“We have designed the new portal so that we receive a valid appeal every time and to ensure the service is simple to use. We’ve worked in close collaboration with users and the Government Digital Service to ensure the service meets the highest standards across government.
“Now in advanced stages of testing, we will be launching the service to a select number of pilot cases to refine the service before the wider launch.”
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
