Electronic Planning (ePlanning)

A central pillar of the 'Modernising Planning Processes Implementation Plan', published by Planning Service on 3rd February 2003, was a radical review of the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the planning process.

Following preparatory work, an ePlanning programme was initiated in July 2003 and, since then, significant steps have been taken towards the implementation of a comprehensive, new ePlanning solution to underpin the challenging business objectives outlined in the plan. 

Planning website

From a citizen, applicant, agent and consultee perspective, the major highlight to date has been the launch and ongoing development of a totally revamped website (http://www.planningni.gov.uk/) launched by the then Minister at the end of September 2003.  The site contains a wealth of information and guidance on the Planning process, constantly updated, and all application forms, with associated notes, can be easily downloaded. 

In May 2004, a significant enhancement to the website was introduced: on a monthly basis for all council areas, the details are now published of all new planning applications, all applications in the schedule for council consultation and all applications that were deferred from the previous council meeting. These are available on the council schedules section of this site.

In late 2004 and throughout 2005, the next evolution was introduced and developed with the publication of area plans, and associated publications, on the site. These documents, in particular those relating to the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan, have seen extremely high levels of public access. The website is now one of the most popular NI public sector sites with, on average, around 1.3million hits per month.

Geographical Information Systems

Considerable progress has also been made in developing the necessary Geographic Information System (GIS) infrastructure for the Planning process and work on this was completed at the end of 2005.  These external-facing improvements have been mirrored and complimented by internal improvements – for example in the introduction of a new, comprehensive Intranet site.

The electronic Planning Information for Citizens (ePIC) Project

At the core of the ePlanning programme is the ePlanning Information for Citizens (ePIC) project which will pull together all the different elements to deliver the comprehensive new end-to-end ePlanning system.  Following a rigorous OJEU procurement exercise, Planning Service signed contracts in October 2004 with a Hewlett Packard-led consortium as the preferred strategic partner to deliver the solution.

The major elements of the solution will be:

• an Internet 'portal' that will enable customers to submit, pay for and track the progress of planning applications on-line in a secure environment. The user interface will simplify the application process for online submission – it will not just present e-versions of existing forms (though these will remain available for downloading and off-line completion if required). Facilities will include online help, secure payment mechanisms, save & return later functionality, volume & fee calculators, site plotting and the ability to upload any necessary documents for an application e.g. drawings, elevations, photographs etc.
• an on-line Property Certificate service also available through the portal;
• on-line access to the complete historical Statutory Planning Register – a major scanning exercise is now well underway to achieve this by digitizing all the historical paper records;
• facilities to enable on-line consultation (or via electronic data exchange) with statutory consultees, amenity groups, neighbours and local Councils ; and
• facilities to enable the public, or any interested party, to search for applications, to comment electronically on proposed developments and to view all relevant information (e.g. planning policies, development plan policies, design guides, guidance listings, statutory charges, etc) relevant to an identified area. These facilities will include a map-based interface that will be very user-friendly and interactive.

Implementation timescales

The necessary work to design and develop the system has taken considerably longer than originally anticipated but development of the system is now almost complete.  The system will then be rigorously tested, piloted and rolled out across all Planning Service offices in a phased approach. 

It is planned that this implementation will be complete by the end of the 2006/07 fiscal year and all facilities will then be made available to the public and agents soon afterwards.

Delivery of services

Whilst the new facilities introduced to date have already improved the delivery of services and the Agency’s ability to provide information, the new ePIC system will represent the forefront of eGovernment delivery in NI and ePlanning in the UK and beyond. It will enable the provision of services to suit customer needs in a format, and at a time, most convenient to the individual and the community, reducing the need for the public to contact the local planning office. This will ultimately result in a more informed public, whilst releasing staff resources to concentrate on the processing of applications.

Consulation processes

In terms of improving consultation arrangements with local Councils and internal consultees, the implementation of the solution will streamline consultation processes, and improve workflows within the Agency, leading to faster end-to-end processing of applications.

The future...

Moving forward, the Planning Service will continue to apply new technology to achieve greater integration of the management of financial systems, processes, and manpower requirements and will also continue to internally explore opportunities to share information with other Agencies and Departments.