Delivering better place outcomes through use of data: building on the emerging digital planning system

Mitchell, Keith, Hughes, Jenny, Mulholland, Cara and Samuel, Flora (2022) Delivering better place outcomes through use of data: building on the emerging digital planning system. Research Report. Stantec.

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Abstract

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, put before parliament in May 2022, seeks to establish a modern digital planning system where planning data is standardised, easily accessible and openly available. We wholeheartedly embrace these changes. In this report, we argue that planning and delivering better places starts with understanding place and the communities that live there. We fully support the view proposed in the Bill that data gathering, analysing and sharing through open digital maps is key to making informed decisions on the issues that will affect generations to come. But we would like this to go further. Here we make the case for a National Place Portal which combines open “passive data”, drawn from existing datasets such as the Census and Index of Multiple Deprivation, with “active data” developed in real time with community input. Where appropriate data mining and sentiment analytics should also be used to determine what is important to communities, in parallel with other engagement methods to ensure all members of communities can feed into the process. Giving the public a meaningful role and having standardised format for data analysis and mapping outputs that brings together real time intelligence on social, environment and economic value would give greater visibility to issues which by being difficult to quantify are often overlooked in decision-making. It can also help to put communities at the centre of the development plan and development management processes in the UK, as set out in our Places First report, Creating Communities fit for the Future: Repurposing the Development Plan process, 2018. The ready availability of open, understandable data maps is vitally important for democracy, enabling people to get involved in decision making about their place, informally though consultation and more formally through participatory planning (Batty and Yang, 2022).