‘Bloomberg Terminal for the land, planning and housing market’ to launch at MIPIM UK
A prototype for a digital planning platform described as “a Bloomberg terminal for the land, planning and housing market” will be launched at MIPIM UK.
Designed by Future Cities Catapult for the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Land Information Platform will allow local planning authorities to identify, prioritise and allocate sites for new development, improving how and at what speed land is allocated for new development.
It will also use a variety of data from the Ordnance Survey and Land Registry as well as historic planning data and open government information such as energy performance certificates, to automatically screen and identify potential development opportunities. The tool would also – with reference to policy, context and some key urban design rules of thumb – be able to estimate how many homes could be accommodated on a site in a much more precise way than through current methods.
A prototype for a digital planning platform described as “a Bloomberg terminal for the land, planning and housing market” will be launched at MIPIM UK.
Designed by Future Cities Catapult for the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Land Information Platform will allow local planning authorities to identify, prioritise and allocate sites for new development, improving how and at what speed land is allocated for new development.
It will also use a variety of data from the Ordnance Survey and Land Registry as well as historic planning data and open government information such as energy performance certificates, to automatically screen and identify potential development opportunities. The tool would also – with reference to policy, context and some key urban design rules of thumb – be able to estimate how many homes could be accommodated on a site in a much more precise way than through current methods.
The platform would include a series of open APIs to allow the market to build the digital simulation tools that would plug into a local authority’s shortlist of site allocations – in essence an app store for planning. One example simulation illustrated in the user experience prototype was inspired by one of Future Catapult’s Future of Planning Open Call tools called SidM, supported by Hackney borough. SidM uses development data from planning applications, the current SHLAA and increases to existing populations to model the impact of housing and population growth on the capacity of primary schools and GPs over time.
Stefan Webb, head of projects at Future Cities Catapult, said: “With the government’s manifesto commitment to create ‘the largest repository of open land data in the world’, the Land Information Platform is a good example of what government can do to help foster innovative tools to help people and developers build.
“We also believe that the platform could spurn new digital planning products and services that build greater understanding and knowledge of the planning system. Imagine an app on your phone that allowed you to see what a planning application looks like, to tweak its design and see the impact on planning contributions.”
He likened it to a Bloomberg Terminal for land, planning and housing.
“The use of platforms to efficiently provide the same information to many users has significantly reduced costs and lowered the barriers to entry in financial services and we hope it will do the same in the land, planning and housing market.”
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