Fast, online accessibility for planning

Local authority planning departments have historically relied on immense physical archives storing a vast array of planning documents, of various sizes and formats (including A0), to accommodate the lifeblood of their organisations. The introduction of e-Planning systems has established a firm foundation for increased online accessibility to these documents, and most local authority planning departments have already adopted some form of centralised land and property management software solution.

Nevertheless, many local authorities are still struggling to achieve a level of widespread online access that is acceptable to council officials, the developer community and members of the public. All too often the interface is difficult to use, very slow and allows only a small number of documents to be accessed concurrently before grinding to a halt due to bandwidth capacity issues. In addition, current offerings often fail to provide measurement tools so that online consultations are not practical.

ViewPortal e-Planning offers a cost effective web-based viewing tool that enables both internal and external users to view a multitude of documents, of any size or format, quickly and easily regardless of bandwidth. The standard ViewPortal e-Planning product even allows CAD documents to be viewed without the need for AutoCAD or specialised viewers. Our software simply retrieves these documents from planning applications posted on the Planning Portal and then converts them into viewable format for everyone to see.

SpectrumITech has worked hard to integrate ViewPortal e-Planning with the principal land and property management solutions already installed within planning departments across the country. We are also working hand-in-hand with a number of local authorities to ensure ongoing compliance and develop a range of value added services that will increase efficiency, accelerate decision making and improve customer service.

The ViewPortal e-Planning development team is paving the way for online planning applications and consultations, which will enable all involved to view case documentation instantaneously and to track the progress of individual applications at any time. ViewPortal e-Planning is also being developed so that in the future planning documents will be easily transferred onto the Desktops of laptops belonging to council officials. This will allow them to consult all relevant maps and plans while out of the office and result in more effective, timely assessments of build progress and conformity.