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Capacity in our schools and GP surgeries is a common concern when considering new residential development. However, as housing delivery is a top priority for the Government, planners need to think innovatively about identifying sustainable areas for development as well as communicating these decisions with stakeholders.
At Central Bedfordshire Council, planners are using the latest digital planning tools to build a clearer picture of where growth can be supported by existing and potential future infrastructure, to build sustainable, thriving communities through their next Local Plan.
Using PlaceMaker, the team has developed an Infrastructure Opportunity Score (IOS) alongside a “Local Living” strategy that looks at access to everyday services and infrastructure. These tools are helping officers present evidence in a way that planners, elected members and residents can understand at a glance, while keeping site assessment work all in one platform.
Using the platform for site assessment, officers and internal consultees can now review a shared interactive map, view constraint layers, site submissions and feedback all in one place. One planner explained the benefit when collecting specialist comments on sites:
“Previously comments were shared using Word and Excel documents and email chains; now consultees can see the layers and importantly, each other’s comments all in one place.”
That shift has made it easier to compare comments, identify gaps and draw conclusions on sites in their wider context.
Keeping everything in one platform has also streamlined routine tasks and prioritisation. PlaceMaker users have access to every Land Registry parcel in their area, and this helped officers in Central Bedfordshire to check deliverability early: “Land Registry parcels helped us avoid multi-owner sites that would be too complex to deliver.” This prioritisation by planners prevented time being spent on more complex sites and focuses resource on sites that could be delivered sooner.
The IOS brings together capacity and accessibility indicators into one layer so the team can see where infrastructure has room to accommodate growth, and where it is under pressure. Using capacity data such as school places and GP capacity, the Council can visualise areas using a heat map and support discussions about the distribution of development across the area. As one officer summarised: “It largely confirmed sites that are already coming forward are the most sustainable in terms of their access to infrastructure, and it also gives us a way to explain the distribution of allocations across settlements.”
The score is configurable and the Council can adjust what matters most for its area, adding or weighting amenities and refining the inputs with colleagues. The result is a transparent method that can be shown on a map and updated as new information becomes available. The heat-map approach helps planners explore options across the whole area rather than working site by site and gives them a useful visualisation to demonstrate decision making to internal and external stakeholders.
Working with the Data Science team at UI, colleagues can now view separate maps for Education provision and Healthcare, using the same heat map approach. The visualisation of the analysis makes it easier to utilise when discussing priorities and has enabled more joined-up internal conversations about where new development might be prioritised over the Local Plan period.
Alongside IOS, the Council has used PlaceMaker to test accessibility thresholds aligned with their “Local Living” strategy - for example assessing 10, 20 and 30 minute walking distances from sites to key amenities. By examining the accessibility of key services, officers can review proposed development sites and communicate the trade-offs more clearly. One planner explained:
“It turns our recommendations for development into a something quantifiable and with a visual aid that people can grasp.”
This will support conversations with colleagues and provide graphics that will help explain decisions to elected members and communities.
Following Central Bedfordshire Council's Call for Sites exercise at the start of the year, the Council published an interactive map showing all submissions. This was a conscious step after the consultation closed, to show residents what had been received - “Publishing the public web map replaced using PDF maps and data tables that were quite confusing to read and understand.” Officers shared that residents are able to find sites more quickly and more clearly understand their boundaries.
For planning teams, the combination of IOS and local living analysis offers a way to keep methods consistent while making evidence easier to interrogate. Officers can amend and re-run analysis as priorities evolve, and show why certain patterns of growth may be more appropriate in particular locations. The visual nature of the outputs helps move discussions from 'opinion versus opinion' to comparisons that can be explained and tested. At the same time, the single workspace for comments and layers reduces administrative tasks in day-to-day site assessment work.
The Urban Intelligence team worked closely with Planners at Central Bedfordshire Council throughout the IOS project and their ongoing usage of PlaceMaker. Commenting on support while these approaches were being set up, one planner shared how the team were: “so helpful and accommodating... and really good to work with". That partnership has helped translate policy aims into practical, mapped evidence that can be used across teams and adapted as work progresses. The innovative tools co-designed with Central Bedfordshire Council are now benefiting multiple PlaceMaker Councils across the country, who are making use of the Infrastructure Opportunity Score for their local area.
Want to take a closer look at PlaceMaker and understand the benefits of digitalising your Local Plan? Book a demo or a quick 15-minute call with one of our team today.
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