Understanding whether a site is sustainably located is a key part of good plan-making — but too often the evidence you need sits in different tools, formats and spreadsheets.

That’s why we’ve introduced the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Connectivity Tool analysis directly within PlaceMaker: so planners can view site data and transport accessibility insights in one centralised platform, right where they’re already doing their site assessment work.

What is the DfT Connectivity Tool?

The DfT's Connectivity Tool helps planners understand how connected a place is to everyday services, and therefore how sustainably located it is in transport terms. It uses a nationally consistent approach and generates a connectivity score for locations across England and Wales, at a 100m x 100m grid resolution. This enables you to see how locations are connected to key amenities for walking, cycling, public transport and driving*, helping inform plans, strategies and decisions.

*Driving is excluded from the overall connectivity score.

What’s changed in PlaceMaker?

PlaceMaker users can now access this connectivity analysis within PlaceMaker (upon request), alongside the other evidence planners use every day to compare and assess sites.

How it works:

• Once added, planners will see a new 'Connectivity Tool' layer within their map layer tree which can be toggled on/off and displayed as a heat map.
• The heat map shows the local authority view, helping to assess how well-connected a location is relative to its local authority area (local authority bands).

• By clicking anywhere on the map, planners will see a map info card appear, including Local and National scores for each 100m x 100m grid square.
• When assessing a site, both the local authority and national data is available for each site. PlaceMaker shows a single Connectivity result for a site's footprint, based on the grid squares that are overlapping the site.
• Sites rarely align perfectly with a single 100m grid square. Where a site overlaps multiple grid squares, PlaceMaker calculates an average score and displays it in the site’s Connectivity tab.

Bringing DfT’s Connectivity analysis into PlaceMaker means you can:

• Compare sites faster, using a consistent accessibility evidence base set by the Department for Transport and recommended for use in new local plan guidance;
• Keep evidence and decisions recorded in one single platform, reducing tool-switching and manual copy/paste;
• Support transparent, repeatable assessments, using a national metric designed to help define sustainable location in transport terms

Want to discover was a truly 'digital first' local plan can look like for your council? Speak to one of our in-house planners today to explore how a centralised platform for all you sites, data and engagement can help you deliver a 30-Month local plan.

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