Planning applications: Supporting development management teams

Retrieval of every online application  

Each application has an ID number which identifies the type of application and whether it’s a combined application type or not (i.e. full planning permission and listed building consent). This ensures the correct application types are created in your system.  

Combined applications, when identified, can be configured in your system to create two separate application references for parallel processing and accurate reporting of application statistics on PS1/PS2 returns.  

View a full list of the application types we offer and their corresponding scenario numbers¹.  

In order to be able to retrieve every online application automatically, your systems and their integrations with us need to be kept current.

Data from every application question and field 

All information entered by applicants/agents in our online question sets is accurately stored and included in the standardised data we make available to you. This allows it to be processed and be populated into the correct fields in your IT systems. 

The amount of information retrieved and utilised by individual local authority systems can vary, but everything is available to be collected. Some systems capture certain information as specified by the local authority, while others capture everything. 

Plans and supporting documentation

All files that are uploaded by applicants in support of their application are included when you retrieve submissions from the Planning Portal. Metadata is also provided to allow files to be identified from a list of standard supporting document types so they can be accurately mapped into local authority systems. 

View a full list of the supporting document types users can select from². 

Local authorities can also use their admin functions on the Planning Portal to point users towards their local information requirements and configure requirements for specific supporting documents to be provided. 

View our LPA admin guide for more detailed guidance³, including on how to: 

• provide customised messaging to users when they are making applications
• manage your supporting document requirements 
• increase the file size limit for supporting documents 

Amended applications

Amendments to applications have specific fields within the data you receive to identify the types and details of any changes made. 

A PDF summary of all the changes and an overall reason for the amendment is also provided for easy reference. 

View more detailed guidance on application amendments, when they can be made, and what can be amended⁴. 

Correct information formatting 

The application data we provide accurately represents the information provided by the applicant/agent in the format that they entered it in. 

In many cases, we guide and validate this formatting to ensure that it is fit for purpose, for example: 

• Standardised dates and times 
• Use of numbers and specified units for quantities  
• Selection of standard options from drop down menus (e.g. Use Classes) 

However, there are also areas where ‘free text’ can be provided, and we do not reformat or alter this in any way to preserve the information as originally entered. 

Therefore, this could be all upper case or lower case, however, we always advocate sentence case at training events and in our help and guidance. 

Are you maximizing the benefits of integrating the Planning Portal application service with your development management IT system? If you're not experiencing these advantages, we’d love to hear from you⁵.

1. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/planning-portal_online-application-types-and-references.xlsx
2. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/planning-portal_supporting-document-types.xlsx
3. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/LPA-admin-guide.pdf
4. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/1app/lpa-guidance_application-amendments.pdf
5. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/services/meet-the-team/business-development-team