Key information
Decision type: Assistant Director
Directorate: Good Growth
Reference code: ADD2827
Date signed:
Date published:
Decision by: Lucinda Turner, Assistant Director of Planning and Regeneration
Executive summary
The PlanApps platform was developed by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Commonplace. It is the primary digital platform for publishing, and enabling public engagement on, planning applications referred to the Mayor of London. The platform has been widely used by the public and stakeholders; and was awarded the 2023 Planning Award for excellence in the use of digital technology in planning.
To ensure the platform remains operational, compliant and able to respond to legislative and policy changes, approval is sought to renew the PlanApps licence; and to procure associated maintenance and development support for 12 months. As well as ongoing maintenance, the proposed contract includes an allocation of development days to support enhancements, accessibility improvements and future-proofing. Support will also be needed to implement changes to reflect additional Mayoral planning powers, which come into force from May 2026.
Decision
That the Assistant Director of Planning & Regeneration approves spending £44,950 on necessary maintenance of, and improvements to, the PlanApps system.
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
1.1 The PlanApps platform was developed by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Commonplace. It is the primary digital platform for publishing, and enabling public engagement on, planning applications referred to the Mayor of London. Its impact has already been recognised: it won the 2023 Planning Award for excellence in the use of digital technology in planning.
1.2 Since its launch, the platform has been used by thousands of members of the public, and stakeholders, to view and comment on planning applications. To date we have had:
• 611,609 people engage with the PlanApps site
• 18,348 comments made from 16,151 respondents.
2.1. Commonplace will continue to maintain PlanApps. This includes regular meetings; bug fixes; support on handling queries from the public; and general technical platform support.
2.2. Further enhancements will be made to the system. The contract includes 10-12 development days, which will work towards the following improvements:
• extend public comment visibility to earlier planning stages (beyond stage 3)
• update the deadline format – change consultation timelines from working days to calendar days
• introduce configurable comment limits per user, or per application
• potentially, in a future phase, make user experience/user interface improvements to the homepage
• introduce new AI features, to enhance insights and data handling
• integrate 3D modelling/VuCity via ongoing 3D mapping work
• immersive media integration – embed 180/360° video and 3D content in consultations
• improve accessibility via voice-to-text sentiment capture.
2.3. There will be some reconfiguration to reflect additional Mayoral planning powers. These are coming into force from May 2026, and will require new application types to be displayed on PlanApps.
3.1. The PlanApps platform positively contributes to the GLA’s Public Sector Equality Duty by improving accessibility; transparency; and opportunities for public participation in the planning process.
3.2. Planned enhancements – including voice-to-text functionality and (potentially) translation features – will further support users with disabilities, and those for whom English is not a first language. No negative equality impacts have been identified.
4.1. Under the Mayor of London Order 2008, the Mayor is required to publicise planning applications referred to them and enable public comment. The PlanApps platform supports compliance with these statutory requirements by providing a clear, accessible and auditable public interface.
4.2. No conflicts of interest have been identified for any officers involved in the development of this proposal, or the clearance of this decision form.
5.1. The total cost of the proposed 12-month contract is £44,950. This covers the platform licence; ongoing maintenance; and ‘bundled’ development support. The cost represents a discounted rate compared to purchasing development days separately; and will be met from existing approved budgets.
5.2. The costs will be met by the Planning Delivery Programme budget within WBS code GP.0310.0305.019.
6.1. The work will be delivered according to the following timetable:
Signed decision document
ADD2827 PlanApps Renewal - SIGNED