Key information
Request reference number: MGLA081225-9924
Date of response:
Summary of request
We would like to contact you regarding data and its use by authorities in London. In particular, we are interested in development and applications data in the area of construction projects – new builds, refurbishments and demolitions: Planning Data Map
- What is the primary data source (for example, are these data from the building permitting process, etc.)?
- What are the main use cases of these data for city authorities?
- Are the data also used specifically for circular economy use cases?
- Are the data also used by the general public?
- What is the legislative framework that allows these data to be published?
Our response
- What is the primary data source (for example, are these data from the building permitting process, etc.)?
The data is sourced for all London Planning Authorities back-office data on planning applications and also data provided by applicants of those planning applications which is taken directly from the planning portal (planningportal.co.uk) and joined up in our database to the records from the back-office systems.
- What are the main use cases of these data for city authorities?
There are a number of different uses cases for this data but fundamentally this data gives us insights what is being built in London to understand the change through developments in the city. One of the core functions of the system is to provide central government with the annual figures for residential housing starts and completions each year.
- Are the data also used specifically for circular economy use cases?
I believe the data could be used in some capacity for circular economy use cases but we have not actively explored that ourselves although the data is openly accessible so others may have looked into this potential use case.
- Are the data also used by the general public?
The data is available publicly but how much it is used by the general public we are not sure.
- What is the legislative framework that allows these data to be published?
The Greater London Authority Act 1999 and Mayor of London Order 2006 and the two pieces of legislation that apply to the data in London but also nationally there is a presumption that data on planning applications will be held publicly unless there is a good reason not to. It is also worth noting that all the data we hold is held in planning application registers for each council but often in different formats such as pdf documents.