Planning Policy
The technical architecture required to gather spatial evidence, engage citizens at scale, and formulate the statutory Local Plan.
Creating a Local Plan is a multi-year, data-intensive endeavor. Unlike transactional services, Planning Policy architecture focuses on big data analytics, geospatial modeling (e.g., finding land suitable for housing), and scalable citizen engagement platforms designed to capture sentiment rather than just simple form inputs.
The LGAM technology stack
Delivering a Local Plan requires orchestrating analytical and engagement capabilities. The technology stack to deliver this, when aligned to the Local Government Architecture Model, might include the following elements:
| LGAM Layer | LGAM Element | Context in Planning | Enabling Technology (Example) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Areas | Geographical | Spatial modelling to conduct MCDA, overlaying flood zones, transport nodes, and conservation areas to identify viable development sites. | Advanced GIS / Spatial Modelling Tool |
| Data and Information | Data warehousing | Aggregating ONS demographic data, historic housing delivery rates, and economic models into a central repository to form the "evidence base". | Enterprise Data Lake / Warehouse |
| Council Interfaces | Website | Interactive, map-based consultation platforms allowing citizens to drop pins and leave sentiment-driven feedback on proposed zoning changes. | Citizen Engagement Portal |
| Integration | API Gateway | Once the Plan is adopted, exposing the spatial policies as "Rules-as-code" APIs to be consumed directly by the Development Management forms engines. | Open Data API Server |
| Data and Information | Document and records management | Version control and archiving of the statutory Local Plan documents throughout multiple rounds of public examination. | Corporate EDM |