City of London Corporation awarded funding to digitise planning system
The City of London Corporation has successfully secured funding from two prestigious Government programs: the Digital Planning Improvement Fund and the Prop Tech Innovation Fund. This achievement will provide the City’s officials with additional resources to implement more modern and accessible practices within the planning system. The aim is to stimulate growth in the built environment sector, foster innovation, and enhance engagement.
The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities characterized the process as highly competitive, with the City Corporation being one of 11 Local Planning Authorities selected for funding from both schemes.
The Digital Planning Improvement Fund focuses on supporting Local Planning Authorities in enhancing their digital capabilities and implementing a more efficient planning system. This funding will empower the City to optimize planning data usage and improve digital capabilities, leading to faster processing of planning applications. Additionally, the City will gain access to an Open Digital Planning community for collaboration and learning best practices from other planning teams.
The PropTech Innovation Fund will enable the City Corporation to collaborate with Southampton City Council on a groundbreaking project. Together, they will create 3D accessible web maps for the public, offering a more engaging and informative way to visualize key planning policy details.
Shravan Joshi, Chairman of the City of London Corporation Planning and Transportation Committee, expressed gratitude for the funding and emphasized the City Corporation’s commitment to playing a pivotal role in modernizing the planning system for the benefit of all. He also looked forward to collaborating with Southampton City Council and other partners in delivering these innovative projects.