With the end of the year fast approaching, what better way to round out 2022 than by looking back at our top five features from the year?
It's been a particularly busy year for us at LandTech, so let’s take a recap of all the new or updated features we’ve released. Plus, a preview of what we have in store for 2023.
SHLAA Data
Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, commonly referred to as SHLAA, is the process undertaken by each Local Planning Authority in England to identify which sites in the area have the potential for residential development.
SHLAA was introduced as part of the National Planning Policy Framework and each Local Planning Authority is required to create one to inform their Local Plan and indicate the viability of the five-year land supply.
It also takes into consideration any nearby constraints, potential timeframes for development, and how many dwellings can be built there.
How to use it
Within LandInsight, you can now see SHLAA and other land availability assessment data, all in one place. It’s been added as a new map layer under Planning Policy.
We’ve colour-coded SHLAA sites so you can gauge their development potential instantly:
Green – positive
Amber – neutral
Red – negative
High-level details are also available when clicking on the site – an exercise that used to take hours to uncover.
What our customers think
Our customers love this feature because it’s a massive time saver. Gone are the days of searching through loads of documents for hours, or even days, to find out whether a site is worth your time.
LandInsight’s Land Availability Assessment layer lets you instantly see which sites fall under SHLAA – and helps you make informed decisions on whether the opportunity is worth progressing.
Planning Appeals Data
Appeals are where a planning application has been rejected by the local planning authority, and an affected party has decided that an aspect of the decision was unfair.
In the planning applications layer in LandInsight, you can now check if an appeal has been decided for an application.
How to use it
Click on any of the planning application dots and you’ll be able to see if an application has been appealed (for all appeals where a decision has been reached by the Planning Inspectorate).
You can click through to see further details, including:
- Reason for the appeal
- Decision i.e. appeal allowed or dismissed
- Link to the full appeal
What our customers think
LandInsight users can get a much clearer idea of timeframes by looking at other planning appeals in the area.
Most importantly, they provide a complete picture – customers can check whether a decision on an application is final and, therefore, not worth their time.
Planning application boundaries
Planning application boundaries give you a fuller picture. You can now clearly see the extent of a planning application and the area it impacts, if the boundary is available for that application.
For example, if there's a large site that spans multiple parcels of land then the boundary will give you a clear indication as to the scope of the potential development.
How to use it
Within the planning application layer, you’ll be able to view the planning application list.
From here, you can select Look for the 'boundary available' icon and you’ll be able to view the boundary on the map.
What our customers think
We’ve had feedback that the new way of displaying planning applications is really useful when looking at applications, specifically on larger areas such as a field. This allows you to pinpoint exactly which area will be developed.
Improved visualisation for planning applications
We have updated the map visualisation so it's now much cleaner and clearer – making it easier to get relevant information quickly.
You can now decide what applications you want to see on the map, based upon the sector these applications relate to.
Plus, you can now filter planning applications on the map by type:
- Residential
- Commercial
- Other
You'll also see mixed use applications. These are made up of an element of both residential and commercial, so they'll switch on and off with each of these toggles.
With this change, we continue to show all applications on the map, a huge benefit to those of you who want a complete picture of applications within a given area.
How to use it
The right hand panel gives you even more granular control over what you see. You can now filter planning applications by the age of the application, the number of homes, and the type of application.
Want to go back further than 5 years, and see applications up to 10 years old? Adjust the filter and we'll show all of these on the map for you.
Number of homes will allow you to filter based on the size of the development. Given behind the scenes improvements, this calculation should now be more accurate than ever before.
What our customers think
The update allows you to focus on what’s important and remove the noise – giving you a better understanding of the planning applications landscape.
It saves our customers time too – by finding key information for areas which are being developed at a glance.
LandInsight GO
LandInsight GO is a mobile app for Apple and Android devices, and the perfect companion for logging and managing prospective sites when you’re out and about.
This year, we redesigned the mobile app to make it easier to use and added in some new functionalities.
How to use it
LandInsight users are able to use LandInsight GO and all the data automatically syncs with the desktop version of LandInsight.
From the mobile app, you’re able to find and save key site data in just a few taps.
You can see ownership boundaries and information to help you instantly decide whether a site is worth looking into further. You can save the site into your pipeline from your mobile app and upload photos to share with your team.
What our customers think
Our customers have told us it’s a great companion tool to use alongside LandInsight. And particularly useful when you’re out walking and spot a site that you’d like to look into in more detail later. Simply take a snap and save the site so that you can use all of LandInsight’s powerful assessment tools when you’re back at your desk.
What’s in store for 2023
As you can tell it has been a very busy year for us, and there’s even more to come in 2023!
If you’re a LandInsight Unlimited user and want to see what we have in store for the next few months, you can check out our Product roadmap, hosted on our Community platform.
The prioritisation of potential new features is influenced by customer feedback so please feel free to vote on the roadmap or let us know which new features or datasets you'd like to see.
If you’d like a more detailed demonstration of how these features can deliver value for yourself and your business, reach out to your Customer Success Manager who will be happy to schedule time with you.