Pastures new for planning system

Angie Brown
BBC Scotland news website
Edinburgh and East reporter

David Leslie shows off the planning website

Edinburgh is at the forefront of a new drive to make the planning system more accessible to the public and professionals alike.

The city council established its planning and building standards online service three years ago.

It has proved very popular with an average 23,000 people a month now using their computer to access plans online.

Applications can be viewed on the website, which also features a database stretching back at least 16 years.

On Thursday, the Scottish Executive announced a £12m investment to enable the streamlining of access to development plans.

Its like buying a airline ticket on the web - they fill in the application and attach the plans and drawings David Leslie Edinburgh Council

Paper files have been replaced with electronic files and documents are no longer lost.

The website's creators also say that the online service has become an essential tool for people who want to meet the 21-day deadline to object to a planning application.

David Leslie, Edinburgh City Council's planning service development manager, said that since the launch of the website in August 2003 there had been fewer objections to planning applications because people had easy access to plans.

He said: "People used to object to every planning application because of the fear of the unknown. They would hear something was being changed near their house and immediately object.

"Whereas now the nature of the objections have changed because people are better informed through using the website.

More than 20,000 people use the site each month

"It is a tremendous benefit to the public. We also hope to add further facilities to the webpage in the future.

"This would include enabling people to be able to zoom in on maps as well as a system where people can type in their address and see if planning permission is required on their property, for example to add a conservatory."

Planning applications can now also be submitted to the site by email, with 30 applications being handed in a month.

Mr Leslie added: "It's like buying an airline ticket on the web. They fill in the application and attach the plans and drawings.

"Edinburgh's planning is at the forefront of this technology at a time when the capital's economy is booming and therefore more planning applications are being sent in."

Edinburgh Council's planning department receives and processes about 5,500 applications a year.