Open Planning

Description

"A team at Lancaster University has been involving councils and members of the public in developing a smartphone app which will tell residents about nearby planning applications, and allow them to discuss and respond to them.

Open Planning is being put together by The Creative Exchange, a programme which brings businesses and researchers together to work on digital projects.

Researcher Lara Salinas, who is working on the project, says: “There’s a lack of engagement with citizens in planning. We noticed there are three stages – notification, information, and engagement. But to be notified, you have to be quite active and look for notices.”

The app, which is still at an early stage, displays planning applications on a map, and allows users to call up information on them.

You can also be notified of applications in an area you’re interested in and share them through social media, and make submissions to planning officers.

Users can also just leave comments for other people to read – a facility that’s designed to enable residents to ask questions and engage as a community with the applications." (http://www.civicexchange.eu/story/open-planning-bringing-planning-public)