Imagine being able to instantly check whether a property sits in a conservation area or whether a tree is protected, without wading through PDFs or making a phone call to your local authority. This February, 49 more local planning authorities (LPAs) are joining the Digital Planning Improvement Fund to make this a reality.   

Each LPA is receiving £50,000 to help them publish their essential planning data in standardised, open formats on the national Planning Data platform.  

This important step will transform how residents, businesses and other stakeholders access vital planning information, moving from fragmented, hard-to-find data to data that is standardised, searchable and up to date. This shift enables better decision-making, greater transparency and efficiency, and will support real innovation in housing and development. 

Reading Borough Council, one of the authorities joining, said: “By improving data quality and creating transparent workflows, we’ll give residents and businesses better access to accurate planning information, making it simpler to understand what’s happening in their area. These improvements will support well-informed decisions that help shape sustainable, vibrant communities for the future.” 

Four priority datasets 

Each LPA is committing to publishing 4 planning datasets – Conservation areas, listed buildings, Tree Preservation Orders and Article 4 Directions. Once published, this data powers tools like PlanX, software that can guide applicants to find out if they need planning permission or report a planning breach.  

Accelerating progress through shared expertise 

The fund doesn’t just provide financial support. LPAs also join Open Digital Planning, a transformation network of local planning authorities tackling the same data and digital challenges, with access to training and specialist support from MHCLG’s Digital Planning community and data teams. 

Members of Open Digital Planning at an event in 2025.

Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: “Being awarded funding from the Digital Planning Improvement Fund means Dartmoor National Park can progress our data improvements at a much faster pace, provides the resource to access specialist advice and will help us realise our ambition of becoming a data driven accessible planning service.” 

ODP helps authorities avoid reinventing the wheel. Members learn from each other including other LPAs further along in their data publishing and digital planning journey, adopting proven approaches rather than duplicating effort. 

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, said: "Gaining this funding and being part of the ODP community will be a fantastic opportunity for us to learn from other council’s that are already part of the community, gain best practice insights, collaborate on improving digitally and move forward into a new era of digitally enabling and enhancing planning practices and system techniques.” 

A growing movement 

The Digital Planning Improvement Fund now supports 171 LPAs, more than a third of councils across England, to publish their planning data – including 70 who joined last year, 46 who joined in March 2025 and 24 who started in September 2025. 

New LPAs begin with the Digital Planning Maturity Assessment, a self-assessment process that helps planning teams understand their digital strengths and identify areas to improve. This creates a clear starting point and helps shape realistic, achievable action plans. 

The 49 LPAs starting their digital journey next month are: 

Bedford Borough Council  Blaby District Council  Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council  Broads Authority  Burnley Borough Council  Cherwell District Council  Cheshire East Council  Chorley Borough Council  City of Bradford Metropolitan Council  Cornwall Council  Dartmoor National Park Authority  Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council  East Suffolk Council  Fareham Borough Council  Gravesham Borough Council  Kirklees Council  Lancaster City Council  Lichfield District Council  London Borough of Ealing  London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham  London Borough of Merton  London Borough of Richmond upon Thames  London Borough of Sutton  Luton Borough Council  Middlesbrough Council  Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council  North West Leicestershire District Council  North York Moors National Park Authority  Norwich City Council  Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council  Peak District National Park Authority  Portsmouth City Council  Preston City Council  Reading Borough Council  Ribble Valley Council  Royal Borough of Greenwich  Rushcliffe Borough Council  Sevenoaks District Council  Slough Borough Council  South Ribble Borough Council  Stroud District Council  Sunderland City Council  Telford and Wrekin Council  Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council  Tunbridge Wells Borough Council  West Lancashire Borough Council  Woking Borough Council  Wokingham Borough Council  Wyre Forest District Council 

Get involved 

Follow their journey through case studies on the Open Digital Planning website.  

LPAs can check and provide their data using the Planning Data platform.  

For more information visit the Open Digital Planning website or follow on LinkedIn.  

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