Data Strategy Board Breakthrough Fund Application Form

Applicant Details

Contact Name: Mark Braggins Applicant Organisation: Hampshire County Council Accountable Organisation: Hampshire County Council Address: The Castle, Winchester, SO23 8UJ Telephone: 07841 492800 Email: [email protected]

Project Description

1. What is the activity title?

Linked Open Data Planning Register

2. Please provide a short description of the activity

The work will produce a public-facing planning register for all planning authorities in Hampshire* and the Isle of Wight regardless of level or geography.

The data will be made available in open linked data formats such as JSON and Turtle, encouraging users to be innovative in the way data can be shared, presented and most importantly understood.

Building on a pre-existing partnership, created for the Hampshire Hub, will help ensure a collaborative approach to the project, with benefits recognised for all authorities involved.

Flexibility and scalability will be built into the project from the start, allowing for potential National expansion in the future. The project will make the methods and standards available through existing channels such as DCLG, Data.gov.uk and esd Toolkit.

*Hampshire - one County council, 11 District councils, three Unitary councils and two National Parks.

3. What is the total amount you are bidding for?

We believe this work would cost £60,000. The money will be used for the delivery of main activities as detailed below.

Hampshire recognises the benefit of the project and is willing to invest its own resources to help ensure success. Project management and technical skills will be provided by the Geodata team representing the Hampshire Hub partnership, with results delivered through the Hampshire Hub Local Information System.

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4. Set out the main activities and proposed timescale in which they will be carried out, including costings.

 Work with Hampshire authorities to identify what register needs to show – 2 weeks (no funding required)  Identify standards by which data exports from planning systems can fit/match – 3 weeks (£5000)  Produce import schema – 4 weeks (£10000)  Create ‘tool’ (Open Source)* – 8 weeks (£40000)  Publish imported data through API – 2 weeks (£2500)  Publish linked data to public facing website – 4 weeks (£2500)

* Hampshire intends to work with an SME as technical partner, potentially via G-Cloud .

5. What specific or generic issue associated with open data is the proposal going to address?

Planning data is regularly published by authorities but available only in a static form as a webpage or pdf, and in inconsistent formats, dependent on the source application system. This data is therefore difficult to consume or exploit .

As there are limited standards applied to planning data, to assist in the standardisation and formatting, the project will involve the Local e- Government Standards Body (LeGSB) and DCLG (tying in with Open Data Communities). Emphasis will be placed on delivering a solution that is reusable and scalable outside the scope of this project.

By publishing the data of all Hampshire authorities in an open/linked format we believe these barriers can be removed.

6. Briefly describe the issue that your proposal will address.

Planning is the responsibility of all local authorities. However, no joined-up approach for publishing planning data exists.

Authorities use different planning systems; this project would allow for data produced by any of the main suppliers systems to be converted into a reusable and scalable linked data product.

Some work has been done previously to try and ensure standards are found for planning data, such as the London Development Database and Terraquest’s work in Hampshire with HIOWLA. However, much of the time this work still required some reliance on the data provider (the planning authority). This project will look to remove this reliance and ensure that there is minimal impact on already pressured resources.

2 Error! Unknown document property name. By collating data from planning registers into one place the community will become better informed about existing and future planning developments as well as providing valuable economic information to companies working in the construction and development market.

7. Demonstrate that you have not been able to identify appropriate funding through existing budgets.

Planning authorities are meeting their statutory obligations, but do not have the resources available to publish a combined register, and do not have funds to obtain the resources needed.

8. Indicate how you will commit to making the data available for free under the Open Government License, to high quality, with updates on an ongoing basis and that future costs will be met.

Planning authorities already publish their planning registers to their own websites. This project will look to further make visible this data through front end applications as well as APIs. The data will be published in an open format using the OGL.

Data will be published through the Hampshire Hub (Local Information System) which will operate as open by default and using the OGL as its standard. The data will be made available via an API allowing users of the data to be more confident in producing value added services with consistent and current data.

Spatial referenced data will be published as Easting/Northings. Any wish to publish the boundary of the planning applications would require an exemption application to Ordnance Survey and potentially delay the delivery of the project. By taking the above approach it should meet the requirements of Ordnance Survey with regards the publication of spatial data as open.

9. Indicate what the demand is for your open data proposal, and what the longer term benefits of the proposal will be in particular how this proposal could stimulate economic growth and encourage innovation.

Planning is key to future economic growth in the UK. By publishing data in an open/linked format the ability for the community to identify areas where planning is occurring, or could be in the future, will help further encourage applications and development.

Economic value can be found in planning data; Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are looking to use planning as a means to help with local economic growth. The Enterprise M3 LEP is bringing the private and public sectors together to create an improved planning experience by developing and implementing a new charter and has expressed strong support for a linked open planning register.

Users of this data ranges from the public, Councillors, other authorities, DCLG, property developers and agents and statutory consultees. There is

3 Error! Unknown document property name. also potential economic value in release of the data with companies such as Glenigans (Construction Market Analysis) and Landmark (Land Searches) looking like likely users of such a register.

Initiatives such as OpenlyLocal are already actively scraping councils websites for planning information, demonstrating there is appetite for such information. OpenlyLocal have expressed support (on their blog) for councils making planning data available via API. By providing data in standard formats with regular currency we will help such projects develop (we have approached with OpenlyLocal to discuss the project further).

Innovations can also be made through linking to existing linked data projects such as Hampshire’s Land Supply and DCLGs Open Communities data. Opportunity to further develop the tool through innovative applications of the linking to Environment Agency Licensing Data, the Planning Inspectorates Appeal register, Land Registry and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Equality

10. Do you envisage that the project or its outcomes will have a disproportionate impact, whether positive or negative, on any of the following groups? a. Minority or majority ethnic communities b. Women or men, including transsexual people c. Disabled people d. Lesbians, gay men, bisexual or heterosexual people e. People with particular religious or non-religious beliefs f. People in particular age groups

No disproportionate impact - although, by having data available for a broad geographic area in a consistent format might help those where accessibility of data is a problem, for example those requiring screen readers

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