An initiative aimed at promoting digitisation and open data has increased its participating councils by about 100 in the past year, all of which will receive £50k of government funding

A government-backed programme to support digital transformation in the planning sector this month signed up another two dozen local councils.

The Open Digital Planning (ODP) initiative – which is underpinned by funding from Local Digital unit within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – was created in 2018 and characterises itself as “a community of Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in England dedicated to rethinking and modernising planning processes”.

Having decided in 2022 to significantly scale up its network of participating councils, within two years it had established a community of 43 LPAs. One year further on, and about another 100 authorities have joined – including 24 added this month.

A new blog post from MHCLG reveals that the two dozen new additions were recruited via the Digital Planning Improvement Fund.

“Each council is receiving £50,000 to transform how it delivers planning services, strengthen its digital capabilities and become part of the collaborative community that’s already making real improvements for residents, developers and stakeholders,” the blog says.

The online post adds that the ODP initiative offers participating organisations “much more than funding – it provides a supportive network where authorities support and learn from each other”.

Having joined the programme, each council undergoes an initiative assessment of the digital maturity of its planning operations. This is then followed by the development of a specific action plan intended to help the authority fulfil a commitment “to making four crucial planning datasets available on the national Planning Data Platform: conservation areas; listed buildings; Tree Preservation Orders; and Article 4 Directions”.  

“This transforms how residents, businesses and other stakeholders access vital planning information, moving from fragmented, hard-to-find data to standardised, searchable and always up-to-date information,” the blog adds. “When planning data is published in consistent formats, it enables better decision-making, reduces uncertainty and opens doors for innovation in the planning sector.”

The 24 authorities that will be going through this process in the coming weeks include councils representing: Blackpool; Braintree; Brighton and Hove; Chelmsford; Herefordshire; Dartford; Derby; Fenland; Gedling; Harlow; King’s Lynn and West Norfolk; Kingston upon Thames; Bexley; Brent; Hackney; Malvern Hills; North Devon; Nottingham; Rotherham; Swale; Westmorland and Furness; Wiltshire; Worcester; and Wychavon.

The MHCLG post says: “Open Digital Planning is becoming a powerful force for change in local government. This supportive community, backed by MHCLG’s Digital Planning programme, brings together authorities committed to modernising their planning services and making essential data publicly available.”

Applications are currently open for the next cohort of authorities to receive funding. Work supported by this backing will begin in February 2026.