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Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2003
Application form
This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically (pdf version) on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning . Please complete all four questions. The deadline is 12 September 2003. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
Please provide a name and contact details of the organisation responsible for this work. If partners were involved, identify the lead organisation, and then list the other partners/bodies who had a key role.
Name | Caroline Cook |
Job title | Planning Officer |
Organisation | The Moray Council |
Address | High Street Elgin |
Telephone | 01343 563265 |
Fax | 01343563483 |
Email | caroIine.cook@moray.gov.uk |
Name of key partners (if appropriate)
Tick the category of nomination |  Development Control
|  Development Plans
|  Development on the Ground
|
Title of entry | Using Web based GIS in Development Control to improve efficiency |
Please complete the form by providing a brief summary (in no more than the space provided) of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude, with a key reason, as to why you think this work merits an Award.
Please tick the key criteria which relate to this entry:
 Professional knowledge
|  Innovation
|  Management
|  Sustainable development
|
 Partnership
|  Community interest
|  Regeneration
|  Customer satisfaction
|
You must describe in your written submission (below) how the criteria which you have ticked relates to your project.
Description of project
It is essential for Development Control Officers to have quick, easy access to a wide range of information in order for them to efficiently carry out their daily duties.
The aim of this project was to give the Officers access to that data and to enable them to easily assess planning applications against the full range of planning contraints.
Building on the success of the Moray GIS Inward Investment project (which received a commendation in the 2001 Awards), the Council has now adapted and further developed the initial project for specific use in Development Control.
Development Control Officers now have access to a wide range of information including Local Plan policies and designations, planning applications back to 1998, environmental and built heritage designations, flood maps, agricultural land and telecom masts.
The system also provides direct access to other Council information eg. Census, Development Land Audits, Unemployment bulletins etc.
Further adaptations of the system can also be achieved for specific projects, eg Senior Development Control Officers are able to quickly assess the impact of proposed Flood Alleviation Schemes and Windfarm zones of visual influence in the same way.
Timescale (over which the project has developed)
The Development Control WebMap system has been developed from previous work undertaken as part of a European funded project from 2000-2002.
The Council WebMap product has been rolled out over the Council over since 2001.
In 2003 work began on specifying the requirements for the bespoke Development Control system.
The Development Control system was introduced in July 2003.
Context (the problem which had to be addressed)
A major step forward in the process of easy access to information was the availability and distribution of ESRIs free Map Viewer to Development Control staff in 2001. This gave Officers access to the Council's GIS data. Although this was a huge leap - previous access to information was from a variety of sources, mainly on paper, this system still had limitations. It was apparent, with the introduction of Ordnance Survey's Mastermap dataset and the decision to move to a new GIS database system that the separate management of information specifically for Development Control purposes was becoming time consuming and onerous.
The use of the WebMap system was now widespread throughout the Council and the provision of a superior bespoke web development, designed specifically to meet the needs of Development Control was considered to be the best way forward.
Action taken
Discussions were held with the Development Control Manager to identify the key features that would be required by officers to undertake their primary duties.
The original WebMap system already had additional functionality over and above the free Map Viewer (eg. the address search gazetteer, link to databases) but was further developed to assist in the easy assessment of planning applications.
GIS consultants were briefed to develop a tool that would enable DC officers to select a planning application and generate a report detailing all constraints that affected that application. For applications not yet registered (and therefore not plotted) there was also the requirement for a similar tool that would work just by clicking any area of the map.
The consultants developed the additional functionality and it was incorporated into a bespoke Development Control Map.
This system, implemented in July 2003, now allows Officers to view and query a much wider range of data than previously available and gives them the ability to assess planning applications against constraints "at the touch of a button".
There was a little reluctance from staff to move from a system with which they were familiar to the new system - but the benefits they could achieve from the new system were soon real ised.
Some of this information has also now been provided on a PC at the Council's Access Point for use by members of the public.
Results achieved
The Development Control WebMap system provides an invaluable resource for use by case officers.
It provides immediate and detailed access to a wide range of essential information which is itself quality controlled on a consistent basis.
It provides detailed information on all overlapping policies, designations and other information relevant to the area of a particular proposal.
It significantly reduces the amount of time that case officers spend bringing information together on a planning application. It is estimated that at least an hour is saved on very basic planning applications with up to a day or more savings on major applications. On over 1100 applications per year this is a significant time saving.
There are also significant benefits to the applicant/enquirer who can expect a quicker, more accurate response to their application/enquiry and to the wider community as a whole, as the environmental impact of applications can be more comprehensively assessed.
It is a low cost solution delivered across the Council Intranet.
Conclusion - Why does this piece of work merit an Award?
The project is innovatory in the manner of its delivery of essential information to the planning application process.
The project shows good practice in extending the usefullness of an existing pan-council resource towards a particular service.
The project has delivered immediate customer satisfaction in terms of the case officers dealing with planning applications improving their efficiency through substanUal time savings and hence a better service to the wider public.
Applications are assessed more accurately and the full environmental impact of, particularly, major applications can be expressed.
Date
12 September 2003
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