For 20 years, submitting a planning application has meant filling in forms, uploading documents, clicking submit, and then… waiting. Waiting to find out if your application is valid. Waiting to understand what's happening. Waiting for a decision that may come in 8 weeks or 6 months, with little visibility into why.

This isn't how modern digital services work. When you book a train ticket, you see real-time availability. When you track a delivery, you know exactly where your parcel is. But planning applications? You submit and hope for the best.

Planda Portal changes this fundamentally. We're not just another submission platform; we're building technology that makes the planning process transparent, predictable, and genuinely helpful for everyone involved. Here's how.

The Problem: Submission Without Visibility

Planning Portal revolutionised planning applications when it launched, moving the system from paper to digital. But digital submission isn't the same as digital service. Once you click submit, you enter a black box:

• You don't know if your application will pass validation until the council reviews it

• You can't see where your application is in the queue

• You don't know what's causing delays

• You find out about validation issues days or weeks later

• You have no insight into what happens between 'submitted' and 'decided'

This lack of transparency doesn't just frustrate applicants. It creates inefficiency for councils too. Planning officers spend hours chasing missing documents, requesting corrections, and answering the same status update queries repeatedly.

The fundamental issue is that existing platforms were built to digitise submission, not to improve the process itself.

Innovation 1: AI Pre-Validation That Actually Helps

Imagine knowing your application has validation issues before you submit it, not weeks afterwards.

How It Works

As you prepare your application, Planda Portal analyses your documents, drawings, and forms against the specific requirements for your local authority and application type. Before you submit, you get clear feedback:

• Missing documents flagged with exactly what's needed

• Drawing requirements checked against local authority standards

• Form completeness verified

• Common errors identified before they delay your application
  
  Learn more about our AI Pre-Validation here

Why This Matters

In Q3 2025, councils in England validated 35,921 full planning applications and 105,048 other application types. Each invalid submission means wasted time, for the applicant resubmitting, for the planning officer reviewing and requesting amendments, and for the system processing the back-and-forth.

We eliminate most of this back and forth. Applications arrive at councils ready for actual assessment, not administrative correction. Planning officers can focus on planning judgment, not document checking.

This isn't just efficiency, it's transparency. You know what's required, you know your application meets those requirements, and you can submit with confidence.

Innovation 2: Application Tracking That Shows Real Progress

Once you submit through Planda Portal, you don't disappear into a queue. You can track your application's actual progress through the planning system:

• Validation status: not just 'submitted', but whether it's passed validation checks

• Consultation stages: when statutory consultees are contacted, when responses are due

• Assessment progress: when your application moves to case officer review

• Decision timelines: realistic expectations based on application type and local authority workflow

This visibility transforms the applicant experience. Instead of calling the council every week for updates, you have real-time insight into where your application stands. Instead of guessing why there's a delay, you can see if it's awaiting a statutory response or in assessment queue.

For councils, this reduces inbound queries dramatically. Planning officers aren't fielding 'where's my application' calls, they're focused on actual planning work.

Learn more about tracking your application here

What Transparency Reveals: The Data That Matters

Here's something most people don't realise: Planning Portal tracks submissions, but not what happens afterwards. They know how many applications are submitted, but not how many are validated, approved, or refused.

Planda Portal captures the full journey. Our Q3 2025 data across England and Wales shows:

England:

35,921 full planning applications validated

29,287 approved

12,988 refused

Wales:

1,705 validated

336 approved

110 refused

Why This Data Matters to You

When you're preparing an application, wouldn't it help to know that:

• Your local authority approved 82% of similar applications last quarter

• The median decision time for your application type is 34 days

• Common refusal reasons for applications like yours

• Validation pass rates for different application categories

This is the kind of insight that helps you prepare stronger applications, set realistic expectations with clients, and understand the planning landscape you're working within.

Planda Portal doesn't just track your individual application; we provide context that makes the entire system more transparent and understandable.

Built for the Planning System Government Wants to See

Government policy is shifting decisively. The recent MHCLG and DSIT tender for AI-augmented planning decisions explicitly calls for:

• Open competition in planning technology

• Data-driven decision-making

• Breaking legacy monopolies that have constrained innovation

• Technology that delivers measurable public benefit

Planda Portal aligns perfectly with this direction. We're not defending market position, we're building the transparent, efficient, innovative platform the planning system needs.

When government talks about digital planning transformation, this is what it should look like: AI that helps before you submit, tracking that shows real progress, data that informs better decisions, and transparency throughout.

The Difference Innovation Makes

For Applicants and Agents:

• Know your application is valid before submitting

• Track real progress, not just 'submitted' status

• Understand timelines and expectations

• Access data that informs better application preparation

• Spend less time chasing updates, more time on actual planning work

For Local Authorities:

• Receive applications that are actually ready for assessment

• Reduce validation officer workload through AI automation

• Handle fewer 'where's my application' queries

• Access decision-level data for performance monitoring

• Focus planning officer time on judgement, not administration

For the Planning System:

• Competition that drives genuine innovation

• Transparency that builds public trust

• Data that enables evidence-based policy

• Technology that scales efficiently with demand

• A platform built for 2026, not 2005

What's Coming

We're not stopping at AI validation and application tracking. Throughout the year, we're introducing features that make the planning process even more transparent. Our focus remains constant: transparency, efficiency, and genuine innovation that serve everyone in the planning system.

More Than Just Another Planning Portal

For 20 years, submitting through the planning portal has meant submission and waiting. Planda Portal changes what those words mean. We're building a platform where you know what's required before you submit, where you can see what's happening after you submit, and where data makes the entire system more transparent and understandable.

This is what planning technology should look like in 2026 and onwards. Not just digital forms, but genuine innovation that makes the process better for applicants, more efficient for councils, and more transparent for everyone.

That's not just another planning portal. That's Planda Portal.

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