We have been live for a few weeks. In that time, we have shipped six new features and over 160 product improvements, all shaped by feedback from agents, planning consultants and applicants using the platform every day. This post takes a closer look at what has changed and what we are working on next.

Archive applications

As submission volumes grew, users told us their dashboards were becoming hard to navigate. Applications that had been decided, withdrawn or paused were sitting alongside active work with no way to separate them. You can now archive any application you no longer need to be active. Archived applications are not deleted, they remain accessible, but they no longer clutter your working view.

Download a draft application form

Agents frequently need to share the details of an application with a client before it is formally submitted. You can now download a draft application form directly at any point in the process and share it with clients for review or sign-off before submission.

Edit and remove documents

Our original design tied document editing to validation issues, and you could only update a document if the platform had flagged a problem with it. Users quickly told us this was too restrictive. Architects revise drawings. Clients send updated documents. Mistakes happen at upload. You can now edit or remove any document within an application from the feedback page at any time, regardless of whether a validation issue has been raised.

Upload your own site and location plans

Planda Portal includes a built-in tool for generating site and location plans. Many users already have plans that meet the required standard, so we have now made it straightforward to skip plan generation entirely and upload your own, with validation checks applied to custom uploads in the same way they are applied to generated ones.

File upload size

Architects working on larger projects produce drawing sets that exceed standard file size limits. At the same time, council case management systems often have constraints on what they can receive. We have adjusted our file size limits to sit in a workable range for both, large enough to accommodate full drawing sets, within bounds that councils can reliably process.

Improved application type guidance

Selecting the wrong application type is one of the most common sources of friction we observed in the first weeks. Full planning permission, householder, prior approval, the distinctions are not always obvious, particularly for applicants who are newer to the process. We have introduced clearer guidance at the point of selection to help users choose the most appropriate application type before they begin.

What we are working on next

Clearer validation status updates

After submission, we are building clearer post-submission tracking, covering when an application has been received, when it has been validated, and where it sits in the council review process so that information is available in the portal whenever you need it.

Copy applications

For agents working on similar projects, extensions across a portfolio, repeat application types for the same client, starting from scratch each time, is unnecessary. We will be adding the ability to duplicate an existing application and carry over relevant information as a starting point.

Simpler payment requests

We are introducing the ability to send a payment link directly to an applicant, so the fee can be settled by the right person without extra back and forth.

Improved address search

Finding the right property quickly should be straightforward. We are improving address search accuracy to make it faster and easier to locate the right address from the start.

Document validation

Document validation is getting stronger. We are expanding the range of document types we can assess, improving accuracy on existing checks, and giving users more control with the option to manually confirm documents where needed.

Improved map experience

Drawing site boundaries accurately is one of the more technically demanding parts of the submission process, particularly for users who are not familiar with mapping tools. We are improving the map interface and exploring the use of existing property boundary data to reduce the amount of manual drawing required.

More document formats

We are expanding supported file formats to include Word and Excel, so supporting documents like design and access statements and planning statements can be uploaded directly alongside PDFs.

Help us shape Planda Portal - Join our group!

We will keep updating this post as features go live! If you have feedback on anything above, or something you would like to see that is not on this list, we are forming a working group for early adopters: agents, planning consultants and council officers who want to be directly involved in what gets prioritised and built next. Members will be able to request features, test them ahead of wider release and give feedback directly to the product team. If you’d like to be a part, please get in touch here.