South Gloucestershire Case Study

How one council's willingness to move fast gave us proof that modern planning integration can work.

Councils have historically been cautious about system integrations; too many have been promised, delivered partially, and left teams with more admin than before.

BOPS has been changing that. Originally a government-funded project launched in 2019, they are now live with multiple councils and have become one of the most modern back-office systems in UK planning.

We approached BOPS and South Gloucestershire Council about building a direct connector. They agreed, tested it with us, gave clear feedback at each stage, and it is now live. The delivery of the connection took a matter of days, from first conversation to production.

What we built together

South Gloucestershire is one of the first councils to go live with Planda Portal's BOPS connector in a production environment. That means planning applications submitted through Planda Portal flow directly into their BOPS system, allowing them to process it very efficiently.

Alongside the connector, we worked with them to set up a streamlined payment process for application fees. The result is a cleaner, faster submission journey for applicants and a simpler operational flow for the council's team.

"We were pleased to work with Planda Portal and the BOPS team on this. The quality of applications coming through the platform has been noticeably higher, and the submission process is much more straightforward for our team to manage."

— Rebecca Balfour,
Planning Support & innovation Lead

What we've seen since going live

The applications reaching South Gloucestershire's officers through Planda Portal are arriving pre-validated. Planda Portal's AI checks documents and application data before submission, which means fewer invalid applications reaching the council's validation team, and less back-and-forth with agents in the early stages.

What this proves

South Gloucestershire isn't just a positive story, it's a template we can follow for other councils.

Every council that goes through this process makes the next one faster. We now have a repeatable model for connector onboarding: how to scope it, what to test, how to handle the edge cases, and how to get from first connection to production confidence.

The UK planning system is under enormous pressure. Councils are managing rising application volumes with stretched teams. The technology exists to make this better, but it only works if councils are willing to engage with it early and honestly.

Working with a council?

If you're a local authority interested in how Planda's submission flow works, or a planning agent who'd like to see which councils we're connected with, get in touch at hello@plandaportal.co.uk.