Laying the foundations for better local public services
Digital Planning Improvement Fund 2025/2026
Welcome to the Digital Planning Improvement Fund 2025/2026. This page provides essential guidance for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) interested in applying for funding.
About the fund
The Digital Planning Improvement Fund provides LPAs with the funding and support to adopt modern planning practices within planning data, digital capabilities and development management software.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will fund LPAs to:
understand digital planning maturity in your organisation to baseline a starting point
co-create an action plan to help improve your organisation’s digital planning maturity
We’ll be accepting applications continuously and formally reviewing them in batches. You can submit your application by midday on 29 July 2025 to be considered for our first cohort, with onboarding starting in September 2025.
If you submit an application after the July deadline, we will automatically consider it for the next cohort and contact you with further details later in the year.
This approach allows us to provide high-quality support, by onboarding councils in coordinated groups.
While this is not a competitive funding process, we will ask questions to assess your readiness to receive the funding and begin the work.
Success stories
You can see links below to detailed case studies and quotes from other local planning authorities, to learn how previous recipients of the funding are successfully transforming their planning services and the specific benefits they’ve achieved.
A Q&A session was recently held. If you missed this and have any questions about the fund or application process please email us at [email protected]
Summary
Purpose: The Digital Planning Improvement Fund provides Local Planning Authorities with the funding and support to adopt modern planning practices within planning data, digital capabilities and development management software.
Type of fund: We’re inviting LPAs to apply for this funding. While this is not a competitive funding process, we will ask questions to assess your readiness to receive the funding and begin the work.
Eligibility: Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in England.
Dates: You are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible. While applications are accepted continuously they will be formally reviewed in batches. The first will be accepted until midday on 29 July 2025, with onboarding beginning in September 2025.
The Digital Planning Improvement Fund will provide Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) with the funding and support to adopt modern planning practices within planning data, digital capabilities and development management software.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will fund LPAs to:
understand digital planning maturity in your organisation to baseline a starting point
co-create an action plan to help improve your organisation’s digital planning maturity and prepare you for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act legislation changes
Payments will be made to successful applicants within the 2025/2026 financial year.
Continuous funding
Once your organisation has completed the activities identified in your action plan, you may be able to access further funding through the Digital Planning Continuous Funding Model.
For example, you could work with your current supplier to improve your planning software access new software such as PlanX and BOPS (Back Office Planning System)
There are a number of activities that we will fund:
Carry out a digital planning maturity assessment
This will help your organisation understand and document its baseline for the digital planning improvement journey.
MHCLG will:
provide the framework for the assessment
provide support to complete the assessment
propose an action plan with you following completion, which may include planning data improvements, staff training, recruitment, or software re-configuration
Local Planning Authorities will:
coordinate and plan the completion of the assessment
complete the assessment
lead the delivery of your action plan on completion of the assessment
Co-create a digital planning action plan
The action plan will include next steps and give your organisation access to resources and training.
It will also help improve your organisation’s digital planning maturity and prepare you for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act legislation changes. The changes may affect how your organisation approaches data, software and planning policy
Undertake activities identified in your action plan
The action plan will support your organisation in modernising its planning services to make sure it is in the best position to continue its transformation journey.
This could include (but isn’t limited to):
improving your organisation’s planning data
configuring your planning software
training staff
Seek training and improvement opportunities
The results of the digital planning maturity assessment should inform training, and software and data improvements for your organisation.
However, you may have already identified specific requirements to support your digital planning transformation journey, for example, upskilling staff on existing development management software.
MHCLG will:
signpost to training and skills development opportunities that meet your needs
provide funding for permanent local planning authority staff to undertake training in line with your action plan
provide funding to backfill permanent LPA staff to carry out improvement works outlined in your action plan
Local Planning Authorities will:
identify training needs to inform its digital planning improvement journey
attend and participate in training opportunities and events
backfill identified roles as required in a timely manner to carry out training and improvement work
be responsible for delivering the identified improvements from your action plan
liaise and own the relationship with suppliers and providers to deliver the improvement work
Identify, improve and publish your planning data
The Planning Data platform collects planning and housing data from local planning authorities and transforms it into a consistent state across England. Anyone can view, download and analyse the data.
MHCLG will:
provide support and guidance to identify, clean and publish your datasets to the platform
provide funding for dedicated support to be used to identify, clean and publish your datasets to the platform
provide funding for permanent local planning authority data or geographical information system (GIS) staff to take part in training in line with your action plan
provide funding to backfill gaps where permanent GIS and LPA staff resources would be needed for improvement works
Local Planning Authorities will:
provide appropriate resource to carry out the improvement work, for example existing staff with GIS and data knowledge and experience
backfill or recruit identified GIS and data roles as required in a timely manner
identify data training needs to ensure your organisation has the capability to continuously improve planning data in line with new standards
attend and participate in training opportunities and events
create repeatable processes within your local planning authority to identify, clean and publish your data to the Planning Data platform
create a long-term plan for planning data maintenance
publish four geospatial datasets to the Planning Data platform, these will be for:
conservation areas,
article 4 directions,
listed buildings
and tree preservation orders
Access the Open Digital Planning community
The Open Digital Planning (ODP) community currently includes more than 100 local planning authorities and digital planning professionals across England. You will have direct access to these through a shared communications tool and community events.
MHCLG will:
provide a communication platform for local planning authorities to connect, share and work together
invite members to attend community events and build networks with other local planning authorities
Local Planning Authorities will:
engage with other funded LPAs
utilise the online resource hub
attend relevant community events
contribute to improving the community
The application form will be available from 26 June to complete online.
While this is not a competitive funding process, we will ask questions to assess your readiness to receive the funding and begin the work.
Section 1: Name your application
We’ll ask you to name your application to help you find it again if you save and return.
Section 2: About your organisation
We’ll ask for information about your organisation, including:
organisation name
project sponsor details
section 151 officer details
lead contact details
Section 3: Your skills and experience
Answers in this section will be scored to help us to assess your readiness to receive the funding and begin the work.
We’ll ask for information about your organisation’s skills and experience, including:
whether your organisation has delivered projects like this before
information about the projects delivered (if applicable)
whether you have a team ready to deliver the project, and if not, how you plan to establish a team ready to deliver the project
who’s involved in the project team and how it’s structured (if applicable)
whether you need to backfill any roles in your organisation and the estimated costs (if applicable)
who the project lead will be (if known)
Section 4: About your project
Answers in this section will be scored to help us to assess your readiness to receive the funding and begin the work.
We’ll ask for information about the project, including:
why you want to be a part of the Open Digital Planning (ODP) community
how you will make sure team members engage with other teams and departments within your organisation
how you will share the progress of your work across your organisation
if your organisation collects datasets for conservation areas, article 4 directions, listed buildings, and tree preservation orders
which datasets you have collected (if applicable)
what format your datasets are in (if applicable)
how long you think it will take your organisation to publish all 4 datasets to the Planning Data platform (if applicable)
what the current known issues and challenges you have with data quality and publication are
Section 5: Future work
We’ll ask for information about future work, including which software improvements you are interested in working on.
We’ll be accepting applications continuously and formally reviewing them in batches. You can submit your application by midday on 29 July 2025 to be considered for our first cohort, with onboarding starting in September 2025.
If you submit an application after the July deadline, we will automatically consider it for the next cohort and contact you with further details later in the year.
This approach allows us to provide high-quality support, by onboarding councils in coordinated groups
While this is not a competitive funding process, we will ask questions to assess your readiness to receive the funding and begin the work.
Beyond the technical improvements, local planning authorities highlight the value of joining a collaborative community of practice. The Open Digital Planning (ODP) community enables councils to share challenges, solutions, and innovative approaches.
In their own words.
A planning officer from Southampton City Council said: “The value of the ODP community has been extremely useful for us; to learn from each other, explore common solutions or sometimes just to know you are not the only one facing a problem. It has also been really easy, and valuable, to hear from others about the range of possible tools/solutions to particular issues and how they compare with what we have personally tested. This all makes for really engaging, creative and innovative discussion and delivery.
“We know that there are going to be increased digital requirements in the future, so the funding offers an opportunity to get ahead, and learn from the ODP community as we go. This also places us in a stronger position to move forward under new planning regulations, as well as making planning more accessible and engaging.
Council officer from Uttlesford District Council said:
“At first, I was really excited about joining the ODP community —then I had a moment of “what have I done?” But I’ve since settled into the realisation that this is going to be something really valuable—not just for the council, but for me personally. The program brings together like-minded people who understand that things need to change, and this is a practical mechanism to help make that change happen.
“Developing our Action Plan really helps focus the mind. It allows us to take a clear look at our weaker areas and prioritise some of them, knowing we have grant funding available to support meaningful progress.
“The application process was surprisingly straightforward and easy to follow, which gave me the confidence to keep going—and ultimately to press submit.”
Frequently asked questions
We are already part of the Open Digital Planning community from previous rounds and are making good progress in relation to data sets, does that mean that we are not eligible for this round of funding?
You are only eligible if your local planning authority (LPA) hasn’t received Digital Planning Improvement Funding previously. The fund is to help improve LPA digital maturity meaning you can only receive it once.
Is there a requirement / expectation of the £50k to ensure the datasets have been submitted?
Yes
Could we use the funding to procure new technology/ software?
No, the fund does not allow you to purchase hardware, software licences or subscriptions.
Will you be considering groups of applications that are about to go through local government reorganisation?
No. However, you can apply as your individual LPA’s and work together collectively.
What is the expectation for authorities to continually provide these datasets in future, specifically after some authorities merge via local government reorganisation?
The expectation is to keep the datasets up-to-date, the URL sits on the council servers, MHCLG does not hold any data
Is money recouped if not spent?
As long the work/project has been successful, then no.
Would the monthly reporting stop after March 2027, or when we run out of funding?
After 12 months, unless dataset work has not been completed, then we expect monthly reporting to continue.
If we have already completed the work on the datasets, without having received Digital Planning Improvement Funding, can we apply?
Yes, applying for the fund will give you the opportunity to do your Digital Planning Maturity Assessment (DPMA) and access to the ODP community and all the training that is available, plus the benefits of support from MHCLG and other LPAs.
Would this programme access some GIS training? We are keen to upskill an officer, but budget is tight?
Yes, GIS training is available as well as other L&D opportunities are available such as agile training.
If we have received Digital Planning Improvement Funding before, can we apply again?
No
UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) 