We worked with the Welsh Government’s Planning Division and local planning authorities to demonstrate how effective use of digital can increase service efficiency. We set out to provide an example by identifying improvements in the planning pre-application service. This service benefits both applicants and planning officers by improving the quality of subsequent planning applications. Early feedback helps ensure applications comply with planning policies before formal submission. However, our research showed that improvements in the process could assist in reducing the 60% of applications which are rejected due to lack of supporting information.
What we have done
Working in partnership with the Welsh Government, Cardiff Council, Cyngor Gwynedd and the Vale of Glamorgan Council we've been looking at ways to improve the pre-application advice service experience for householders whilst also ensuring a digital streamlined process produces the right quality of planning outcomes.
Through our research, we found that many householders are not aware that pre-application advice is available and when they are, information can be difficult to find and understand. The service does not consistently provide clear guidance for non-experts, is not always fully accessible, and can constitute a confusing user journey. When help is needed, contacting planning staff can be challenging, forcing many to rely on external experts.
Staff face a high administrative burden with many manual, repetitive tasks, while opportunities to automate simple processes and reduce workload remain largely unexplored.
Using these insights, we developed and tested a prototype digital service for pre-application advice and delivered practical tools to support implementation, including detailed user personas, service blueprints, bilingual, tested prototypes and comprehensive content templates. These resources will help planning authorities across Wales create more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly pre-application planning services that better meet the needs of citizens while reducing administrative burden on planning teams.
What next?
We will be working with local government partners to further this work.
We are carrying out further service mapping work for the other phases in the planning process to understand key pain points and bottlenecks that could be addressed.
We’re also recruiting a data analyst and business analyst to explore how data can unlock further potential in the planning system in Wales.
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Let’s hear about the work from Welsh Government’s Chief Planner, Neil Hemington
“CDPS’ discovery report on opportunities to improve the delivery of planning services via digital has identified a number of key areas in which work can deliver on improving sustainability and accessibility of planning services in the short term.
Working with CDPS has enabled us to take a fresh approach to the way in which we view the planning services which are delivered to the public – by us and our stakeholders. The expertise of professionals with deep understanding of how digital users want to access services has offered a new perspective on user journeys, accessibility of information and even the language we use to describe the operation of the planning system in a way which people can understand.
CDPS has worked at pace in partnership with Welsh Government and Local Government colleagues, using agile and collaborative project management techniques and tools to develop examples of service improvement proposals such as a standardised pre-application service model.
This work has demonstrated tangible results in short timescales. Progress on these projects continues and is due to conclude by March 2026. Outcomes from our partnership working will serve to enable service users to more easily access the information they need and will equip planners with enhanced digital skills to better shape our communities.”