TerraQuest, the operator of Planning Portal, has launched its combined portal for Planning and Building Control applications.
The service comes with a raft of new features built from the ground up to meet the needs of contractors and developers, creating a unified portal that serves as the home of planning and building control.
Crucially, the new platform offers contractors and developers direct access to all their planning and building control applications via a single sign-on, while also providing a host of usability and interface enhancements designed to save them time and money. The service will allow applicants to pull information through from existing or approved planning applications to pre-populate elements of building control applications.
Like Planning Portal, the new Building Control service is based on TerraQuest’s proprietary KeyChain software platform, which has been recognised by international experts for its quality.
To enable the platform to operate on a self-sustaining basis without public funding, a service fee will apply to each application, with an introductory rate at launch of £21 including VAT.
As a result of the investment that this modest service fee will unlock, applicants will benefit from continuous improvements to the service, driven by TerraQuest’s agile development team. This approach means there will be a pipeline of new features, developed on the basis of feedback from services users.
Geoff Keal, CEO at TerraQuest, said: “Our new Building Control platform promises to be a major step forward for contractors and developers, substantially reducing the administrative burden that surrounds development. Planning applicants have already benefited from key usability enhancements and so it made sense to extend these to the Building Control application process with a new portal based on our proven KeyChain platform.
“The move to the new platform has in part being prompted by the need for greater agility in adapting to changes in health and safety legislation, so that applicants can make compliant submissions more easily.”
About Planning Portal
Planning Portal is the national planning application service for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Planning Portal has been revolutionising the planning process for both public and private sector stakeholders for more than twenty years.
Our mission is to continue and build on this, transforming planning and building.
By working in partnership with every local authority and focusing on delivering a quality service to our customers, we continue to be the national home of planning and building regulations information and the national planning application service.
For more information about Planning Portal, powered by TerraQuest, visit www.planningportal.co.uk
