RE: Planning software systems

2024-12-01T08:49:18Z

Hi Hannah,

Further to your recent post, I am currently leading an exciting project we're currently undertaking. As part of our ongoing review of the use of our current software solution (throughout planning, public protection and land charges), we are looking to evaluate the open market in the new year. This may or may not lead to a decision to issue a formal tender.

To facilitate this, we are conducting a soft market testing exercise, inviting interested organisations with relevant experience to share their views and ideas about the future provision for our authority. The insights we gather will be instrumental in informing our options appraisal and decision-making process.

In addition to this, I'm also reviewing the usability of our current offering. Moreover, we are keen to learn about emerging technologies such as Power BI, mobile working.

I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage (may lead to driving efficiencies).

My email is lee.robinson@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-11-21T18:12:36Z

Hi Hannah,

We would welcome some collaborative working in supplier demos and would be happy to share some experiences of recent work we have been undertaking with a supplier.

My email is dean.brunton@nfdc.gov.uk if you wanted to get in touch.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-11-12T15:08:01Z

I am reaching out on behalf of the London Borough of Havering as we embark on a new procurement exercise for our planning, building control, and land charges systems. We are very eager to learn more about what other local authorities are currently using, understand the strengths and weaknesses of different systems, and gather insights on upcoming procurement plans.

Would any of you be interested in sharing details about your current systems, such as features, usability, and support? Specifically, we are eager to know what you like or dislike about your systems, and if there are any plans to procure new ones in the near future. Your experiences and insights are incredibly valuable to us as we navigate this process.

Additionally, if any of you are in a similar position and looking to procure new systems, would you be interested in arranging joint meetings with suppliers for system demonstrations? We believe that a collaborative approach could benefit us all in making more informed decisions. We are also happy to share our experiences and insights in return. Looking forward to your thoughts.

hannah.smith@havering.gov.uk (Business Analyst)

RE: Planning software systems

2024-11-05T08:35:10Z

Open Digital Planning has a monthly show and tell session tomorrow (wed 6th Nov) 10-11am with an 'exclusive' demo of the PlanX and BOPS products. Click the link to join - https://lnkd.in/eWjbmTjq

RE: Planning software systems

2024-10-14T11:12:51Z

We're about to upgrade from NEC's M3 Land and Property system to NEC's Assure with DMS. We have also recently purchased the Land Charges module with connecting API to HMLR to allow us to register land charges directly with HMLR rather than going through their independent Maintain system. We are about to go live with standard letters which will currently just integrate with the existing M3 system, we have exported our data from our third-party DMS into NEC's DMS but will progress to moving planning, DMS and the public portal in stages. For us, planning is a core function of what we do (we're a National Park Authority) and therefore we have to make sure that it all works well and that the planning service are on side. Setting up the standard letters has been quite a lengthy process as the mechanism for creating the templates has changed quite considerably from M3, however, the planning officers and others who use M3 will hopefully not see to much of a change initially. The 'behind the scenes' work has been handled within our IT team, with support from the planning service and Customer and Democratic Support team on processes - it has been recognised that the new system will require some changes, but it is hoped that there will be plenty of benefits, including providing a portal for the public and agents to set up accounts to process applications and submit comments. It should also give us better control over retention and publication, and automate this process as much as possible. There has been some delays to going live, technical hitches and such, but generally this has given us time to refine the project and ensure that we can go live with minimal disruption.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-10-14T08:29:12Z

I led a project to review what was available in the market and replace the planning and Buiding control systems in Salford. We were with Idox but were frustrated with the lack of innovation from them and decided to move to Arcus Global. We went live last November and are happy with our choice.

It is perhaps a little more challenging to set up because it is highly configurable but that is one of its main advantages too. Once you get it bedded in you can refine layouts and add automations to processes through 'flows'. The reporting is also very powerful. As it's built on Salesforce you have a range of reporting tools (tables, widgets/graphs etc that run in real time - or at least refresh each minute which is almost the same thing). Arcus seem to cover all of local government functions and not just planning and BC.

We also use Agile AI validator and Objective Trapeze for working with plans. We secured DLUHC funding to develop APIs to link the 3 systems so now we have them all working together.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-10-11T11:35:15Z

We have been running live with the IDOX Cloud for about 18 months now, and I would give it a "glass half full" rating of 5 out of 10.

The product is quite prescriptive in how it must be used, and several of its components are showing their age—particularly the template management, document viewer, and GIS integrations, which are in desperate need of refreshing.

When we were originally looking at options, there wasn’t much on the market apart from Arcus (which we left), and the other alternatives all seemed to offer essentially the same features.

One of the advantages of IDOX Cloud is that its rigid structure forces consistency, which our admin team loves because it prevents officers from developing their own workarounds and processes. However, this rigidity has led to our enforcement team using it purely as a document storage system while ignoring most of its other functions.

Planning officers have mixed feelings. Some of the younger staff appreciate its modern feel and ease of navigation, especially since everything is cloud-based and accessible on the move. However, everyone dislikes the templates, which are difficult to manage and often don't format correctly. The document viewer is also inadequate, forcing us to download files and open them in third-party viewers.

The reporting functionality is very basic, so we have direct access to a copy of the data for generating our own reports. The TPO and S106 modules are, in our opinion, too simplistic and borderline unusable. Additionally, the public website, while available, is difficult to navigate, leading to frequent complaints from users who struggle to find applications or submit comments. Managing the GIS is complex, especially when dealing with multiple products (we use it for planning, land charges, licensing, and building control).

Since going live, we’ve been asking for WFS feeds to and from the system, and while we are finally starting to test some solutions, progress has been painfully slow.

From an administrator's perspective, a positive is that the system has not crashed yet. However, getting issues resolved requires persistence. IDOX is notorious for ignoring issues or pushing them to their so-called “development team,” where they seem to disappear. For a company of their size, their ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously is limited, and delays are common. We are still waiting for upgrades promised over 12 months ago. When changes are made, they often don’t inform us, and we only learn about them when another user happens to notice.

If we were in the market again, I’m not sure IDOX would be our top choice, though I haven’t seen the latest offerings from their competitors.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-10-11T09:08:16Z

Hi Gary

If you want to drop me an email on mike.lally@liverpool.gov.uk I'd be happy to give you my thoughts

Cheers

Mike

RE: Planning software systems

2024-10-11T09:06:06Z

Hi All,

An old thread but note the comments re IDOX Cloud. Have opinions changed since posting the original comments? I would be interested in hearing your feedback.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-08-19T16:14:22Z

Hi Mike

Are you able to share any insights as to why you wouldn't recommend Tascomi/Idox Cloud?

We are looking to replace our existing Idox Acolaid platform and am keen to hear about the experiences (both good and bad) that are others have had.

Cheers,

Gary

--------------

Michael Lally:

Hi

In Liverpool we have Tascomi / Idox Cloud. We would not recommend it.

Mike

RE: Planning software systems

2024-06-03T13:32:27Z

I would be interested to hear about BOPS too. Particularly integration with existing systems.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-06-03T11:42:43Z

I understand DLUHC are developing a Planning software called Back Office Planning System 'BOPS', which looks like the standard govt web based software. It's currently in development with opted-in LAs through Open Digi Planning project. It may be a future alternative but not live yet. I'd be interetsed to hear if anyone has experience with it.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-06-03T11:08:18Z

In Liverpool we have Tascomi / Idox Cloud. We would not recommend it.

Mike

RE: Planning software systems

2024-06-03T09:07:25Z

We're in a fairly advanced stage of migrating to Arcus Built Environment for DM, Enforcement, Appeals, Building Control and Land Charges. It's a completely cloud based solution built on the Salesforce platform, and totally 'malleable' to suit the workflows, processes and layouts/appearance you desire for your particular LPA. It is an integrated database and DMS solution, integrating through APIs to things like the Portal connector and to GIS (we're also moving from Astun to StatMap corporately, and this isn't posing a concern for the project either).

RE: Planning software systems

2024-05-29T07:25:35Z

Hi,

I think at the time i posted this i had just completed the transition which was difficult and raised some issues with the way the implementation was completed by Idox, so i was probably at a low point when i posted.

Talking to other authorities that are going through the process now, implementation has improved as idox gain experience of the product although they are still have some problems.

There are parts of the product that work well. Officers don't complain about using it too much and it move applications through a defined process in a consistent manner. It is not very flexible and you have to make sure that your process fits the system and you can get lost in work arounds if you try to take a different path.

There are however some issues that need to be addressed. Issues around reporting, GIS intergration have still to be resolved and templates and communications are difficult to administer. My opinion from working with idox is that progress is slow getting anything resolved and if its 'complicated' it is put off until you stop asking for it (same as other suppliers really).

That said after 18 months of using the system it hasn't failed or fallen over and its probably as good/poor as anything else on the market. But for all the effort that we invested in getting the system implemented that seems like a very small 'win'.

Hope that helps

Chris

RE: Planning software systems

2024-05-28T11:57:20Z

Chris Dowell:

We have recently implemented iDOX cloud, which has been disapointing compared to the 'vision' we were sold, although the officers quite like some of the functionality. iDOX really need to do some serious development work before it would be something that we could recommend.

Can I ask why you don't recomment IDOX cloud as we are in the process of moving over to this?

RE: Planning software systems

2024-05-28T07:20:33Z

We are currently looking to replace our software from Idox Uniform to a web based system, we are in the very early stages therefore this discussion is very helpful to see what others are using and what they think about their systems.

We (Durham County Council) have started to use MyCelia and whilst I'm not an ecologist it is very helpful for everyone not just the ecologists. The way we are using it is that the planners upload the documents into the program, which is a simple drag and drop, they upload in seconds and automatically the program tells you if there are any issues with the metric, for example are they using the most up to date version and puts it all in an easy to read format that can be sent back to the developers within the invalid letters.

The Ecologists are very happy with the system and the support network that you get afterwards appears to be very good to, although we have only had it for about a month but I would expect that would be there throughout its lifefime.

Michelle

RE: Planning software systems

2024-05-24T11:08:36Z

Hi, we have had MYCLELIA for a for a couple of months now, our Ecologist is very happy with it - it is certainly making his life a lot easier. It is also proving good at validation as the software can quickly scan and identify any issues in the BNG metric straight away and suggest valdation sentance to go back on.

RE: Planning software systems

2024-05-24T10:59:13Z

Hi all. I have been reading your discussion with interest and I have a related question about software systems for BNG.

I work for Staffordshire Moorlands DC and High Peak BC and my Councils have been approached by a company called MYCELIA who provide a software package for tracking/monitoring the implementation of BNG within planning applications, for an annual fee. We are considering this software package. Have any other LPAs signed up to the MYCELIA software? If so what have your experiences been using the software? For any LPAs who have not done so, what processes have other Councils put in place to monitor the proper implementation of on-site/off-site BNG habitats by planning applicants? This could be internal systems, tracking spreadsheets, etc

Many thanks,

RE: Planning software systems

2023-09-04T07:56:32Z

Just to throw in a twist, DEF Software Ltd in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council are designing and building the next generation of planning and building control software to replace what is mainly dominated by aged legacy products. It will be a web based solution with an anticipated go live Q4 2024.