Having deployed a number of electronic planning systems, ranging in technical complexity, I can only advise that if you stick to traditional paper based practices and have an electronic "bolt on", you are going to be doing a LOT of printing (est. about a mile a year of A0 for 1600 apps in a unitary). If you implement full end-to-end electronic planning, provide a proper electronic working environment (i.e. at least two 4:3 ratio 19" TFT monitors per officer), and train the staff to use the facilities, then you should save a lot of printing, plus all the time chasing the missing paper, and trying to work out if the paper and electronic versions of the file tie up. The working environment studies tend to be specific based on how the teams are organised and work split down, so I one size fits all approach doesn't quite work, but there are many common points between different authorities.
