Launching our second open digital planning service

West Berkshire Council was awarded funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as part of Round 1 of the Planning Software Improvement Fund, to begin a major improvement to our digital services and systems used by applicants and our planning service.

Following on from the success of the Find out if you need planning permission service we've recently launched our second Open Digital Planning service, Report a planning breach.

Using national datasets, our own which we've made available as open data, and the information entered into the form, the service allows residents to report things like building an extension or making changes without planning permission including putting up outbuildings or fence, changing the use of a property or land without planning permission, and putting up adverts without consent.

With innovative features including the ability to draw a red line around the boundaries of the building area, and to then add pictures to help our officers ascertain whether it might constitute a breach, this is a big step forward in what we offer online as a local planning authority.

We'll be releasing more open digital planning services this year, and you can use the beta report a planning breach service here.