The Cheshire East Council Planning Service is implementing a new IT system which brings changes both to the back office and the website. The new website portal went live last week. It is a completely different ‘cloud’ based system and replaces old, unsupported technology with one design to increase automation, self-serve and reduce officer time and resource through manual interventions. (The last web portal was a bespoke interface). As with any new system it will take time for us all to get used to how it operates so there does need to be a degree of patience with this, but I provide some clarification below:
Differences between migrated applications and new applications
- All applications registered or determined prior to 17 October will have been ‘migrated’ (copied across) onto the new system but currently do not have a ‘date document added’. I understand that a fix to this should be provided in the next week or so. If any new documents are added to a live application (for example revised plans) they will have a date.
- New applications which are registered onto the new system after the above date will include a date the document was added and include a thumbnail of the document. Representations are held in a separate area from the planning submission documents, so it will be easier for people to view documents relating to the application.
We are aware that sorting and filtering documents against the application is currently unavailable and for a small number of live applications this will mean there are a lot of documents / comments to go through. We have raised this matter with the suppliers.
Opening existing submitted comments
- It is understood that some documents/comments on applications may not be able to be open if you do not have Microsoft Outlook, this is because they were previously submitted via Outlook. In attempting to download the file some people are being asked to open/download an Outlook account. This should not be the case, and we are discussing with the supplier if a solution can be found for this.
Registration as a user
- The need to register to make comments on an application is an increasingly normal part of a modern system and by no means a barrier (many authorities have this in place). It helps to verify where comments are coming from and assists automation.
- Users register once which then allows other options such as enforcement complaints, pre-application requests and history searches.
Searching Functions
These are much enhanced from the previous system including searching for specific application types and the ability to do a map history search.
Finally, while there have been some inevitable delays during the transition / implementation process, Officers continue to consider all documents/comments as part of their normal assessment of applications and the decision-making process itself remains unaffected.
