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Central Bedfordshire Council tested a digital approach to assessing submitted sites and identifying additional development opportunities. Land parcels were analysed based on access to local services and infrastructure capacity.
- Outcome Created an infrastructure opportunity score that can be applied to land parcels and submitted sites.
- Technology used PlaceMaker, a digital local plan platform used to assess development sites and manage site information.
This was a PropTech Innovation Fund round 4 pilot (2024) and describes what was tested at the time.
The planning challenge
Central Bedfordshire Council wanted to make sure it had identified enough suitable sites to support its new local plan.
In particular, the council wanted to
- reduce reliance on sites submitted through the call for sites alone
- identify potential sites not put forward by landowners
- consider infrastructure capacity earlier in plan-making
- better understand where infrastructure opportunities and constraints exist
- improve transparency in how infrastructure informs site identification and assessment
During the previous local plan process, infrastructure was a key concern for residents, ward members, and town and parish councils. The council wanted infrastructure mitigation to be considered earlier so it could inform site identification from the outset.
At the start of the new local plan, the council did not have a clear view of infrastructure capacity across the area. This made it harder to judge whether the call for sites reflected areas where infrastructure capacity existed.
What they did
The council used PlaceMaker to assess all land parcels across the authority based on access to local services and infrastructure capacity. This created an evidence base to support proactive site identification and site assessment.
As part of the pilot, the council used the platform to run a brownfield call for sites and a subsequent greenfield call for sites.
Developing an infrastructure opportunity score
The council developed an infrastructure opportunity score (IOS) that could be applied to every Land Registry parcel in Central Bedfordshire.
The score combined information on the presence of local services, including
- public transport
- education
- health
- retail and services
- employment
- community facilities
- leisure and open space
Access to infrastructure was assessed using walking or driving catchments, depending on the service or facility. Specialist officers helped develop and refine weightings and score caps through testing.
Where possible, the council used national datasets so the approach could be updated easily and extended beyond the authority boundary to reflect services used by residents.
Including capacity information
The council included capacity data where reliable datasets were available.
- Education National school capacity data, with thresholds agreed with education colleagues.
- Health The model assessed GP capacity using patients per square metre of building floorspace, with thresholds informed by the integrated care board. The team later removed this from some model runs due to difficulties obtaining data for practices used by Central Bedfordshire residents but located within other integrated care board areas.
Aligning proactive search with site assessment
The council applied the infrastructure opportunity score across the authority, producing maps showing areas with higher or lower infrastructure opportunity and constraint. Separate maps also showed areas of education and health capacity.
The score was embedded into the digital site assessment process. Officers can view it alongside other suitability information and filter land parcels and sites by their score, location, site size and high-level constraints. This supports targeted analysis and helps identify gaps in site submissions.
Results and impact
At a glance
- infrastructure opportunity mapped across the whole authority
- consistent scoring applied to land parcels and site submissions
- infrastructure capacity considered earlier in site assessment
- improved transparency in how local services inform site identification and assessment
Understanding access to local services
The pilot produced an authority-wide view of access to local services and infrastructure across Central Bedfordshire.
Officers can view the mapping using either walking or driving assumptions, reflecting the authority’s mix of rural and urban areas. This supports strategic understanding of where infrastructure opportunities and constraints exist.
Applying a consistent assessment to land parcels and sites
Officers could assess every land parcel and site submission using the same infrastructure opportunity score.
Officers can review a breakdown of the score to understand which services contribute most and where capacity constraints may exist. Bringing infrastructure and capacity analysis into one digital process reduced reliance on separate analysis to understand development opportunities.
Identifying potential sites earlier
The council originally planned to contact landowners before the call for sites opened. Due to procurement delays and challenges sourcing some datasets, the council decided to delay proactive engagement until after the call had closed. Test queries returned sites allocated in the previous local plan, helping officers validate the approach.
The council has since completed its proactive site search and identified additional sites for further investigation. In many cases, these had already been submitted, allocated or were progressing through the planning process. This helped confirm the approach was working.
The council also identified early time savings from digital site submission, reducing the need for manual mapping, data handling and administration.
What they learned
Central Bedfordshire found that
- consistent national datasets improve confidence and scalability
- weighting infrastructure requires testing and planning judgement
- health capacity data is difficult to source consistently across boundaries
- proactive site searches can be more effective after the call for sites
- digital tools improve transparency when infrastructure is considered earlier
The pilot also supported earlier engagement with infrastructure and service teams, helping officers understand available data and capacity constraints at an earlier stage.
Future plans
The council is using PlaceMaker to assess brownfield and greenfield call for sites submissions as part of preparing its new local plan.
While the infrastructure opportunity score does not determine whether a site passes or fails assessment, it helps officers understand site context and inform their planning judgement.
The infrastructure opportunity score will also support consideration of the site allocations strategy at a strategic level and allow comparison between sites.
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