Data Tools How-To – Page 3
How to use the public datasets and maps that planning applications rely on.
Data Tools How-To articles – page 3
159 articlesHow to build a site constraints plan from open data
A constraints plan is evidence only if every polygon traces back to a publisher and a date. How to choose layers, dimension distances and keep interpretation out of the drawing.
Georeferencing a scanned policies map for design work
A scanned policies map is a picture, not a measurable drawing. Georeferencing makes it usable, and the accuracy you achieve has to be stated rather than implied.
Screening a site for EIA using public datasets
In a sensitive area the Schedule 2 thresholds fall away entirely, so the first job in any screening exercise is a dataset check rather than a floorspace calculation.
Checking registered parks, gardens and battlefields
Registration brings no separate consent regime, which is why it gets missed. It does make the asset a designated heritage asset, with consultation duties attached.
Applying the climate change allowances tables correctly
The Environment Agency publishes climate change allowances by catchment, epoch and percentile. Choosing the wrong combination is one of the most common reasons a flood risk assessment gets returned.
Using published statistics to support a needs case
A statistic with no dataset name, geography or release date carries no weight. How to select, caveat and cite published data in a planning submission.
Using rural land parcel data for an agricultural site
Parcel references, digitised boundaries and recorded hectares are good evidence of physical extent and agricultural use, and poor evidence of ownership.
Producing a location plan the council will validate
Location plans cause more invalidations than reports. The national requirement, the conventions every authority applies, and the five checks to run before uploading.
Check SSSI condition data before you commission surveys
SSSI condition data, citations and impact risk zones are published free. Reading them first tells you which surveys a site needs and when Natural England will be consulted.
Obtaining modelled flood levels from the Environment Agency
The flood map gives a zone, not a level. Here is how to request the Environment Agency's detailed modelled data, which events to ask for, and how to use it against surveyed site levels.
Checking the ancient woodland inventory for a site
The Ancient Woodland Inventory is a record, not a legal boundary. Here is how it was compiled, what the categories mean, how far to trust the edge and how to get an entry revised.
Using Environment Agency LiDAR for site levels
Free national LiDAR gives ground levels for almost anywhere in England. Here is how to download it, which model to use, where it misleads and how to cite it in a planning submission.
Finding a site on MAGIC and exporting the evidence
The Defra MAGIC map is the quickest constraints check in English planning, and the easiest to cite badly. Here is how to locate a site, pick layers, measure, export and record provenance.
Reading a detailed Environment Agency flood data set
The flood zones are indicative. Modelled levels come from a detailed data request, and the lead time is the commonest reason assessments are written on thin data.
Finding SSSI boundaries, citations and condition data
The citation tells you what a designated site is for, the condition data tells you what is wrong with it, and the impact risk zones tell you who gets consulted.
Using the brownfield land register in a site search
Every English authority publishes a brownfield land register to a set data standard. What Part 2 entry actually grants, and the checks to run before you bid.
How to produce a valid site location plan
The red line has to enclose everything needed to build, match the ownership certificate and sit on licensed mapping. Here is how to get it right first time.
Checking coal mining legacy data for a site
Being in a coal mining reporting area tells you records exist. Being in a development high risk area tells you the council will expect a risk assessment with the application.
Finding Tree Preservation Orders and checking coverage
A Tree Preservation Order is a document plus a map, and the two have to be read together. The classification decides whether your tree is covered at all.
Checking conservation area boundaries on the planning data service
The national planning data service maps conservation areas and Article 4 directions for free. It is a copy of the council record, not the legal one, and that difference matters.
Building a constraints appraisal from public datasets
A constraints appraisal is a dated record of every dataset you checked and what it showed. It finds the constraint that changes the project while changing it still costs nothing.
Checking sewer records and the water undertaker position
An asset location search tells you whether a public sewer crosses your plot. What it does not tell you is exactly where, which is why verification on the ground matters.
Ordering and reading a topographic survey for planning
A topographic survey is the base data every planning drawing and technical report sits on. Specify the datum, the detail and the extent beyond the boundary before you take quotes.
Checking aerodrome and defence safeguarding zones
A site can sit inside an aerodrome or defence safeguarding zone with nothing on a standard search. Ask the council early, because the fixes are height and position.
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