PARSOL wins RTPI Award for "Planning Process e-Planning"

The Planning and Regulatory Services Online (PARSOL) National Project has produced a range of guidelines, standards, systems, software and toolkits to help local authorities build online planning and regulatory systems. In February 2006 the initiative has won the Planning Process e-Planning Award of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

PARSOL was launched in April 2003 to help local authorities put planning, environmental health, trading standards and building control services online.

The development work was shared by a consortium of councils directed by Wandsworth. It was supported by ODPM and a range of national bodies.

The project's e-Planning service delivery standards were launched in June 2004. They provide a comprehensive benchmark against which all planning authorities can measure their services.

These have been followed by the release of e-Environmental Health and e-Building Control standards. They all give practical guidance on how local authorities should tailor their regulatory services to offer comprehensive access and point the way to the delivery of efficient and effective services.

Other PARSOL projects highlighted in the awards, include the expert system "Do I need planning permission or building control consent" and the fast track agent accreditation scheme.

One of the basic principles behind PARSOL was to learn from and share other local authorities' experiences. The PARSOL toolkits and guidance notes provide details of problems commonly encountered by authorities implementing electronic services and suggest how their impact on delivery can be minimised.

The RTPI judges said:

"The great value of PARSOL products is that they have been developed for councils by practising local authority officers who understand the complexities of the regulatory systems. The development of the products has enabled common understanding of definitions and techniques and generated consistency and unanimity about service delivery. Ground-breaking work by leading councils has saved the other 400 local authorities from having to reinvent the wheel. It has released staff time from mundane back-room administrative tasks to focus more on value added regulatory functions."

Wandsworth's Head of Environmental Services and PARSOL Chairman Andy Waren said:

"Wandsworth is always looking at ways of improving its services to local businesses and residents. The project was an ideal opportunity to give advice, guidance and experience to other councils in a cost effective way. We are proud to have been the lead authority for this national initiative."