Custom planning amendment tool for the environmental plan
Appfront builds software for municipalities that regularly amend their environmental plan. Amendment requests from initiators and policy changes come together in one place, each change is prepared per rule and location, related changes are bundled into an amending decision, and progress can be tracked right through to publication. Delivery to the national system aligns with the standards for official publications and annotations.
What is an amendment tool for the environmental plan?
Under the Environment and Planning Act, every municipality has one environmental plan, which is amended regularly: for a building project, a new policy choice, a correction or the conversion of old rules. Each amendment is prepared, often with public participation and advice, and adopted in an amending decision. That decision is published digitally, and the consolidated version of the environmental plan is then available to everyone.
Many municipalities receive amendment requests by email, from permit applications and policy departments, and track them in a spreadsheet. It is hard to see who is changing which rule, for which location, and whether that change clashes with another running at the same time. A finished amendment then waits for the next council meeting, and nobody is quite sure which changes will go into which decision.
We build custom software because every municipality is different: how amendment requests come in, how often you amend, which planning software you use, and how decision-making works. The tool handles the work before the planning software and submission: requests, assessment, preparation and bundling. You decide the legal basis for the amendment with your planning lawyer; the tool records what that requires.
From request to decision
Every change request with its status, from receipt and assessment through to adoption and publication.
Per provision and location
Which rules for which locations are being changed, and which changes overlap at the same location.
Bundled and ready
Related changes bundled into an amendment decision, ready for the planning software and submission.
How we build your planning amendment tool for the environment plan
We start with your changes: how requests come in, how often you amend, which software you use, and where things currently go wrong.
Your sources of requests, assessment, decision-making, planning software and submission.
Amendment requests in one place, with assessment and a decision to proceed.
Changes per rule and location, bundling into amendment decisions, and scheduling.
Integration with planning software and submission, history per location, and then maintenance.
What a planning amendment tool for the environment plan actually does
The components below come up in almost every municipality. Which ones you need depends on your process.
Requests
Amendment requests from initiators, policy and permit processing.
Assessment
A decision to take up an amendment, with reasoning.
Rules and locations
Which rules are changed for which locations.
Overlap
Changes running at the same location at the same time.
Amendment decision
Bundling of changes into a decision, with scheduling.
Progress
Status per change up to publication.
Who we build a planning amendment tool for the environment plan for
The tool is intended for those who prepare and manage amendments to the environment plan.
Large municipalities
Many changes at once. Overlap per location is the core.
Small municipalities
Few people, many rules. An overview per change matters most.
Consultancies
Amendments across multiple municipalities. Bundling is what matters here.
Regional cooperation
Environmental law across multiple municipalities. Separating each municipality is the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about preparing and managing amendments to the environmental plan. For submitting the decision, see our page on a STOP integration; for annotations, our page on an IMOW integration; and for the Environment and Planning Act in general, our page on Environment and Planning Act software. You can read about how we work under getting software built.
Why Appfront for your planning amendment tool for the environment plan?
Two changes at the same location that are unaware of each other produce an environment plan that doesn't add up. We build on that: every request in one place, changes per rule and location, and bundling that follows the decision-making process.
No loose lists
Every request sits in one place with its status.
Overlap spotted
Changes at the same location stand out.
Decision prepared
What goes into the next decision is ready.
Security and privacy for a planning amendment tool for the environment plan
The tool holds data about initiators and plans that are not yet public. Access is set up per role, and every change is logged.
The tool runs in a European data centre or within the municipality's own environment, with encrypted storage, daily backups and sign-in with a second factor.
Frequently asked questions about a planning amendment tool for the environment plan
Questions municipalities ask before starting.
It brings amendment requests together, records the assessment, prepares changes per rule and location, shows which changes overlap at the same location, bundles them into amendment decisions, and tracks progress through to publication.
No. The planning software is where the text of the environmental plan is drafted and annotated. This tool handles the work before and around it: requests, assessment, preparation, bundling and scheduling. The two are connected, so a change does not have to be entered twice.
Each amendment is recorded with the locations and rules it affects. If two amendments touch the same location or rule, this is flagged so they can be aligned before they go into a decision.
Yes, through a form or an integration with the portal you use. The request arrives in the tool with the details needed for assessment.
An adopted amendment decision goes to the planning software and is submitted in line with the standards for official publications and annotations. Where an integration is possible, we will look at that in the first step.
These are set out in the Environment and Planning Act and its related regulations, and cover, among other things, public participation, advice and adoption. Which rules apply to a given amendment is for you to determine with your planning lawyer; the tool schedules and tracks the steps you define.
Check this first. Some planning software has a work queue for amendments, which is enough when there are few changes. Custom software makes sense when there are many requests from different sources, overlaps between amendments, or work across several municipalities.
Full visibility of every environmental plan amendment?
Tell us how amendment requests come in, how often you amend the plan and which software you use. We will show you what the requests, preparation and bundling look like.