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PlanX Digital Planning Walkthrough

Step-by-step guide to exploring the PlanX digital planning platform used by UK councils

Try PlanX Digital Planning

15 to 20 minutes to experience PlanX

Log in as a service designer, browse planning flows, edit a flow in the drag-and-drop editor, and explore the data layer.
No technical knowledge required

This walkthrough guides you through PlanX as a service designer would use it. You'll log in, browse planning flows, make an edit, and preview the applicant experience. Perfect for planning managers, digital transformation leads, and anyone evaluating PlanX.

PlanX is the open-source digital planning platform developed by Open Systems Lab as part of the Open Digital Planning programme. It's used by 18+ UK councils including Lambeth, Southwark, Camden, and Buckinghamshire to create digital planning application flows that guide citizens through the submission process.

What you'll do

In this 15 to 20 minute walkthrough, you'll:

  1. Log in to PlanX — Find your credentials and access the PlanX editor (2 minutes)
  2. Browse planning flows — See the NDX Demo Council team and explore householder and LDC flows (3 minutes)
  3. Edit a flow — Open a flow, explore the drag-and-drop node editor, and make a change (5 minutes)
  4. Preview the applicant experience — Use the preview to see what citizens see when they submit a planning application (3 minutes)
  5. Explore the data layer — Open the Hasura console, browse tables, and see the GraphQL API (2 minutes)

Before you start

Important You must have already requested the PlanX Digital Planning scenario via NDX:Try.

Deploy the PlanX scenario if you haven't already. Deployment takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Sample data check

Ready Sample data is pre-loaded and ready to use.

What you'll learn

For service managers

  • How PlanX structures planning flows with a visual editor
  • How citizens experience the planning application journey
  • The flow editor's drag-and-drop interface for non-technical users
  • How flows map to planning policy and legislation

For technical staff

  • ECS Fargate deployment with Aurora PostgreSQL
  • React/Vite editor with Node.js API and Hasura GraphQL
  • ShareDB real-time collaboration layer
  • CloudFront HTTPS with S3 static asset hosting

What's included

Your deployment comes pre-loaded with:

  • NDX Demo Council team with sample planning flows ready to explore
  • Householder planning application flow — the most common planning application type
  • Lawful Development Certificate flow — for proposed or existing development
  • Drag-and-drop flow editor — create and modify flows without writing code
  • Hasura GraphQL console — explore the data model and run queries

Learn more about PlanX on the Open Digital Planning website

Start walkthrough

Takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes

Need help?

If you're stuck, check the troubleshooting section or contact us.