Walkthrough Complete - PlanX Digital Planning
You’ve completed the PlanX Digital Planning walkthrough
Great! You've deployed the demo
Now let's walk through what you just deployed and see it in action.
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You've just experienced PlanX — the same platform used by 18+ councils including Lambeth, Southwark, Camden, and Buckinghamshire to create digital planning application services. In 15 to 20 minutes, you've seen what would take weeks of procurement and vendor demos.
What you've learned
Visual flow editor
PlanX lets service designers build planning application flows using a drag-and-drop editor. No coding required. Each flow guides applicants through structured questions that map to planning data standards.
Value: Service designers can create and update flows without developer support
Citizen-centred design
Applicants answer plain English questions instead of filling in complex PDF forms. The system determines the right planning permission type, collects the right documents, and routes the application correctly.
Value: More complete applications submitted first time, fewer invalid submissions
Structured data
Every answer maps to a planning data field, producing machine-readable application data. This enables automated validation, integration with back-office systems like BOPS, and data sharing across councils.
Value: Automated processing, interoperability, and consistent data quality
Open source platform
PlanX is developed by Open Systems Lab and freely available. Multiple councils share development costs and benefit from each other's improvements. The GraphQL API ensures data is accessible and integrable.
Value: Zero licence costs, community-driven development, shared innovation
Production readiness
This demo runs the same codebase used in production by multiple UK councils. For a full deployment, you'd additionally want:
| Feature | Demo status | Production requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domain | CloudFront URL | planx.yourcouncil.gov.uk |
| GOV.UK Pay | Disabled (demo) | Application fee collection |
| GOV.UK Notify | Disabled (demo) | Email confirmations and notifications |
| OS Maps | Basic tileset | Full Ordnance Survey integration for site selection |
| Planning data | Sample flows | Council-specific flows, local policies, constraint data |
| Back-office integration | Standalone | BOPS, Uniform, Idox, or other case management system |
| Backup | Aurora automated (24hr sandbox) | Point-in-time recovery, cross-region replication |
Good news: The core platform you've just tested is production-ready. The checklist items are about integrating PlanX into your council's existing infrastructure, local planning policies, and data — not rebuilding the system.
Learn more about PlanX
- PlanX — the digital planning platform by Open Systems Lab
- Open Digital Planning — the programme behind PlanX, BOPS, and other digital planning tools
- PlanX on GitHub — source code and documentation
Questions or feedback?
We'd love to hear about your experience with this walkthrough: