Bolsover District Council has begun to use a digital tool to engage with local people in planning consultations.
It is running its first exercise with the PlaceBuilder platform, developed by tech start-up The Future Fox, in a consultation on the growth plan for the town of Creswell.
The ‘mobile first’ tool is aimed at helping people understand how growth is funded by providing the likely cost impacts from proposed developments and providing options on how it can be funded. It is integrated with mapping features and a feedback function and can also be scaled to different levels.
The council said it is using the platform in an effort to increase public participation in the consultation, which is set to run until 13 February.
Future of communities
Bolsover’s deputy leader and councillor for Creswell, Duncan McGregor, said: “Planning for the future of our communities is at the heart of what we do at the council. The opportunity to use technology to involve our communities in those decisions is a new and exciting way to achieve this.
“New homes and jobs come hand in hand with bringing investment and new services and facilities to our communities. This tool will enable the people of Creswell to contribute their ideas to how their community could grow in the future.
“This will increase our understanding as a council of what the community needs. Planning for growth is a long process and I want to give the people who live and work in Creswell the chance to have their say early on in this process.”
The project is receiving support from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ PropTech Engagement Fund.
