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Crawley Borough Council Uses Stellent Content Management to end Planning Application Misery
LONDON, UK, Jan. 17, 2006 — Stellent, Ltd., the London-based subsidiary of Stellent, Inc. (Nasdaq: STEL), a global provider of content management solutions, announced today it has been working with Crawley Borough Council’s planning department to deliver a revolutionary solution for the submission and tracking of planning applications. The new online system is designed to simplify and speed the process for both the applicant and the planning department, and demonstrates a huge leap forward for planning departments across the United Kingdom.
Crawley Borough Council processes an average of 1,300 planning applications per year. Managing this vast amount of paperwork - including plans, photos and proposals - took up valuable staff time and office space. It also meant the individuals or organisations applying for planning permission were often required to visit Crawley Borough Council’s town hall in person to check on the progress of their application, making the process time-consuming and frustrating for those involved.
To streamline the process - and as part of the government’s Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) targets - Crawley selected a Web-based approach and chose Stellent Universal Content Management technology to help create the online planning application facility built around three main parts: a public interface, accessible through Crawley Borough Council’s central Web site; the back-office processes that allow planning department staff to add documents and photographs to applications, and automate the download and check-in of scanned documents; and functionality that enables applicants and other interested parties to submit, search and track applications online. The implementation was completed within five months - on time and on budget - in September 2005.
The Stellent-powered system includes powerful search and retrieval technology to ensure documents can be accessed quickly and easily by all users. It also is a fully secure environment - an essential requirement as information is accessed by both the public and planning officials. The back-office system is used to regularly update and analyze the status of all applications, giving an accurate picture of their progress at any given time. Crawley also uses an external scanning house to automatically import hard-copy information into the system, saving essential time for council staff.
Feedback from users of the new online processing - including applicants, Crawley County Council staff and interested members of the public - has been overwhelmingly positive since it is now less time-intensive, more convenient and far simpler to access this critical information. Additionally, it has become far less frustrating for applicants due to the new online tracking facility. By removing the need to pursue applications in person at the town hall, it now has become possible for a large number of people with transport, mobility or even just time issues to easily submit applications. As part of the Government’s Planning and Regulatory Services On-Line (PARSOL) project, Crawley Borough Council’s Web site meets national standards for best practice, and Crawley’s development team has further plans to introduce an even better experience for users through increased automation of the integration functionality.
Malcolm Telfer, Internet technology developer at Crawley Borough Council, said of the new system: "The planning application process has a reputation for being time-consuming and frustrating. This new online system, however, is already changing users’ perceptions and has drastically improved the ease with which applications can be made. The savings in time and cost are significant, and, with borough councils under pressure to streamline budgets while providing higher standards of service, the implementation has been a huge success.”
David Macey, executive vice president of international sales for Stellent, commented: "With the push to meet the IEG targets, U.K. borough councils are really coming to the fore in terms of innovative technology use, and this implementation for Crawley’s planning department is a great example. The new online application processing has made a tangible difference to Crawley’s citizens and shows how simple it can be to revamp old processes for a modern audience. This kind of model can be applied to many other areas of local government work, and we are working with other councils to help them achieve the same level of success as Crawley.” 31.01.2006, Stellent GmbH
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