Wokingham

The histories of houses in the Wokingham district can now be found online – thanks to planning and mapping staff at Wokingham Borough Council.

Previously visitors to Wokingham council’s website at www.wokingham.gov.uk could view the in three different council teams have combined databases of their information and scanned old planning documents held on paper at the council, so that now visitors to the website can view data on planning consents that extends right back to the year 1977.

Contractors Terraquest undertook the scanning and matching of the documents, and staff in the Wokingham council’s legal and planning services have performed extensive and meticulous checks on all the data. Finally, the council’s Geographic Information System (GIS) team have incorporated the information into interactive maps on the website.

“Having this data available online will be really useful to homeowners in the area who need to know the planning history of their properties,” said GIS team leader Tracey Parker. “It will also improve efficiency in the council’s planning service, as they will no longer need to use the card-based historical records they have been keeping in the past. All the historical planning consents for every property can be searched electronically.

“Also any residents who prefer to search the records themselves will be able to do so online, which saves them a visit or phone call to the council’s offices.”

Executive member for local and regional planning Wokingham Cllr Gary Cowan said: “Planning applications are a complicated procedure and we are always looking for ways to streamline and speed up the process. The history of all consents given at a property is a key piece of information in many applications and having this data available instantly, in a searchable format, will be a massive step forward in terms of efficiency and customer service. I am delighted to see it made available. I am also extremely impressed with all the hard work put in by the legal and planning teams who have had the mammoth task of checking all the data before it goes live.”

To search the historical planning consents at a property within the Wokingham borough, visit www.wokingham.gov.uk/planningapplications and follow the onscreen instructions to see the ‘planning applications’ theme maps.

Wokingham Borough Council