Cost-effective online city mapping tool ....

28 July 2010, 11:12am

Cost-effective online city mapping tool launched to support Government's Localism agenda

Skape, a 3D city mapping online service provided by Astrium Services subsidiary Infoterra, is today launching a 3D flythrough proposals service to ensure that the 'Localism' planning agenda proposed by the new Government is achievable.

Skape undertook a survey which has highlighted that more than 76 per cent of the public struggle to interpret and understand architects' plans. Following a survey of more than 3,000 residents in Manchester, Birmingham, London and Leicester, an overwhelming 90 per cent felt the Government's plan to give people more power over local planning decisions was the right move.

However, 63 per cent were concerned about how developers would help them to properly understand the implications of the proposals, and many believed that - due to their lack of understanding - the 'localism' planning agenda would fail.

Paul Fearn, business manager at Skape, commented: "Following the Government's announcement that it plans to introduce a Decentralisation and Localism Bill giving local communities more power in planning decisions, we conducted research into residents' understanding of the processes involved."

"We found that a staggering number struggled to grasp the process. So, using our knowledge and expertise, we've developed the new Skape 3D flythrough proposal service. This allows residents to truly see ezactly what a proposed development will look like and how it will integrate with the local area. These may be viewed online or within the local authority offices for example."

"This is a speedy and cost-effective process which will ensure that both developers and architects have the tools needed to ensure that residents can view the proposals within the local setting."

"Never before has this technology been available, and it means that now there is no excuse for not fully engaging with the local community, using everything from 3D images on screens and plans to hologramatic models. In fact, forward-thinking councils, such as Sheffield, are already starting to demand this level of detail for pre-application public consultations."

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