Introduction

East Suffolk Council set out to strengthen its evidence base for future residential design guidance. The aim was to ensure new developments met high design and sustainability standards. As part of this work, the council reviewed 21 recently completed housing sites. To support the review, they adopted PlaceChangers’ Place Analytics tool, which is designed to provide insights aligned with healthy design and planning principles. This enabled the council to efficiently integrate spatial, social, and housing performance data into their assessments and produce a comprehensive foundation for future design codes.

Challenges

The council faced the challenge of reviewing multiple residential sites in a consistent, evidence-based way. Traditionally, this required manual GIS analysis and the collation of disparate datasets on housing performance, accessibility, and local services. These processes were time-intensive, technical, and risked inconsistencies across sites. The council needed an approach that could deliver structured, comparable insights across locations while also freeing up technical officers’ time for other pressing planning tasks.

Solutions

Place Analytics streamlined the review by automating key aspects of spatial data integration and contextual assessment. The tool provided insights on deprivation, walking accessibility, and proximity to schools and healthcare services. It also supplied housing profile and energy efficiency data, enabling evidence-backed evaluations of environmental performance. Furthermore, it allowed side-by-side comparisons of on-site features with the broader 800m surrounding context. Together, these structured outputs created a clear, consistent framework for assessing how completed developments related to their wider setting.

Results

Using Place Analytics, East Suffolk Council produced a robust, data-driven evidence base that will directly inform future design policies. The tool saved significant officer time by replacing manual GIS analysis with automated data integration. Its clear outputs supported stronger, evidence-backed recommendations for improving housing design and urban quality. Findings were seamlessly integrated into the council’s broader review report, alongside other datasets, ensuring a comprehensive view of residential site performance. For the investment, the tool proved invaluable, providing both efficiency gains and enhanced decision-making capacity.

"The PlaceChangers Place Analytics tool provided a wealth of structured data instrumental in our design quality assessment. Having all this information readily available in one place saved significant officer time and allowed us to provide evidence-backed recommendations for future residential sites."

Chris King

Design and Specialist Services Manager, East Suffolk Council