Document Management News

The newly formed Northumberland County Council, geographically the largest in England, is deploying a new Limehouse document creation, publishing and consultation system in its much expanded planning department.

Formed in April this year as a result of local government reorganisation, Northumberland needed a document system to serve its strategic planning department covering the historic county council and the six integrated district councils of Blyth Valley, Wansbeck, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale, Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Gordon Halliday, head of strategic planning at Northumberland, said the council faced a "complex dilemma". "Did we migrate to one of the existing systems, and attempt to merge all historic planning data and processes into the one system? Or take the long-term decision to bring in a best-of-breed solution that would move us forward in terms of collaborative working?," said Halliday.

The council decided to go for a new system and went to Objective Corporation for its Limehouse platform. "We needed a solution that could deliver a potentially organisation-wide service, which would enable secure, collaborative workgroups across a highly dispersed environment, and not just in planning," Halliday said.

The council has deployed Limehouse uCreate and uEngage to deliver a suite of statutory documents required for both public consultation and creation, including the county’s day-to-day planning applications. A wider rollout is being planned for managing future strategic plans in areas such as transport and housing, as well its local development framework.