Test results for Planning permission - apply for it

Here is the table of test results for this task. The score on each row is out of a possible total of 20, and the importance column is a rating of 1-5 according to how important testers considered being able to complete this task was.

Filter within results: or click headings to sort.

CouncilNavigationA-ZGoogleSite searchScoreTestsImportance
Birmingham City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy205
Birmingham City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy53
Bournemouth Borough CouncilDifficultVery easyVery easy143
Bracknell Forest CouncilDifficultEasyDifficult83
Bracknell Forest CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy101
Brent CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy203
Buckinghamshire County CouncilDifficultEasyEasy103
Carlisle City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy203
Cheshire East CouncilVery easyEasyVery easy85
Cheshire East CouncilVery easyVery easyDifficult25
Cheshire East CouncilEasyEasyEasy123
Cheshire East CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy203
Cheshire East CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy203
City of Edinburgh CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy205
Copeland Borough CouncilVery easyDifficultDifficult33
Coventry City CouncilDifficultEasyDifficult83
Coventry City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy153
Devon County Council
Great Yarmouth Borough CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy203
Great Yarmouth Borough CouncilEasyEasyEasy123
Great Yarmouth Borough CouncilEasyEasyEasy123
Great Yarmouth Borough CouncilEasyEasyEasy123
Leicestershire County CouncilEasyEasyEasy60
Liverpool City CouncilVery easyVery easyEasy183
London Borough of LewishamVery easyVery easyVery easy200
Manchester City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy153
Mansfield District CouncilDifficultGave upDifficult-43
Newcastle City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy201
Plymouth City CouncilVery easyVery easyEasy113
Salford City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy163
Salford City CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy163
Sefton CouncilDifficultDifficultVery easy83
Tendring District CouncilVery easyEasyVery easy183
Wandsworth CouncilVery easyVery easyVery easy101
Wychavon District CouncilVery easyEasyEasy73

Specific comments made about this task

Bournemouth Borough Council - 2014-03-21
Quite a lot of similar results on Google plus a load of ads, but the top result (how to apply...) was the right one. Content is pretty good, explaining very briefly what you need to know first then a link to the Planning Portal. A pleasant change from the normal verbose planning content pages. Internal search spot on. A to Z a big disappointment after search. Each letter split in to multiple pages, which is very annoying especially as the A to Z list appears to be very comprehensive. "Apply for planning permission" and "Planning application" missing. Home page not really top task focussed, but "Planning" links does lead to very good landing page. Overall good experience.

Bracknell Forest Council - 2014-03-18
The page is very long and wordy

Carlisle City Council - 2014-07-10
Planning application was on the home page!

Cheshire East Council - 2014-02-12
Apply for planning permission, explains to apply via portal, but then states before you submit check'do I need planning permission' which takes to another page with the portal. There is a lot of reading material before you even start on the portal.

Cheshire East Council - 2014-02-13
It was confusing. I was having to navigate around several pages and I was still not sure if I need planning permission or should I just go and apply with worrying about whether I need it or not

Cheshire East Council - 2014-02-13
to many options when the page opened

Cheshire East Council - 2014-02-13
There is a lot of information to read and it automatically put me off. I think it needs to be more friendly with regards to its readability. I probably would have found myself phoning to get more concise information.

Copeland Borough Council - 2014-02-12
Getting to the page was easy enough, however the link to the online planning portal was hidden at the bottom of the page containing the (long) list of downloadable forms to complete, and the downloadable forms were .pdf files meaning they would need to be to be printed out and filled in by hand and posted rather than being word documents which could be completed electronically and submitted by email.

Coventry City Council - 2016-12-23
The "Do I need planning permission?" information page which is reached from the home page, and the "Making a planning application" page reached from the A-Z and search are not the same and do not direct to each other.

Devon County Council - 2014-02-04
Totally amazed at how difficult this task was and how frustrated I got trying to complete it.

Sefton Council - 2014-02-10
I share the pain on this one, it's something I've struggled with our our site too. The link under apply for planning permission on the top menu is broken. The A-Z listing takes you to how to view planning application but not how to make one. Similarly the search results from Google take you to viewing planning application not how to make one - unless you search for making a planning application. I suspect you've recently changed the page, as the actual page looked very good and clear, and it was the top result in the internal search. Thanks for the experience - I'll review our own site now with fresh eyes.

Wychavon District Council - 2017-07-20
Too many clicks before you're eventually taken to the national planning portal. Advice and guidance sections beforehand poorly structured. SEO for Google search not good as it brings up applications searching before making applications.