Welcome to Step 3 of the Find and Assess phase: Assessing Opportunities.
If you haven't found an opportunity yet, head back to Guide: Finding Opportunities.
If you have found a promising site, it's time to sense-check it. At this stage, the goal isn't to complete your full due diligence. It's to build a quick, personalised view of a site so you can spot red flags early and decide whether it's worth progressing.
In this guide, we'll cover:
Assess visually using Explorer Layers
Assess in depth using the Assessor
1. Assess visually using Explorer Layers
Use the Explorer to get a fast visual read of a site by overlaying data directly onto the map. A layer is a dataset you can switch on and off. When activated, it appears as a colour-coded overlay that helps you understand what might affect, constrain, or enhance a site.
How to use it:
Open The Explorer on the left of your screen
Use the search bar to find a specific data layer, or browse through the available bundles
Click the toggle next to a layer to turn it on
Zoom in if nothing appears; some layers only load at closer map levels
Click into the layer name to apply filters and refine what you see
You can turn on as many layers as you like at the same time. As you toggle layers on and off, the map updates instantly, letting you build a personalised high-level view of the site.
💡 LandTech Tip: If you're layering multiple datasets, switch them on one at a time. It's much easier to understand how each dataset affects your view of the site when you add them gradually.
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2. Assess in depth using the Assessor
Use the Assessor to review all the data we hold on a site in one structured place. It's designed to help you move from a visual sense-check to a more informed, decision-ready overview.
Click on any parcel of land on the map to open the Assessor on the right-hand side.
Insights (your instant snapshot)
When you first open the Assessor, you'll land on Insights. This is your at-a-glance summary: a fast read of the key datasets that may affect the site, helping you spot opportunities or red flags in seconds. Insights is fully customisable, so you can prioritise the data that matters most to you.
How to use it:
Click on a site to open The Assessor
Review Insights for an instant overview
Click the pen icon to customise your view
Use the toggles to enable or disable individual Insights
Drag and drop to reorder them
Click the pen again to save your changes
Your preferences apply to every site you open, giving you a consistent view you can update at any time.
💡 LandTech Tip: Tailor Insights to your workflow. If there are datasets you check on every site, move them to the top so they're always front and centre.
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The Assessor tabs (structured site review)
Beyond Insights, the Assessor organises all site data into clearly labelled tabs so you can dig into the detail on any aspect of the site.
How to use it:
Select a tab, such as Planning History or Policies
Review all available data listed within that tab
Click into individual entries for more detail
Click the Expand icon for a wider view
The data shown here is the same data available as a layer in the Explorer. Even if a layer isn't toggled on visually, you can still review it here in a structured format.
💡LandTech Tip: Use Insights to decide whether a site passes your initial sense-check, then use the tabs to validate your assumptions before progressing further. Each Insight card links directly to the relevant tab so you can go deep, fast.
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What's next?
Now that you know how to sense-check a site and spot red flags early, it's time to stress-test the strongest ones.
Next step: Move on to Guide: Shortlisting Opportunities to learn how to enrich your shortlist with deeper intelligence and prepare sites for internal decision-making.