Fact Sheet: Insights Explained

Insights is your at-a-glance snapshot of a site. When you click on a parcel of land and open the Assessor, Insights is the first thing you will see: a curated set of data cards designed to help you assess a site's potential in seconds.

Rather than clicking through multiple tabs or toggling layers on the map, Insights pulls together the most important indicators for development decisions and presents them in a single, easy-to-read view. Each card links directly to the relevant Assessor tab so you can go deeper whenever you need to.

Insights is fully customisable. You choose which cards are shown and in what order, so the most relevant information for your workflow is always front and centre.

Your preferences apply to every site you open, giving you a consistent view that you can update at any time.

💡 LandTech Tip: Tailor Insights to your specific criteria. If there are data points you check on every site, move them to the top so they are always the first thing you see.

There are 20 Insights available, organised into six categories.

Details: Plot size

Shows the area and perimeter of the selected parcel. Useful for a quick size sense-check before opening the full Assessor.

Details: Properties on site

Shows key attributes of properties on the site, including the tallest building height, average building height, EPC rating, and Use Classes present. Helps you understand what is currently on a site before assessing its development potential.

Topography: Slope

Indicates the steepness of the land, from Flat through to Prohibitively Steep. Useful for flagging terrain constraints early, as steep sites can significantly affect design options and build costs.

Topography: Aspect

Shows the compass direction the slope faces, from North through to North West. South-facing aspects are generally more favourable for residential development and renewable energy. North-facing slopes may raise design or daylight considerations.

Planning History: Recent applications

A snapshot of recent planning applications submitted for the site. Useful for quickly identifying whether there is an active planning history, any recent approvals or refusals, and whether the site has previously been considered for development.

For a full breakdown of all applications, use the Planning History tab in the Assessor. For an AI-generated summary of the site's planning history, see the Fact Sheet: AI Planning History Summary.

Policies: Presumption in favour

Indicates whether the local planning authority is subject to the presumption in favour of sustainable development under the National Planning Policy Framework. This is relevant where an authority cannot demonstrate an adequate housing land supply, which can make it easier to obtain planning permission.

Policies: LPA approval rate

Shows the local planning authority's overall approval rate for planning applications. A high approval rate may indicate a more permissive planning environment; a lower rate may warrant further investigation into local policy context.

Policies: Protected land

Flags whether the site falls within or adjacent to designated protected land, such as Greenbelt, AONB, or other policy constraints. A quick indicator of whether significant planning restrictions may apply.

Policies: Grey belt

Shows the Grey Belt Favourability rating for the site (More Favourable, Average Favourability, or Less Favourable). Grey Belt refers to previously developed or low-impact land within the Green Belt where development may be more acceptable under emerging planning policy. This rating is built by LandTech.

Policies: Nearest road adoption status

Shows the adoption status of the nearest road, indicating whether it is maintained at public expense, prospectively maintained, or privately maintained. Relevant for assessing access and infrastructure costs.

Policies: Nearest traffic count

Displays recorded traffic count data for the nearest road. Useful for understanding the volume of traffic in the area, which can be relevant for access, impact assessments, and transport planning.

Policies: Nearby listed buildings

Flags the presence of listed buildings in the vicinity of the site. Development near listed buildings is subject to additional scrutiny, and proposals that could affect their setting may require heritage impact assessment.

Environmental: Flooding

Shows the flood risk classification for the site, drawing on Flood Zone data and surface water flood risk. A quick flag for whether a Flood Risk Assessment is likely to be required and whether the site's development potential may be constrained by flood risk policy.

Comps & Local: Nearest amenities

Shows the proximity and type of local amenities near the site, including transport stops, schools, retail, and healthcare. Useful for assessing connectivity and liveability, which are relevant to planning policy and end-user appeal.

Comps & Local: Connectivity score

A composite score reflecting how well-connected the site is to local transport, services, and amenities. A higher score generally indicates stronger accessibility, which is a positive factor in planning assessments and residential demand.

Comps & Local: Local market value

Shows local residential sales values for the area around the site, sourced from HM Land Registry data. Useful for a high-level read of local market conditions and for informing early-stage viability thinking.

Comps & Local: Local age & income

Displays demographic data for the area, including median age and income levels. Useful for understanding the local population profile, which can inform scheme type, tenure mix, and market positioning.

Comps & Local: Hometrack local values

Shows estimated current property values and last known sales values for properties in the local area, powered by Hometrack. Provides a more up-to-date and granular read of local market values than Land Registry data alone, as Hometrack estimates values at today's prices.

Available to users with the Hometrack add-on.

Comps & Local: Hometrack local rents

Shows estimated and last known rental values for properties in the local area, powered by Hometrack. Useful for assessing rental demand and informing build-to-rent or affordable housing viability.

Available to users with the Hometrack add-on.

Power & Utilities: Nearest substation

Shows the distance to the nearest electricity substation. A key early indicator for development viability, particularly for larger residential or commercial schemes where grid connection costs can be significant.

Not all Insights are available on every plan. Starter users have access to a limited set: Details (Plot size and Properties on site), Planning History (Recent applications), and two Policies Insights (Protected land and Nearby listed buildings). All other Insights require a Pro or Unlimited plan.

Hometrack Insights (Local values and Local rents) are available to users on any plan who have purchased the Hometrack add-on.

Insights and the Assessor tabs are designed to work together. Insights gives you headline indicators across multiple datasets in one view. The Assessor tabs let you explore the full dataset behind any of those indicators.

Each Insight card contains a direct link to its corresponding Assessor tab, so you can move from a high-level sense-check to detailed analysis in one click.