UK planning applications in Tableau
Build Tableau dashboards on classified planning applications, refreshed from the API.
Plota brings UK planning applications from 389 council planning portals into one classified, source-linked dataset. Pull it into Tableau and you are working with consistent fields across every authority - the same category, decision stage and consent route whichever council published the record, with each council's own wording kept alongside - so a comparison across areas is a like-for-like one rather than an exercise in reconciling council vocabularies.
Before you start
- Get an API key. A free demo key reads the search endpoint, so you can check the fields against your own patch before paying; bulk export is Starter and above.
- Decide which councils, categories and date range you want. Every filter in the API docs works here.
How to load Plota data into Tableau
Export the extract you want
One call to the export endpoint returns the flat CSV Tableau connects to, with the fields already normalised across every council. The 25,000 below is the Pro per-call cap; a Starter key is clamped to 5,000 rather than refused, so check the row count you actually got:
curl -X POST "https://api.plota.co.uk/v1/exports" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer plota_live_your_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"nation":"england","date_from":"2026-01-01","format":"csv","limit":25000}' \
-o planning.csvConnect in Tableau
Connect → To a File → Text file. Give lat and lng the geographic roles Latitude and Longitude and Tableau will map the applications without any further work.
Build on the normalised columns
The comparable cuts are stage, the planning_route column (Plota’s normalised consent route, despite the name - council_route is the authority’s own wording), category and dwelling_count, over date_received and date_decided. Because the wording is normalised, a decision-time comparison between authorities is a like-for-like one rather than a chart of how differently councils write things down.
Mind the null decision dates
date_decided is empty on undecided applications, so a raw average of received-to-decided silently excludes everything still in the system and flatters the fast councils. Split pending and decided explicitly, and use stage rather than the free-text status to do it.
Automate the refresh
Schedule the export and point a Tableau Prep flow or a published extract at the file. Add changed_since so each run appends what moved instead of rebuilding the extract - the change feed is on the Pro plan and above.
Check the data against the source
Every row carries plota_url and, where the council publishes one, council_url. Keep both in your model: anyone questioning a figure can open the official council record from the row rather than taking the number on trust. Coverage and last-checked times for every authority are on the coverage page.
Tableau integration FAQ
Can I get UK planning applications into Tableau?
Yes. Tableau reads the Plota API directly, so no automation platform sits in between. Each record carries the planning reference, authority, address, description, classified category, consent route, status, received / validated / decision dates, coordinates, and links to the official council source and the Plota page.
Do I need to write code to connect Plota to Tableau?
No code beyond the query itself. You point Tableau at the Plota endpoint with your API key, choose the councils, categories and date range you want, and the fields arrive already normalised across authorities.
What planning data comes through to Tableau?
Every row carries the reference, authority, address, postcode, description, Plota's classified category, consent route, status and stage, the received / validated / decision dates, the key statutory dates, latitude and longitude, dwelling count where stated, the Plota page URL and the official council source URL.
How do I keep the data in Tableau up to date?
Pass changed_since with the timestamp of your last successful run. Plota returns only the records whose content has changed since then - a new status, a decision, a new document, a revised description - so a scheduled refresh stays small and does not re-pull records that have not moved.
How current is the planning data?
Plota checks UK council planning portals daily and classifies new applications, so a refresh in Tableau reflects what councils published rather than a periodic manual gather.
Is the Tableau integration free?
You can test the API with a free demo key. Production pulls into Tableau run on the Starter plan and above; Plota's public planning search and email alerts stay free.