Use VU.CITY 3D modelling in your application

What is VU.CITY?

3D modelling is used within the Planning and Place Making Service to help assess planning applications, inform pre-application discussions and develop future planning policies. It is considered an essential part of delivering good design.  Alongside plans, elevations and other planning information, 3D modelling is a tool used to scrutinise the appropriateness of proposed form, scale, layout, views, and cumulative impacts alongside environmental impacts. 

You can use 3D modelling:

• to support your Planning Application.
• as part of the Pre-Application process.

The Council uses VU.CITY software to analyse 3D models as it provides an interactive view of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK).

VU.CITY London is an accurate digital 3D model of London that is managed and maintained independently of the council. VU.CITY London includes:

• a fully interactive 3D city model of the whole of London(roofscape accuracy to 15cm);
• sunlight and shadowing simulation, street level walk mode, transport overlays, set and view cameras and view GIS data;
• RBK Very Highly Important Views and verified views; and
• integration of consented and on-site projects to assess the cumulative impact of proposals.

Applicants and developers are encouraged to use VU.CITY to support their planning application and inform the pre-application process. To find out more about the model, visit VU.CITY London. Applicants and Developers may submit a 3D model to the Council both within and outside of VU.CITY (see below). 

Cost

A £650 (ex VAT) charge applies to all proposals that sit outside PPAs or other planning agreements to cover the review of models. This is a one-off payment that covers the application from the pre-application through to the full application (this is based on one leading to the other). If multiple separate PRE applications are considered, there will be a cost for each. Using the VU.CITY model will aid in the choice of views, reducing the number of verified views required as part of assessing the proposal's visual impact (possible effect: positive, negative, significant or minor).

Payments

You will be sent an invoice with payment details, payable within 21 days.

Verified Views

Kingston’s 13 Very Highly Important Views are all viewable in the VU.CITY application.

Read the RBK Views Study

Submitting a model

All applicants are requested to download the VU admission application form and send the completed form to the Case Officer and spatial.planning@kingston.gov.uk.

Sharing with VU.CITY

• applicants should, where possible, directly 'share' their VU.CITY project, containing their model file, directly with the Urban Design/Conservation Officer from their VU.CITY Hub (the Case Officer will share contact details).
• if the applicant has townscape or heritage views to be considered, these should be saved within the VU.CITY model.

Sharing without VU.CITY

• where an applicant team does not have access to VU.CITY, then they will need to submit a 3D model to be imported by RBK.
• VU.CITY is a visualisation tool, designed for assessing scale and impact. It is not designed to handle full BIM models, therefore we request a simple massing model for import. The model must:
  • have a low polycount, and
  • be saved or exported in FBX or OBJ file format (a common export across most modelling platforms). Size Limit: 128MB per file.
• depending on the software used to create the original model, the modelis should either be geolocated or 'zeroed'. Further advice on this can be found on the VU.CITY website.

If you have any questions or issues, please find advice or contact the VU.CITY tech support team via the VU.CITY Knowledge Base.

Noticed issues with VU.CITY model

Please advise VU.CITY of any issues you notice with the model.

Questions

Please contact your Case Officer or the Spatial Planning team.