Atlasly + Forma Site Design
Forma gives you terrain, buildings, sun, wind and noise for a UK site. It does not give you the planning constraints. Atlasly adds them as an extension: draw a site limit and the panel screens it against flood zones, heritage, Article 4, trees, ecology, landfill and ground conditions, measures how much of your site each one covers, checks the masses you have drawn against them, and hands you the appraisal as text you can paste into a report.
What the extension does
The panel reads the site limit from your proposal, converts it with the project's own coordinate system, and screens the site centre against live official sources the moment you open it. You get a verdict line, the consent route, a site map that draws the search radius, your boundary and each evidence layer in its own colour, and a ledger grouped into needs attention, nothing found and no data. Every row states the planning implication in plain words, and expands to the evidence text, the source record and the retrieval date. Every flagged layer can be drawn into the Forma scene at once.
Three things follow from that, and they are what make it worth opening twice. Where a layer overlaps your boundary, the panel measures the share of the site it covers rather than saying it is nearby. It reads the masses you have drawn and reports how much of the built footprint sits inside each constraint, the tallest height and your site coverage, recalculated whenever you change the model. And it turns the evidence into the scope of work: the consent route, the assessments you will have to commission, and what each constraint does to the massing.
None of that is any use trapped in a panel, so the check leaves it two ways. Copy appraisal puts the whole appraisal on the clipboard as formatted text, with every source and retrieval date, for a feasibility report, an email or a pre-application enquiry. Copy share link produces a URL that reopens the same check, against the same red line, for a client or a planning consultant with no account and no install.
What you get for a UK site
- Flood zones: Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning: Zones 2, 3a and 3b, with the flood risk assessment and sequential test implications.
- Conservation areas: planning.data.gov.uk conservation areas, named, with the official record linked.
- Listed buildings: Historic England National Heritage List entries within the radius, by grade, each linked.
- Article 4 directions: Direction areas that withdraw permitted development rights, with the council text.
- Tree Preservation Orders: National dataset where the council has published it; otherwise an honest "no data" with the register to check.
- Environmental designations: SSSI, Green Belt, ancient woodland and other national designations from planning.data.gov.uk and Natural England.
- Historic landfill: Environment Agency registered historic landfill sites within the radius.
- Ground conditions: British Geological Survey GeoSure shrink-swell class with the foundation implication.
How to install it
- Open your project in Forma Site Design and select Extensions in the left panel.
- Choose Add extension.
- Open the Unpublished tab and paste the Atlasly extension ID
e0a1af3a-432c-4eaa-bfee-8c27518e09e8. - Select Add, then Agree. Extensions install per project.
- Draw or select a site limit, open Atlasly from the Extensions tab, pick a radius and select Check constraints.
Where it sits in the Forma to Revit workflow
Forma Site Design is where early massing and environmental analysis happen, and Revit 2027 is a Forma Connected Client, so the proposal moves on without rework. Atlasly slots in at the start: check the constraints while the site limit is still a line, before the first massing study. When the direction is set, continue into Atlasly for the full site package: constraints, topography and context as DXF, DWG and IFC for Revit, planning history and precedents, and the adopted local plan policies for that authority, cited by paragraph.
Free and Pro
The check inside Forma is free and needs no account. An Atlasly account adds saved sites, planning history, precedents and policy; the Starter plan includes 5 site analyses a month. Pro is £19/month or £15/month billed annually and adds unlimited analyses and CAD, BIM and GIS exports. See pricing.
Accuracy and limitations
Results are a point-radius screen around the site centre from official sources, with a planar check of each layer against the boundary you drew. Coverage shares and footprint exposure are measured by sampling a regular grid across your boundary, so they are accurate to a few percent and are not a survey. They do not replace a planning search, a flood risk assessment or professional review. England is covered in full, Scotland and Wales in part; projects outside the UK are declined. Tree Preservation Orders depend on the council having published to the national dataset, and the panel says so when it has not.
Frequently asked questions
Does Atlasly work inside Autodesk Forma Site Design?
Yes. Atlasly is a Forma Site Design extension. It opens in the left panel, reads the site limit you have drawn, and screens it against official UK planning evidence without leaving Forma. The check needs no Atlasly account.
Which UK planning constraints does the Forma extension check?
Environment Agency flood zones, conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions, Tree Preservation Orders, national environmental designations, historic landfill and BGS ground conditions. Each result carries its source link and retrieval date.
Is the result a parcel intersection?
No. Atlasly returns a point-radius screen around the site centre, and the panel adds a planar check of each evidence layer against the boundary you drew. It is screening, not a planning search, and it does not replace professional review.
Do I need an Atlasly account or a paid plan?
The check in Forma is free and needs no account. An Atlasly account adds saved sites, planning history and local plan policy; the Starter plan includes 5 site analyses a month. Pro (£19/month or £15/month billed annually) adds unlimited analyses and DXF, DWG, IFC and GIS exports.
Does it cover Scotland, Wales or sites outside the UK?
England is covered in full. Scotland and Wales are covered in part, with SEPA and Natural Resources Wales flood data and the relevant heritage sources. Forma projects with a country code outside the UK are declined before any check runs.
Can I try it without installing anything?
Yes. Type a UK postcode or address into the panel on this page and it runs the same check against the same eight official sources, with no install, no Forma seat and no Atlasly account. Installing the extension is what makes it read the site limit you draw and check your massing against the findings.
How do I install the extension in Forma?
Open a project in Forma Site Design, select Extensions in the left panel, choose Add extension, open the Unpublished tab and paste the Atlasly extension ID, then Add and Agree. Extensions install per project. Once the Design & Make Marketplace listing is approved it will appear in the public list.
Can I take the constraints into Revit?
Yes. From the panel, continue into Atlasly to generate a site package with DXF and IFC exports of the constraint layers, topography and context, then use Insert, Import CAD in Revit. Your Forma massing travels to Revit through the Forma Connected Client as usual.
Can Atlasly check my Forma massing against the planning constraints?
Yes. The panel reads the masses you have drawn and reports how much of the built footprint falls inside each flagged constraint, the height of the tallest mass and the share of the site limit you have covered. It recalculates every time you change the model, without running another check.
How much of my site does a constraint actually cover?
The panel measures it. Where an evidence layer overlaps the boundary you drew, it reports the share of the site limit covered, for example "covers 41% of your site", measured on a regular grid across the boundary rather than estimated by eye.
Can I export or share the constraints appraisal?
Yes. Copy appraisal puts the whole thing on the clipboard as formatted text with every source and retrieval date, ready to paste into a feasibility report, an email or a pre-application enquiry. Copy share link produces a URL that reopens the same check, with your site boundary, in any browser and needs no account to view.
Does the site boundary I draw in Forma carry into Atlasly?
Yes. Every link out of the panel carries the site limit you drew, so Atlasly opens on your red line rather than reverse-geocoding an address point. That makes planning history, precedents and policy answers specific to the boundary instead of to a pin.
What does the extension tell me beyond a list of constraints?
It states the consent route, the assessments the evidence implies you will have to commission, such as a flood risk assessment, heritage statement, arboricultural impact assessment or ground investigation, and what each constraint does to the massing. Biodiversity net gain is included because it applies to most new development in England and never appears in a constraints dataset.