Flare (APP) is the application currently used to manage licencing, customer services and all of our regulatory services.
Hello. My name is Ian Pavitt and I am a project manager within DDaT. I am responsible for the delivery of the APP replacement project.
We’ve been using the APP application for about 30 years, so an upgrade was well overdue. Efforts to start this change commenced about four years ago and stalled.
The project was reignited at the beginning of 2025. The services involved were pessimistic initially, which is completely understandable. But this time would be different.
We saw the return of our IT services from Civica in September 2024, which meant that we were now in full control of project delivery and a new era was born.
DDaT, the in-house digital, data and technology department, immediately evaluated the strategic horizon and the APP replacement was back on the cards.
Step one 1️⃣➡️⚙️
Image showing bin collection wheelie bins and refuse truck.
The first step in this project was to connect our project services with frontline and regulatory services. Previously, under Civica, this connection wasn’t possible, but we are now connected and free to work together towards success.
Projects of this magnitude need serious funding, so the team went about building a watertight business case and secured the capital funding. Incredible effort by all involved in the project moved us further along than ever before.
Projects often look straightforward from the outside, but a huge amount of work needs to be done upfront to:
- agree deliverables
- identify services
- engage everyone and everything affected
- plan effectively
This combined effort aimed to:
- guarantee quality
- reduce risk
- stay within budget
Image showing mock up of a framed certificate of local government licensing.
Service transformation 🔄
The replacement of APP is an amazing opportunity for transformation. The services involved, and residents of Luton, deserve a modern application that can:
- meet their needs
- allow greater technical capability to be realised
Currently, with the wonderful help of our new business analyst, we are working with all the affected services to:
- map current processes
- work on what those processes could look like in the future
At the same time, we are close to the end of a rigorous tender, so a new vendor will be in our midst shortly
Luton 2040 goals 🎯
With our Luton 2040 goals in mind, tha APP replacement project is looking to deliver a future proof modern solution that:
- improves how effective we are as a council
- removes mundane manual tasks
- free up people to offer value in different ways that were not previously possible
At the same time, we plan to give our residents further improved and easier ways to connect with us, so we can better meet their needs.
Now is the time to keep working hard to get us ready for implementation ✅
I’ll keep you posted on our developments!