Name the application record dataset `planning-application`
- Decision
- 0004
- Status
- Proposed
- Date
- 2025-12-18
Context:
While publishing the decision stage specification incrementally, we needed to introduce a dataset representing the application record associated with a decision.
The generic term “application” may be widely used across the planning system and could reasonably refer to multiple concepts. “application” is more of a category, than a single thing.
Using an unqualified name risks ambiguity as the specification expands.
Decision:
We will name the dataset planning-application rather than application.
Rationale:
Using a more specific dataset name:
- makes the scope and meaning of the dataset explicit
- avoids overloading the term “application” as the wider planning data model evolves
- reduces ambiguity for suppliers, analysts, and downstream users
- creates space for other application-type datasets to be introduced later without renaming or breaking changes
- decision data travels. Submission data is contextual. So we qualify the dataset name early to avoid collisions once it’s used outside the submission flow.
This is a preventative design choice that improves clarity and long-term maintainability with minimal additional complexity.
Alternatives Considered:
- Naming the dataset application → rejected due to ambiguity and risk of future collisions
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