Terms of Service
1. About these Terms
These Terms of Service form an agreement between you and Bluepencil Designs Ltd (company number 8176840), of 1 Ware View Terrace, Spital Rd, Maldon, CM9 6GD ("Bluepencil", "we", "us" or "our"), governing your access to and use of the Bluepencil Development Model at bluepencilmodel.com (the "Model" or "Service").
The Model is a professional software tool intended exclusively for business use by housebuilders, property developers, landowners acting in business, planning consultants, architects, local authorities and other organisations and professionals involved in land, planning and housing development.
The Service is offered only to businesses and organisations based in the United Kingdom. By registering, starting a trial or subscribing, you confirm that you are based in the United Kingdom.
The Service is not offered for personal or consumer use. By registering for an account, starting a free trial or purchasing a subscription, you confirm that you are acting in the course of a business, trade, profession or other organisational activity and not as a consumer.
If you accept these Terms on behalf of a company, council, partnership or other organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation. In that case, "you" and "your" refer to that organisation, and you are responsible for ensuring that your authorised users comply with these Terms.
Our Privacy Policy, available at bluepencilmodel.com/privacy.html, explains how we process personal data in connection with the Service.
By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.
2. Your account and access
2.1. You must provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information when registering for an account and keep that information current.
2.2. Each account is licensed to one named individual and can be logged in on one device at a time. You must not share your login details or allow another person to access the Model through your account.
2.3. Organisations requiring access for several individuals may take a Company licence, under which each named user has their own login. Sites saved to the organisation's shared projects can be seen and edited by all named users on that licence; sites a user keeps in their own projects cannot. Please contact [email protected] to discuss organisational requirements.
2.4. You must keep your password secure. Two-step verification is optional, and we recommend it; if you turn it on, you must keep your authenticator app secure.
2.5. You must notify us promptly at [email protected] if you suspect that your account has been accessed without authorisation or that your login details have been compromised.
2.6. You are responsible for activity carried out through your account, subject to any rights or remedies you may have where that activity results from our failure to meet an obligation under these Terms or from circumstances for which we are legally responsible.
2.7. You must ensure that anyone using the Model through an account held by your organisation complies with these Terms.
3. Free trial
3.1. We may offer a free trial providing access to the Feasibility tier for seven days from the date you register.
3.2. No payment card details are required for the free trial, and no subscription charge is made automatically when the trial ends.
3.3. When the trial ends, you can still log in and open and export your saved sites, but not change them, for seven days. After that, access ends unless you purchase a subscription.
3.4. Your saved sites are kept for 90 days after the trial ends. If you subscribe within that period, your saved sites will carry over to your subscription, subject to the features and data arrangements applicable to that subscription.
3.5. If you do not subscribe within that period, your saved sites will be deleted in accordance with our data-retention arrangements and Privacy Policy. You should download any reports or other outputs you wish to retain before access ends.
3.6. The free trial is limited to one trial per individual and per organisation. We may refuse, restrict or terminate a trial where we reasonably believe it is being misused, obtained through duplicate accounts or used to circumvent subscription charges.
3.7. Free-trial access is subject to these Terms in the same way as paid access.
4. Subscription tiers, fees and payment
4.1. The Model is offered through three subscription tiers:
- Feasibility
- Outline
- Detailed Design
Each higher tier includes the features of the preceding tier. We also offer a Single-site pass, giving Outline access for one site for 30 days for a one-off payment, and a Company licence for organisations with several named users. The features and prices applicable to each are described on our Pricing page at bluepencilmodel.com/pricing.html.
4.2. Subscriptions are available on a monthly or annual basis and are payable in advance by card through our payment provider, Stripe, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
4.3. Councils and other organisations may pay by invoice where we have agreed this arrangement in writing. Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are payable within 30 days of the invoice date and must include any agreed purchase order reference.
4.4. All prices are exclusive of VAT and other applicable taxes, which will be added where required by law.
4.5. You may upgrade your subscription at any time. The revised subscription price will apply from the upgrade date, with any applicable pro-rata adjustment for the remainder of the current subscription period.
4.6. If you downgrade your subscription, the lower tier will take effect at the next renewal date. Features and access associated with the higher tier may then cease to be available. You should export any reports or other outputs you need before the downgrade takes effect.
4.7. We may change our subscription prices by giving at least 30 days' notice by email. Any revised price will apply from the first renewal falling after the notice period has expired. You may cancel your subscription before the revised price takes effect.
4.8. If a payment fails or an invoice remains unpaid, we will notify you and give you an opportunity to resolve the issue. If payment remains outstanding 14 days after notification, we may suspend access to the Service until the outstanding amount is paid.
4.9. Suspending access for non-payment does not remove your obligation to pay amounts already due.
5. Cancellation, suspension and termination
5.1. You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account or by contacting us. Cancellation prevents the next renewal but does not ordinarily end access immediately. You may continue using the relevant subscription tier until the end of the period already paid for.
5.2. Subscription fees are not refundable for a partially used billing period, except where we agree otherwise or a refund is required by law.
5.3. We may suspend or terminate your account if you materially breach these Terms, repeatedly breach them, fail to pay amounts due or misuse the Service.
5.4. Where reasonably practicable, we will notify you of the breach and give you an opportunity to remedy it before suspending or terminating access. We may act immediately where necessary to protect the security, integrity or operation of the Service, comply with the law or address serious misuse.
5.5. We may discontinue the Service permanently by giving at least 90 days' notice. If we do so, we will refund any subscription fees paid in advance for the period after the Service closes.
5.6. When your subscription or account is due to end, you should download any reports, spreadsheets and other outputs you wish to retain before the relevant closing date.
5.7. When a subscription ends, your saved sites remain read-only for seven days and are then kept without access until 90 days after the end date, so that you can resubscribe and continue. After that, they are deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data-retention requirements.
5.8. Termination does not affect rights, obligations or liabilities that accrued before termination. Provisions intended by their nature to continue after termination, including those concerning intellectual property, outstanding payments, liability and disputes, will continue to apply.
6. Permitted use and restrictions
6.1. Subject to these Terms and payment of any applicable subscription fees, you may use the Model for your own business and professional activities and those of the organisation holding your account.
6.2. You may download, reproduce and share reports, spreadsheets and other outputs generated by the Model with clients, landowners, housebuilders, developers, councils, planning authorities, professional advisers and other parties involved in your projects.
6.3. You must not, and must not permit another person to:
(a) copy, extract, systematically record or reproduce the Model's underlying calculations, formulas, default datasets, house-type densities, density tile methodology or other proprietary methods, except as expressly permitted by these Terms or by law;
(b) use the Model or its underlying materials to develop, train, improve or support a competing software product, calculation tool or commercial dataset;
(c) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or attempt to discover the source code, algorithms, underlying data structures or technical operation of the Model, except to the extent that a restriction of this kind is prohibited by applicable law;
(d) share login credentials, permit unauthorised users to access the Service or circumvent account or subscription restrictions;
(e) resell, rent, sublicense or otherwise commercially exploit access to the Model itself without our written permission;
(f) use automated tools, bots or scraping systems to access, extract or download the Model or its underlying data without our written permission;
(g) interfere with the security, availability or performance of the Service, attempt to gain unauthorised access to any system or data, or introduce malicious code; or
(h) use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in a manner that infringes another person's rights.
6.4. Nothing in this section prevents you from using, reproducing and sharing outputs generated by the Model for legitimate project and business purposes as permitted by clause 6.2.
6.5. Nothing in these Terms restricts any activity that applicable law expressly permits notwithstanding a contractual restriction.
7. Intellectual property and user data
Our intellectual property
7.1. All intellectual property rights in the Model belong to Bluepencil or its licensors. This includes the software, interface, design, calculations, formulas, default figures, datasets, density tile methodology, house-type densities derived from the Bluepencil Manual of Housing Density, text, images, reports and branding, together with any updates and improvements to those materials.
7.2. Your subscription grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and use the Model during your subscription period, subject to these Terms. It does not transfer ownership of any intellectual property to you.
7.3. Except for the rights expressly granted in these Terms, all rights in the Model and its underlying materials are reserved by Bluepencil and its licensors.
Your information and outputs
7.4. As between you and Bluepencil, you retain your rights in the site information, figures, assumptions and other material you enter into the Model.
7.5. As between you and Bluepencil, you may use the reports, spreadsheets and other outputs generated for your projects for your business and professional purposes, subject to these Terms and any third-party rights that may apply.
7.6. You grant Bluepencil permission to host, store, reproduce and process the information you submit to the extent reasonably necessary to provide, maintain, secure and support the Service, and to comply with our legal obligations.
7.7. We may use aggregated information about how the Service is used, such as the number of accounts on each tier, to analyse performance and plan the business. We will not analyse, aggregate or benchmark the content of your saved sites, such as housing mixes, land values, costs or viability assumptions, for product development, research or any other purpose of our own.
7.8. If you send us suggestions, comments or feedback about the Model, we may use them to improve our products and services without payment or restriction, provided that this does not transfer ownership of your confidential information or personal data.
Confidentiality
7.9. We treat your saved sites as your confidential information. We will not disclose them to anyone except our service providers to the extent needed to run the Service, other named users on your Company licence where you save sites to shared projects, or where the law requires. Our own access is limited to support you ask for, security investigations and legal obligations.
7.10. The Model has no fields for other people's personal data. You must not enter personal data about other people in site names, notes or other fields.
8. Nature of the Model, assumptions and professional advice
8.1. The Model is a professional decision-support tool designed to help users explore development options, test assumptions and understand the potential implications of different approaches to land, housing and development planning.
8.2. The Model's outputs depend on the information entered by the user, the assumptions selected, the default values incorporated into the software and the calculation methods used. Outputs are indicative and should be interpreted in that context.
8.3. User responsibility for inputs. You are responsible for the accuracy, completeness and suitability of the information, figures and assumptions you enter into the Model. Bluepencil does not independently verify user inputs. You must review the outputs and independently verify material assumptions before relying on them for decisions or presenting them to third parties.
8.4. Policy information. Council policy figures and similar information may be displayed as "Default — not verified" until confirmed by the user. You are responsible for checking the relevant adopted policies, guidance, planning obligations and other applicable requirements before relying on those figures.
8.5. Default assumptions. Default sales values, construction costs, rates, densities, land deal terms, open-space maintenance assumptions and other figures are illustrative starting points. They may not reflect current market conditions, a particular site or the circumstances of your project. You should replace them with appropriate evidence and project-specific assumptions.
8.6. Density tiles and comparisons. Density tiles, land deal comparisons, open-space management figures and similar outputs are illustrative analytical tools. They are not, by themselves, a detailed site layout, formal valuation, verified management budget or assurance that a particular development can be delivered.
8.7. Indicative ranges. Any indicative or confidence ranges displayed by the Model reflect the assumptions and methodology used to generate them. They should not be interpreted as a guarantee of accuracy, a statistically established confidence interval or a prediction that an actual outcome will fall within the range unless the Model expressly explains and substantiates that interpretation.
8.8. No professional advice. The Model does not provide a formal valuation, a planning viability assessment for a statutory or planning decision, or legal, financial, tax, surveying or planning advice. It does not replace the professional judgement required to assess a particular site or development proposal.
8.9. Before making material land acquisition, disposal, option, investment, development or planning decisions, or submitting figures to a local planning authority, you should obtain appropriate independent evidence and professional advice.
8.10. The Model does not guarantee that a proposed development will obtain planning permission, satisfy policy requirements, achieve a particular density, secure a specified land value or sales value, meet a construction budget or generate a particular profit or financial return.
9. Availability, maintenance and changes to the Service
9.1. We will use reasonable efforts to keep the Service available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.
9.2. We may temporarily suspend access for maintenance, security updates, repairs, technical issues or circumstances beyond our reasonable control. Where reasonably practicable, we will give notice of planned maintenance.
9.3. We may update, improve or modify the Model, including its features, defaults, calculation methods, datasets, interface and technical operation.
9.4. We will not materially reduce the features included in your paid subscription during a paid period without notifying you and allowing you to cancel and receive a refund for the unused portion of that period.
9.5. We may make changes necessary to maintain security, comply with law, correct errors, improve performance or adapt to changes in technology. Where a change materially affects the Service, we will communicate it where reasonably practicable.
9.6. You are responsible for keeping your own copies of reports, spreadsheets and other outputs you need. The Service is not intended to operate as a permanent archive of your project information.
10. Limitation of liability
10.1. Liabilities that cannot be excluded
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability to the extent that it cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that applicable law does not permit us to exclude or limit.
10.2. Your responsibility for decisions
You are responsible for the information and assumptions you enter, for checking the suitability of the Model's outputs for your purposes, and for obtaining independent professional advice where appropriate.
Subject to clause 10.1, Bluepencil is not responsible for business, investment, land acquisition, land disposal, option, development or planning decisions made by you or another person based on the Model's outputs, except to the extent that the relevant loss results from liability on our part that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
10.3. Excluded categories of loss
Subject to clause 10.1 and the limits permitted by law, we are not liable for:
(a) loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill or anticipated savings; or
(b) indirect or consequential loss.
10.4. User information and external circumstances
Subject to clause 10.1, we are not responsible for inaccuracies arising from information or assumptions supplied by you, policy figures that you have not verified, or events outside our reasonable control, except to the extent that the relevant loss results from liability on our part that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
10.5. Liability cap
Subject to clauses 10.1 to 10.4 and to any liability that cannot lawfully be limited, our total aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with the Model, the Service or these Terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, shall not exceed, in any rolling 12-month period, the greater of:
(a) the total amount you paid us for access to or use of the Model during that period; or
(b) £10,000.
This is an aggregate limit for all claims arising during the relevant period, not a separate limit for each claim.
10.6. Application of the cap
The liability cap applies to the fullest extent permitted by law and is subject to the statutory exceptions in clause 10.1. The parties intend the cap and exclusions in this clause to operate together, but no provision is intended to exclude or limit liability where doing so would be unlawful.
11. Changes to these Terms
11.1. We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes to the Service, our business practices, technology or legal requirements.
11.2. We will give you at least 30 days' notice by email of changes that materially affect your rights or obligations, unless a shorter period is reasonably necessary to comply with law, address a security issue or respond to an urgent circumstance.
11.3. Where a change materially affects your use of the Service, you may cancel your subscription before the change takes effect. If a change materially reduces the features included in your paid subscription, clause 9.4 will apply.
11.4. Changes will not retrospectively remove rights or liabilities that have already accrued. If you continue to use the Service after revised Terms take effect, your continued use will constitute acceptance of the revised Terms to the extent permitted by law.
11.5. If you have a separate written agreement with us that expressly varies a provision of these Terms, that agreement will take precedence over the relevant provision to the extent of the inconsistency.
12. General legal provisions
12.1. Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any applicable written agreement with your organisation, form the agreement between you and Bluepencil concerning the Service and supersede previous agreements or understandings on the same subject, except for any terms expressly preserved in writing.
12.2. Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect to the extent that they can operate independently.
12.3. No waiver. If we do not exercise or enforce a right immediately, that does not mean we waive that right or lose the ability to exercise it later.
12.4. Assignment. You may not transfer your account or rights under these Terms to another person without our prior written agreement. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to a successor in connection with a sale, restructuring or transfer of the business, provided that this does not remove rights you have under applicable law.
12.5. Events beyond our control. We are not responsible for delay or failure to perform an obligation to the extent caused by events beyond our reasonable control, provided that this provision does not exclude liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
12.6. Third-party services. The Service may rely on third-party providers, including payment and hosting providers. Your use of third-party services may also be subject to their own terms and privacy notices. This does not remove any responsibility that Bluepencil has under these Terms or applicable law.
12.7. No partnership. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency or employment relationship between you and Bluepencil.
13. Governing law and disputes
13.1. These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them, their subject matter or formation, shall be governed by the law of England and Wales.
13.2. The courts of England and Wales shall have jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms, subject to any mandatory rules of law that apply.
13.3. Before commencing formal proceedings, you agree to contact us at the address below and make reasonable efforts to resolve the dispute informally.
14. Contact details
If you have questions about these Terms, your subscription or the Service, please contact:
Bluepencil Designs Ltd
1 Ware View Terrace
Spital Rd
Maldon
CM9 6GD
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://bluepencilmodel.com
Company number: 8176840
Last updated: 29 October 2026.