Client successes: Autumn 2025
See how Stockton-on-Tees, Preston, and South Holland Councils are improving citizen access and engagement through new digital services with the GOSS Platform.
Stockton-on-Tees launches brand new website to transform access to local health and wellbeing insights
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has launched a brand-new Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) website, developed using its GOSS Digital Platform. The project, led by the Council's Public Health team, aims to make local health and wellbeing data easier to access, understand, and act upon for citizens and professionals alike.
The previous JSNA site had been in place for many years and had become increasingly difficult to maintain. It was built on an outdated platform, with valuable insights often locked away in lengthy PDFs or even images of text. While the content itself was strong, the format limited its accessibility and reach. Recognising the need for a fresh start, the Council team decided to rebuild the JSNA from the ground up rather than retrofit the old system.
Working closely with GOSS, a new site was designed and developed using an accessible colour palette and a modern, cohesive design. Instead of static documents, the new platform presents content through structured, web-native pages that are easier to navigate, scan, and understand. This shift has made information more inclusive and far simpler for users to explore and apply.
In a major step forward, the new site also integrates live Power BI dashboards directly within the GOSS platform. This means key wellbeing data is now digitalised, automatically updated, and displayed dynamically within context. The result is a single, reliable source of truth where citizens, professionals, and decision-makers can always access the latest insights without waiting for manual updates or republished reports.
The site has launched with an initial set of JSNA topics, with more sections planned in the coming months. Over time, it will continue to expand into a comprehensive, central hub for understanding the health and wellbeing needs of people across Stockton-on-Tees.
Preston City Council launch the Animate Preston website ahead of major cultural destination opening in 2025
Preston City Council has launched the new Animate Preston website, developed using the GOSS Digital Platform. The site forms a key part of the city's new leisure and cultural destination, due to open in 2025, and is designed to reflect Preston's growing ambition as a creative, connected, and forward-looking city. Animate Preston is set to become a vibrant hub for culture, entertainment, and community, bringing together live experiences, creativity, and long-term economic benefit. To match that vision, the Council needed a digital presence that was accessible, inclusive, visually aligned with the brand, and easy to manage as the destination continues to evolve.
During the early stages of the project, two key digital challenges were identified. Firstly, two of the core brand colours did not meet accessibility contrast standards on a white background. Secondly, the Council wanted to incorporate a high-quality, live social media feed that would keep content fresh and engaging across multiple platforms, while ensuring accessibility, maintaining brand consistency, and minimising manual upkeep. Working closely with the GOSS Client Success Team, Preston City Council took full advantage of the flexibility of the GOSS Dynamic theme, marking the Council's first project using this modern framework. GOSS provided tailored training sessions so the team could independently build, edit, and manage content going forward.
For accessibility, the solution was to apply the two lower-contrast colours against darker backgrounds. This maintained the strength of the Animate Preston identity while ensuring full WCAG compliance. To meet the social media integration goal, the Council adopted Juicer, a social aggregation tool that unifies content from multiple channels into a single, accessible feed. GOSS supported the configuration and integration, resulting in a live, automatically updated social feed embedded directly on the website.
The finished site is fully branded, accessible, and built to grow alongside the physical development of Animate Preston. It offers an engaging, community-driven experience that builds anticipation and connects citizens to the city's new cultural landmark well before its opening. This project is a strong example of how thoughtful design, accessibility-first decisions, and digital collaboration can create lasting public value, delivering not just a website, but a foundation for ongoing cultural engagement and civic pride.
South Holland District Council launches new room bookings to centralise the management of its community centres
South Holland District Council, operating through the PSPS partnership with East Lindsey District Council and Boston Borough Council, has introduced a modern digital solution to simplify and centralise the management of its community centres and guest room bookings. Across the South Holland district, 14 community centres serve as vital hubs for the community, with 10 of them offering rooms for hire. Citizens can book spaces free of charge for community use, while private or business bookings are available at an hourly rate.
The Council needed a clear and efficient way to manage and display room availability, capacity, and additional resources at each centre. Citizens required a user-friendly system to explore, compare, and book rooms online, while staff needed a centralised portal to view all bookings and schedules. This would reduce administrative effort and ensure rooms were prepared and allocated efficiently.
To meet these needs, the Council implemented GOSS Room Bookings, a flexible system designed to simplify complex booking processes. Each community centre now benefits from a fully configured solution that clearly displays room availability, capacity, and facilities. Citizens can browse available spaces, add rooms to a shortlist for comparison, and make bookings directly online. The system also integrates with Capita payments to provide a smooth and secure process for chargeable bookings. For Council staff, the portal provides full oversight of all bookings across all centres, making management more efficient and enabling better preparation for upcoming events and stays. With the new system in place, South Holland District Council now enjoys full visibility of room utilisation and income across its community centres.
This project is a significant step forward in delivering accessible, transparent, and efficient public services. The new system ensures South Holland's community spaces continue to thrive and serve citizens effectively while reducing administrative burden and improving the overall user experience.
Stockton-on-Tees launch brand-new website for Preston Park and Museum Grounds
Stockton Council has launched a brand-new website for Preston Park and Museum Grounds, developed using the GOSS Digital Platform. As one of the area's most popular attractions, Preston Park offers visitors museum exhibitions, historic collections, family-friendly events, and outdoor activities. The new website provides a dedicated online home that captures the park's personality, showcases its events, and makes it easier than ever for people to plan their visit.
Using the flexibility of the GOSS Digital Platform, the team brought the vision to life with bold visuals, video banners, and striking imagery. The design makes full use of the platform's panel templates and dynamic layout options, allowing the council to present rich, engaging content while maintaining a consistent look and feel across its wider digital estate. Bespoke work was also carried out to create a custom footer that aligns perfectly with the site's branding. The new What's On section highlights upcoming events in a clear and engaging way. While the council integrates its external booking system, GOSS provided an interim events solution so visitors can browse and book activities easily. Accessibility and performance were key priorities throughout development. The team conducted extensive testing to ensure that video and image-heavy content loads quickly on all devices, particularly on mobile, where most users access the site. Inline video features, supported by image posters, ensure that even large visuals display smoothly without affecting performance.
The result is a visually impressive and easy-to-navigate website that captures the spirit of Preston Park and Museum Grounds. It brings together everything visitors need in one place, from opening times and event details to stunning imagery that reflects the park's unique character. Stockton Council now has a dedicated platform to celebrate one of its standout attractions, creating opportunities for engagement and community connection online.
