Every planning journey starts with the same two facts: which council decides, and where their planning register lives. Both are surprisingly annoying to find — 300+ authorities, each with its own search system. This tool answers both from a single postcode, anywhere in the UK.
Find your council and its planning search
The finder needs JavaScript. Without it, use GOV.UK's planning register finder.
What you get
- Your local planning authority — the district or borough council that determines applications for the address.
- Two-tier awareness — where a county council exists, it is shown too, because minerals, waste and highways consultations sit there.
- Ward, parish, region and constituency — useful for committee-watching and consultation responses.
- A direct route to the planning register — via GOV.UK's per-council directory for England and Wales, ePlanning for Scotland, and the NI Planning Portal.
What the planning register is good for
- Checking a neighbour's application — plans, officer reports and decision notices are all public.
- Researching your own site's history — previous refusals and conditions shape what will succeed next.
- Reading the local mood — recently approved schemes nearby are the best precedent library you will ever get, and our deadline calculator tells you how long decisions should take.
Before you submit to this council
Run the site constraints appraisal to see what designations apply, build your document list with the checklist generator, check the cost in the fee calculator — and remember every council layers its own validation list on top of the national rules, so check theirs via the link this tool gives you.
How Fortress Associates can help
Whichever authority you are dealing with, the technical documents are the same national standards — and ours are free and instant: flood risk assessments, air quality assessments, energy statements and sustainability statements, plus daylight reports covering every UK local authority. All seventeen-plus tools live at /free-tools; get in touch any time.
Sources & further reading
Need help with a UK planning project?
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