How to view planning applications near you
Use your council's online planning search and switch to its map view if it has one. You can usually see current and past applications around a postcode. There is no complete national register, so near a boundary check the neighbouring council too. Work that needs no application will not appear, and a quiet map says little about what comes next.
Use the council's map search
Applications are held by the local planning authority, so the fullest view is on the council's own website. Not every council offers a map, but its register should still let you search by street or postcode.
- Find the council with the Planning Portal's finder.
- Open its planning search and look for a map or property search option, then enter the postcode.
- Look at current applications first, then widen the search to decided ones.
- Search back several years. This shows how the street has changed and whether a refused scheme has returned in a new form.
- Note the reference numbers. They are the quickest way back to a case and to any appeal.
Each register stops at its own council's edge. If the home sits near a boundary, repeat the search with the neighbouring council.
What the status means
Wording varies between councils, but most statuses fall into these groups.
| Status | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Received or awaiting validation | The council has it but is still checking it is complete. |
| Pending or under consideration | It is being assessed, and consultation may be open. |
| Granted or approved | Permission was given, usually with conditions. Work may not have started. |
| Refused | The applicant can appeal or apply again with changes. |
| Withdrawn | The applicant pulled it, and it can return in a new form. |
| Appeal lodged | A planning inspector will now decide. |
Most applications are decided within eight weeks, with a 13-week limit for larger or more complex schemes, and a longer period can be agreed. Permission usually has to be started within three years in England, so a scheme approved two years ago may not have been built yet.
Other ways to see what is coming
- Site notices and letters. For most smaller applications the council must use a site notice or a neighbour letter, plus its website. It need not do both, so check nearby posts and railings when you visit.
- Weekly lists. Many councils publish lists of new applications on their planning pages, which are useful if you are watching an area.
- Committee papers. Larger or disputed schemes go to councillors, and the officer's report is usually published with the agenda.
- Appeals. Find appeals in England through the Planning Inspectorate's appeals service, which GOV.UK links to. For Wales, use the Welsh Government's casework search.
- The local plan. Applications show what has been proposed. The local plan shows land the council expects to be developed, so read it if you are buying next to open land.
What a map leaves out
- Permitted development, which needs no application, so many extensions and lofts never appear.
- Early discussions with the council, which will not normally show until an application is made.
- Older cases, which may be missing from the map or held in a separate archive.
- Detail the council chooses not to publish. Each council decides what its register includes.
For the history of one house, see how to check planning permission on a house.
How to comment on an application
Anyone can respond to a planning consultation. The formal period normally lasts 21 days. Comment before the published deadline, because the council does not have to consider later comments. A decision cannot be made until the consultation period has ended.
Keep to planning matters. Government guidance says purely private interests are not material, and gives the effect on a neighbouring property's value as an example. Private rights to light are another. You will get further by explaining the effect on things such as design, access or the use of the land.
Is there a national map?
Not a complete one. The government's Planning Data map can be searched by postcode, but it warns that its data may be incomplete, and its planning application dataset is marked as not yet ready for use. Commercial sites also gather applications from councils. Check anything important against the council's own record.
A Doorstep Report lists any nearby applications that Planning Data returns, searched within roughly 250 metres of the postcode centre. It covers England only. National application coverage is still patchy, so the list can be short or empty, and an empty list is not evidence that nothing is planned. Use the council's register for the real picture, and see how to check an area before buying for wider research.
In Wales and Scotland, use each council's website. In Northern Ireland, use the regional planning register.
Questions, answered
Can I see planning applications near me on a map?
Often, yes. Many councils offer a map view in their planning search. If yours does not, search by street or postcode instead. There is no complete national map.
Will I be told about a planning application next door?
Not always by letter. For most smaller applications the council can use either a site notice or a neighbour letter, along with its website, so check the register yourself if you are buying.
How far back do online records go?
It varies. Some councils hold full documents from around 1990 and only decision notices before that, while others keep older records in a separate archive. Ask the planning department if you need something older.
Why can't I see my neighbour's extension?
It may have been permitted development, so no application was needed. It could also sit in an older archive, or it may have been built without permission.