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Start with the official planning register for the council responsible for your postcode. Use the GOV.UK “Search the register of planning decisions” service to identify that council, then search its planning portal by address, postcode, map location, proposal, or application reference. Read the complete case record, including plans, consultation material and the decision notice, and set up tracking or email alerts where available.
Do not treat the date by which a council should decide an application as a building start date. GOV.UK’s statutory determination periods are 8, 13 or 16 weeks depending on the application type, with a longer period possible by written agreement. Those periods relate to the administrative decision, not permission being granted, mobilisation on site or completion of construction.
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Check the jurisdiction before you search
This procedure is for England and Wales. The GOV.UK postcode service covers those two nations and directs you to the relevant council. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different planning systems and records, so do not assume that an England-and-Wales search, timetable or portal covers a property there.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallEven within England and Wales, the useful source is normally the local planning authority for the site. A national service can identify the authority, but the council’s own register is where the application documents, local consultation information and decision notice are usually displayed.
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Find the council responsible for the site
- Open GOV.UK’s “Search the register of planning decisions” service.
- Enter the postcode for the proposed site. Use the development’s postcode if you have it; otherwise use a nearby address or your own postcode and check the surrounding map area.
- Follow the result to the responsible council. Record the council name before searching, because neighbouring authorities can have similar street names and separate portals.
GOV.UK describes the purpose of the service plainly: “Plans for all new developments that need planning permission are made public by the council.” That makes the responsible council’s register the right first stop for a proposal that requires planning permission, but it does not make the register a complete record of every physical work or every project at every stage.
Open the council’s planning register or application portal
On the council website, search for one of these labels:
- Planning applications
- Planning register
- View and comment
- Public access
Each local planning authority in England must maintain a planning application register, with provision for online access. Councils implement that requirement through different systems, so buttons, search fields, date ranges and document layouts vary. A portal may contain current applications, historic cases, or both; the period of historical coverage is not uniform.
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Search using several location and case clues
One search term is rarely enough. Developers and agents may use a project description, place name or postcode that differs from the wording residents use. Run several searches and compare the results.
Address and postcode searches
Try the full address, the street name without a house number, nearby roads, the village or neighbourhood name, and the site postcode. A large site can have a separate postcode from the nearest homes, while a single postcode can cover multiple plots.
Map searches
If the portal provides a map, zoom to your home and inspect the surrounding parcels. Map searches are useful when the application uses an unfamiliar place name or omits a building number. Check the map marker against the plans; a marker can be approximate or positioned at a site entrance.
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Description and keyword searches
Search for terms that describe the work, such as housing, flats, demolition, extension, access road, warehouse, school or employment space. Try alternative spellings and shorter terms. Search results may include unrelated cases, so verify the address and plan location in each record.
Application reference searches
If a neighbour, notice, letter or developer has supplied an application reference, search that exact reference first. It is generally more precise than a free-text description and helps you find later documents attached to the same case.
Nearby and historical searches
Search adjacent streets and earlier dates as well as the immediate address. A proposal may be submitted under the landowner’s address, a former site name or an older place name. An earlier application can explain why a current proposal has a different reference or description.
Read the whole case record, not just the search result
Open each plausible record and work through the fields and documents. At minimum, note:
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- Application description and site address: confirm that the proposal is actually near your home.
- Case status: establish whether the application is being processed, has a decision recorded, or has another status shown by that council.
- Displayed dates: record registration, consultation, decision and any other milestone dates the portal provides.
- Plans and drawings: inspect the site plan, proposed layout, elevations, access arrangements and any phasing information shown in the uploaded documents.
- Consultation material: read public comments, consultee responses and officer reports where published.
- Decision notice: check the decision and the conditions or other wording attached to it.
Portal fields are not standardised. One council may show a detailed document list while another displays only selected records or older scans. Save the application reference and the date you checked the record so that later changes can be identified.
Track an application after you find it
Many council systems offer a search profile, “track application” button or email alerts. These may notify you when an application is registered, documents are added or its progress changes. Bristol City Council, for example, describes case tracking and alerts for registration and progress; other councils provide different features.
- Create an account or search profile if the portal requires one.
- Use the application reference to add the case to your tracked list.
- Choose email notifications if the system offers them.
- Check the record itself when an alert arrives, because an email may summarise a change without showing the full document or its context.
Alerts are optional monitoring tools, not formal legal notification. If a deadline, ownership issue or decision status matters, confirm it with the council.
Understand what the 8-, 13- and 16-week figures mean
GOV.UK planning guidance identifies statutory decision periods of 8, 13 or 16 weeks, depending on the application. A longer period can apply when the applicant and authority agree an extension in writing.
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Look for construction dates separately
Construction information may appear in the planning record, council datasets or a developer’s own project communication, but availability is uneven. Search the record for an explicit start date, expected completion date, construction phase or progress update. Treat a date as a statement about the project only when the source identifies who supplied it and when it was updated.
If no milestone is published, ask the planning authority whether it holds a current start or completion update and ask the developer or landowner for the latest programme. Keep the response with its date and source. A planning decision alone is not evidence that work has started.
London-specific milestone data
The Greater London Authority describes a London Datahub that tracks qualifying developments after permission through construction, including works start and final completion. Local authorities provide annual updates for applications proposing housing or non-residential floorspace within that coverage. This is a London-specific source for qualifying developments, not a complete live construction tracker for England, Wales or the whole of London.
Compare the main places to look
| Source | Geographic coverage | What you can use it for | Limitations to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOV.UK “Search the register of planning decisions” | England and Wales | Identify the council responsible for a postcode and reach its planning information. | It directs you to the authority; it is not a construction-progress database. |
| Local council planning register | The council’s planning area | Search applications, view plans and consultation documents, read decisions and use any tracking tools. | Search fields, portal features and historical coverage differ; records can be incomplete. |
| Greater London Authority Datahub | Qualifying developments in London | Check recorded works-start and final-completion milestones after permission where data is supplied. | Coverage is specific to qualifying London developments and updates are supplied by local authorities annually; it is not a UK-wide live tracker. |
| General directories or map listings | Varies | Discover a possible site or alternative spelling to investigate. | A directory may not be live or complete. Verify every case against the responsible council’s register. |
Interpret an empty search carefully
No result does not prove that no proposal exists. Possible explanations include:
- You searched the wrong council or a neighbouring authority.
- The application uses another address, place name or postcode.
- The portal’s date range or archive does not include the case.
- The application has not yet been registered or documents have not appeared online.
- The work may not be represented by the planning application search you used.
- The portal may have incomplete historical records.
Repeat the search with nearby streets, map view, an application reference and broader keywords. If the question has legal or financial consequences, ask the council to confirm whether a particular application or decision exists rather than relying on an empty result.
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Know the limits of council portal records
A public portal is a practical monitoring record, not necessarily a complete legal history. Bristol City Council warns that its online planning history is incomplete, is not a substitute for a formal Land Charges Search, and is not formal notification of a planning decision. Other councils may publish different cautions, but the principle is broadly useful: check the wording on your own authority’s site before relying on the record for a purchase, dispute or formal due-diligence decision.
For an important transaction, ask the council which formal search or certificate is appropriate. For day-to-day awareness of a nearby proposal, the online register, saved application reference and dated copies of key documents are usually the most useful combination.
Ask for a current construction update when the record is silent
Use a concise, specific enquiry so the recipient can answer it:
- Identify the site address and planning application reference.
- Ask whether permission has been granted and whether any relevant documents have been added since your last check.
- Ask whether a start-on-site date, construction phase or anticipated completion date is recorded.
- Ask who supplied the date and when it was last updated.
- Request confirmation if no milestone is currently known.
Send the enquiry to the council planning service for questions about the application record. Send project-programme questions to the developer, landowner or appointed project contact. Keep their replies separate from the formal decision notice: a forecast can change, while the notice records the authority’s decision and conditions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use this repeatable checking routine
- Identify: run the postcode through GOV.UK and note the responsible council.
- Locate: open the council’s planning register or application portal.
- Search: use address, postcode, map, proposal keywords and application reference, including nearby locations and alternative names.
- Verify: match the site plan and address to the land you are watching.
- Read: review status, documents, consultations, plans, displayed dates and the decision notice.
- Track: add the case to portal alerts or a search profile when offered.
- Separate: record decision dates independently from any construction start or completion information.
- Escalate: ask the council or developer for a dated update when the portal contains no current milestone.
- Document: save the reference, key documents, source and date checked.
Common mistakes and their fixes
Using the application deadline as the build date
Why it fails: the 8-, 13- or 16-week figure concerns determination of the application. Fix: look for a separately stated construction milestone and identify its source and date.
Searching only your exact house number
Why it fails: a large site may be recorded under a developer’s address, a nearby road or a site name. Fix: search the street, postcode, map, neighbouring roads and description keywords.
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Assuming one portal works like another
Why it fails: councils differ in labels, alert functions, document availability and archive coverage. Fix: learn the fields on the responsible council’s own portal and contact it when a material record is missing.
Treating a directory as the official record
Why it fails: directories can be incomplete or not live. Fix: use them only to identify possible leads, then verify the application and decision with the council.
Assuming a blank result means no development
Why it fails: wrong authority, alternate naming, registration delays and incomplete archives can all produce no result. Fix: repeat the location and map searches and ask the council for confirmation.
What to record for neighbours, buyers and residents’ groups
Create a simple log for each site you monitor. Include the application reference, exact site address, proposal description, council, date first found, dates of later checks, links or document names shown by the portal, decision status, and any construction statement with its source and date. This avoids confusing an old forecast with a later update and lets other residents reproduce the search.
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When to contact the council urgently
Contact the planning authority when the site is clearly visible on the ground but you cannot match it to a record, when a decision notice appears inconsistent with the portal summary, when a critical document is missing, or when you need confirmation for a legal, safety or property transaction. Give the officer the site address, approximate location, any application reference and the dates of your searches.
For construction progress that the council does not hold, contact the developer or landowner and ask for a dated, project-specific response. Do not present an informal estimate as a council commitment.
Bottom line
For England and Wales, identify the responsible council through GOV.UK, then search that council’s register in several ways and read the full record. Use portal alerts to monitor changes, but treat the statutory 8-, 13- or 16-week application period as an administrative decision window only. Construction start and completion dates must be found separately and may not be published; London’s Datahub can provide milestones for qualifying developments, while other locations require a council or developer update. An empty or partial portal result is a reason to broaden the search or ask the authority, not proof that nothing is planned.
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