About PlanFind

What is PlanFind?

PlanFind is a free service that helps homeowners, landlords and local residents stay informed about planning applications submitted near their property.

We collect planning application data from council open data portals across England and Wales, making it easy to search by postcode and set up email alerts for your local area.

Why did we build it?

Finding out about planning applications near your home is surprisingly difficult. Councils publish the information, but it's buried in hard-to-navigate portals — and by the time you get a neighbour's letter, the consultation window may already be closing.

PlanFind fixes that. Search your postcode, see what's been submitted nearby, and get notified the moment something new appears.

Where does the data come from?

We collect planning application data from two sources:

• Council open data portals — many councils publish planning application data as open datasets under the Open Government Licence
• planning.data.gov.uk — the government's national planning data platform, which is growing in coverage as more councils adopt the standard

We update our data nightly. All data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Current coverage

We currently cover planning applications from:

• Camden LBC — London Borough of Camden
• Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council — Greater Manchester
• Canterbury City Council — Kent
• South Lakeland District Council — Cumbria

Coverage is expanding weekly as we add more council data feeds. If your council isn't covered yet, you can join the waitlist and we'll notify you when it's added.

Is it really free?

Yes — searching and basic weekly email alerts are completely free. No account needed to search. Just enter your postcode and go.

We plan to introduce optional paid tiers for instant alerts and wider radius searches in the future, but the core service will always be free.

How do I object to a planning application?

Every application on PlanFind links directly to the council's planning portal where you can view the full documents and submit a formal comment or objection. Planning applications typically have a 21-day consultation window from the date of validation.

Contact

PlanFind is an independent service. We're not affiliated with any council or government body.

For data accuracy issues or general enquiries, the best way to reach us is via the feedback link on any search result page.