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Guide

How to track UK planning applications for new work

A planning application is the earliest public sign that a building project is real. It appears before the tender, before the main contractor, often before the design is finished. For contractors, suppliers and specialists, planning data is the best place to find work early. Here is how the process works and how to use it.

6 min read|Reviewed June 2026

Why planning data is worth watching

By the time a job is out to tender, the design is largely set and the main contractor often has its subcontractors lined up. A planning application puts you months ahead of that. You can see the project early, find the people behind it, and start a conversation while you can still shape the work.

And it is all public. Every council has to publish its planning applications online, with the documents attached.

The planning process, step by step

This is the process in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are broadly similar, with local differences.

  1. 1Pre application: optional informal advice between the applicant and the council. Often not public, but a sign something is coming
  2. 2Submission: the applicant or their agent submits through the Planning Portal to the local council
  3. 3Validation: the council checks the application is complete. This takes days to a couple of weeks, and the clock does not start until it is validated
  4. 4Consultation: a 21 day period when the public and statutory bodies can comment. The application and all its documents are public on the council register at this point
  5. 5Determination: the council decides. The target is 8 weeks for minor applications and 13 weeks for major ones, or 16 weeks if an Environmental Impact Assessment is needed
  6. 6Decision: granted, granted with conditions, or refused. Bigger or contentious schemes go to the planning committee of elected councillors, smaller ones are decided by officers
Reality check on timing
The official targets are 8 and 13 weeks, but major applications often run longer through agreed extensions of time. That is normal, and it means there is usually more runway than the headline figures suggest.

What you can see, and what is gold

On the council planning register you can typically find:

  • What is being built, where, and the application reference
  • The stage it is at, and the key dates
  • The agent, architect or planning consultant acting for the applicant
  • The applicant, and supporting documents such as design and access statements

The contacts are the valuable part. The agent or architect on a planning application is a direct line to the project, long before a main contractor is appointed.

From planning application to lead

  1. 1Filter to what fits: your trade, sectors, region and the stages you care about
  2. 2Read the signal: early planning means time to influence, granted means it is moving to delivery
  3. 3Find the people behind it and reach out
  4. 4Track it so you follow up at the right moment

Doing it without losing your week

You can do all of this for free on council websites. The problem is scale. There are hundreds of councils, each with its own portal, updating every day. Watching them by hand for your patch is a real job.

Strukta pulls planning applications from councils across the UK into one place, filters them to your trade and area, links the companies and contacts on each, and refreshes daily. You can browse by location or sector, and pricing is published from £19.99 a month.

Frequently asked questions

Are planning applications public in the UK?

Yes. Every local council must publish planning applications on its online register, including the supporting documents, and they are free to view.

How long does a planning decision take?

Once validated, the target is 8 weeks for minor applications and 13 weeks for major ones, or 16 weeks with an Environmental Impact Assessment. Major applications often take longer through agreed extensions of time.

When is the best time to act on a planning application?

As early as you can. The early planning stage is when the specification is still open and the project team is being formed, which is the best moment to get known.

How do I track planning applications across many councils?

You can search each council register by hand for free, but it is slow across hundreds of portals. A tool like Strukta brings them into one place, filtered to your trade and area, and refreshed daily.

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