You have found a house with a view over a field, a quiet side return and a neighbour whose garden is oddly large for the street. Any of those can change. The field may be allocated for 400 homes, the side return may be about to get a two storey extension, and the big garden may have a plot marked out. None of it is secret. It is all on a public register, if you can work out how to read it.
Where do I find planning applications near me?
Every council in England and Wales runs a planning register, and most use the same software. Search by the address, then use the map search with a radius of a few hundred metres. Sort by date and read the last five years. The portal is clunky and the documents are scanned PDFs, but the information is there.
Check the stage of each one. A live application is still being decided and you can comment. An approved one has permission, which normally lasts three years before work has to start, so a 2024 decision could still be built in 2027. A refused one may come back on appeal. And none of the entries say whether the thing was ever built. That is what the viewing is for.
What will the portal not show me?
Permitted development. A lot of building needs no application at all: single storey rear extensions up to 3 or 4 metres (6 or 8 with prior approval), loft conversions up to 40 or 50 cubic metres, outbuildings covering up to half the garden, and in many areas a house becoming a small HMO. Prior approval cases do appear on the portal. Ordinary permitted development does not, unless the owner applied for a lawful development certificate.
The other blind spot is the Local Plan. Councils allocate sites for housing in a document that runs to hundreds of pages, and an allocated field can go from grass to hoardings with nothing on the portal until the developer is ready. The site allocations map usually sits on the council's planning policy pages, separate from the application search.
What do conservation areas and Article 4 directions change?
In a conservation area the council has more say over what the neighbours can do, and what you can do. Demolition needs consent, trees are protected, and the council may have made an Article 4 direction, which removes specific permitted development rights (front windows, roof materials, extensions) so they need a full application. They are also common outside conservation areas where a council wants to control HMOs. Your solicitor's local search (the CON29 form) will say whether either applies to the house itself.
It will not tell you about applications next door. It is not designed to. The neighbours' planning history is your job.
Can I object if I don't own the house yet?
Yes. Anyone can comment on a live application, and the council must consider material planning matters (overlooking, loss of light, parking, character) whoever raises them. Comments are usually open for 21 days. A buyer's objection carries the same weight as a neighbour's, though think about whether you want your name on the file if you end up living there.
What should I ask?
Ask the agent whether the seller has been notified of any applications on the street in the last two years, and whether a neighbour has mentioned building work. Ask your solicitor whether the house is in a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction, and whether they will look at the neighbours' history, since the local search will not. Then ask the neighbours. People love talking about the extension over the road. [check: planning-next-door]
How Eavesdrop checks this
Eavesdrop reads the council's planning register for applications within a set radius of the property, sorts them by status and decision date, and checks the address against the conservation area and Article 4 layers on the council's policies map. Each finding in the Next door tell links to the original application so you can read the drawings yourself. Before you offer. Before you sign. Eavesdrop.
Quick answers
How do I check planning applications near a house? Use the council's online planning register, search by address and then by map radius, and read the last five years of applications. Check the Local Plan separately for site allocations.
Does a local search show planning applications next door? No. The CON29 local search covers the property you are buying. Applications on neighbouring land have to be searched separately on the council's planning portal.
Can a buyer object to a planning application? Yes. Anyone can comment on a live application during the consultation period, and the council must weigh any material planning considerations raised.
Sources: Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015; Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990; Law Society CON29 Enquiries of Local Authority; National Planning Policy Framework.
