Local authority
Planning reports
The CON29 tells you about the property. A planning report tells you what is about to happen around it — which is usually what the buyer actually wants to know.
What it is
What this search covers
The standard local authority search is deliberately narrow. It reports on the property itself and on schemes within a set statutory distance. It does not tell a buyer that a two-hundred-home allocation sits in the local plan for the field behind the garden.
A planning report fills that gap. It maps planning applications and decisions in the surrounding area, identifies local plan allocations and housing land supply sites, flags major infrastructure projects, and sets out the designations — green belt, conservation area, AONB, flood zone — that shape what can happen nearby.
It is also the report that answers the buyer's own extension question: what has the council approved and refused nearby, and what are permitted development rights on this property.
Included in the report
- Planning applications, decisions and appeals within the search radius
- Local plan allocations and proposed site designations
- Housing and mixed-use development pipelines
- Major infrastructure and transport schemes
- Green belt, conservation area and AONB designations
- Listed buildings and scheduled monuments nearby
- Permitted development rights and Article 4 restrictions
- Neighbourhood plan coverage
At a glance
| Turnaround | Varies by property, authority and provider. We give you a realistic timescale when you order — and we work to beat it. |
|---|---|
| Format | PDF report with mapping of nearby applications, allocations and designations |
| Who orders it | Any buyer who cares what the view, the traffic or the neighbourhood will look like in five years |
| Category | Local authority |
Why it matters
What goes wrong without it
The field behind the house is the commonest complaint after completion
Buyers rarely check the local plan. A planning report puts the allocation in front of them before exchange, in writing.
Article 4 directions remove rights buyers assume they have
In conservation areas and elsewhere, permitted development can be withdrawn. A buyer planning a loft conversion needs to know.
Questions
Planning Reports — your questions
Is this not covered by the local authority search?
Only partly. The CON29 covers the property and specific schemes within a set distance. A planning report covers the surrounding area and forward-looking allocations, which the CON29 does not.
How wide is the search radius?
Typically several hundred metres, with major schemes picked up considerably further out. We can widen it where a specific concern justifies it.
Need this search on a property today?
Send us the address. We will tell you what it needs, what it costs and how long it will take.
Or call 0151 652 4184 — telephone support seven days a week