Back to Planning Decoder
For architects & architectural practices

Know the planning picture
before you price the job.

Comparable precedent, enforcement history, conservation constraints and pre-application intelligence — retrieved from portals that block every standard search tool. Before RIBA Stage 1. Before you commit design fees.

The feasibility stage intelligence gap

You cannot price the job
until you know what the site carries.

Every AONB commission, every conservation area project, every Article 4 restricted site — the planning record shapes what's possible, what's precedented, and what your client's realistic expectations should be. Standard searches don't reach it.

Before pre-application
Know how the conservation officer has interpreted comparable cases nearby. What comparable consents have been approved. What the LPA has consistently refused — and why. Walk into the pre-app meeting briefed.
Before you price the commission
A site with unresolved enforcement history, an Article 4 Direction or a heritage setting constraint changes the design brief, the fee structure and the programme. Find out before you commit drawing time — not after.
Before your client exchanges
Many architects are brought in post-offer but pre-exchange. A planning history report at this stage — positioned as part of your feasibility service — protects your client, your advice and your reputation.
Live case · North Wales AONB · architect commissioned · anonymised

The portal blocks every tool.
We pulled the full cluster in minutes.

This is what pre-application intelligence retrieval looks like in practice — on a site that standard search tools cannot reach.

Full site intelligence · Denbighshire AONB · £249 · under 24 hoursReal outcome
The barrier: Denbighshire runs on Civica Portal 360 — blocks all automated access at DNS level. Every standard planning search tool stops here. Our proprietary systems queried the live database directly, retrieving 1,000+ records across the postcode cluster before the architect's pre-application meeting.

Comparable precedent found: Two consents within 800m with near-identical AONB policy position — including officer wording on scale, massing and heritage setting. Directly usable as comparable argument in the pre-application submission.

Enforcement history retrieved: A 2007 Certificate of Lawfulness withdrawal — the lawful dwelling status of the subject property had never been confirmed. Material to the design brief and to the client's decision to proceed.

Title constraints surfaced: A 1949 National Trust covenant and a 1982 Secretary of State restriction — both outside any planning portal, both material to any development proposal on the site.

Strategic direction: Refusal pattern in the cluster identified a specific policy test the practice could address directly in the design approach — before a line was drawn.

Total cost: £249 · Turnaround: under 24 hours · Intelligence that shaped the brief before Stage 1 began.

What we retrieve

Intelligence that changes
what you put in front of a client.

Across every UK council, including portals that block every standard search tool. Retrieved before you start drawing.

Comparable consents and refusals
The approved and refused applications in the postcode cluster — including officer wording, committee minutes, and the specific policy tests applied. The precedent that shapes a realistic brief.
Withdrawn applications
Applications withdrawn before a decision are invisible to standard searches. We retrieve them directly. They are often the most revealing intelligence on any site.
Enforcement history
Notices, stop notices, breach of condition — across all relevant authorities, including pre-merger records that no current portal holds.
Conservation and heritage constraints
Conservation area designation history, listed building adjacency, Article 4 Directions, AONB boundaries, heritage setting case law across the cluster.
Committee minutes and officer reports
The reasoning behind decisions — not just the outcome. How the LPA applies its policies in practice, extracted from PDF archives most searches cannot reach.
Land Registry title constraints
Covenants, restrictions and conditions in the title register that are material to any development proposal — outside any planning portal.
We work across all designation types
Conservation areasArticle 4 DirectionsAONB sitesListed building adjacencyGreen Belt sitesNational ParksFlood zone constraintsAgricultural conversions
Pre-application intelligenceCluster analysisCommittee minutesWithdrawn applicationsPlanning conditionsRural development intelligence
How architects use it

Three ways it fits
your project workflow.

Option 1
You commission it for your own briefing
Before the pre-application meeting. Before Stage 1 begins. Before you advise your client on feasibility or programme. The intelligence sits in your file, shapes your advice, and protects your position.
Option 2
You present it to your client under your brand
We deliver white-label. Your client receives a Planning Decoder report bearing your practice name — as part of your feasibility service, billed at your rate. The intelligence capability is yours. The production is ours.
Option 3
You refer clients to us directly
We are building a network of recommended professionals. We refer clients to architects by region when our reports identify a situation needing proper design advice. No cost, no commitment — and your clients can commission directly and share the report with you.
Pricing

Before you commit drawing fees.
A report costs less than one day of your time.

Site Intelligence Report

£149–£249
Simple feasibility check to full multi-system complex case · 48 hours · all in
Comparable consents and refusals — officer wording extracted
Committee PDF archive mining — officer reports, vote records
Conservation and heritage constraints — full designation history
Article 4 Directions — all relevant authorities
Enforcement record — including pre-merger authority data
Land Registry title constraints — covenants and restrictions
Full postcode cluster — comparable decisions approved, refused and withdrawn
Professional PDF report — white-label available on request
Architectural practices & project-based commissions
Running regular projects? The conversation looks very different from our retail pricing.

Our retail rate is £149–249 per report. For practices commissioning feasibility intelligence on a project-by-project basis, or who want to offer white-label reports as part of their Stage 1 service, we price it differently.

Tell us what a typical project brief looks like. AONB site? Conservation area? Listed building adjacency? What intelligence would genuinely change your pre-application position? Tell us what it is worth to you and we will come back with a number that fits your fee structure.

Start a practice conversation →
White-label and per-project arrangements discussed privately. Get in touch when you commission your first report.
See the depth before you commission

Download a sample report.

Real intelligence from real cases. This is exactly what we produce.

Planning guides for architects

Understand the constraints
before you design around them.

Conservation areas — what they mean for design
What permitted development rights are removed, how conservation officers apply policy, and what the planning record reveals about how a specific LPA interprets character and appearance.
Read guide →
Article 4 Directions — how to check and what they remove
How Article 4 Directions remove permitted development rights and why they matter for residential conversion and extension projects in sensitive areas.
Read guide →
Pre-application advice — when it is worth paying for
What pre-application advice actually means, when to use it, what it costs, and what the planning record should tell you first before you spend on a formal pre-app.
Read guide →
Cluster analysis — using comparable decisions in your strategy
How to find and use local comparable decisions — approved, refused and withdrawn — to build a precedent argument before pre-application or application stage.
Read guide →
Green Belt and AONB — intelligence before you advise
The withdrawn applications, officer wording and comparable decisions that shape defensible advice on Green Belt and AONB development cases.
Read guide →
Committee minutes — the richest intelligence source
The reasoning behind decisions, not just the outcome. How to access committee PDF archives and what they reveal about how an LPA applies its policies in practice.
Read guide →
Listed building consent — what works require it
Works to a listed building without consent are a criminal offence. What requires consent, what does not, and how to identify the heritage constraints before the brief is set.
Read guide →
Barn conversion — Class Q and the prior approval route
Class Q is the permitted development route for converting agricultural buildings. The agricultural history of the building is the critical factor — and it requires a records check.
Read guide →
Commission a site intelligence report

Tell us the site.
We scope, you decide. No payment upfront.

Submit the site postcode and what you need to know. We confirm scope, cost and turnaround. Payment by Stripe before we start.

Postcode of the site you need intelligence on.
The more context, the better we can scope the work. Max 600 characters.

Intelligence reports produced by Sierra21 Software Studio — the team behind Planning Decoder. Proprietary extraction systems that query planning portals at a depth most professionals cannot access manually.