Your conveyancing search checks the land register. It does not check what was withdrawn from the planning portal four years ago. This guide explains exactly what falls through the gap, which transactions are most at risk, and what you can do about it before exchange.
The CON29 (and CON29R for optional enquiries) searches the local land charges register held by the council. It returns statutory notices, financial charges, planning decisions that have been formally registered, and certain enforcement notices. It is a reliable snapshot of what is formally registered on the land at the date of the search.
What it does not cover: planning applications that were withdrawn before a decision was made, enforcement history that has not been formally registered, unresolved certificates of lawful use, planning conditions that were attached to permissions and subsequently breached, or any planning history that predates the council's current portal system and was not migrated.
The planning history risks most likely to fall through a standard CON29 search are: withdrawn lawful use certificate applications (where the applicant pulled the application before a negative decision); unresolved CLEUDs where the certificate was never formally granted but the property has been sold as having lawful residential use; enforcement notices that were issued but not registered on the local land charges register; and planning conditions attached to older permissions that have been breached without formal enforcement action.
The gap is most significant for rural and coastal property transactions. Barn conversions, agricultural dwellings, coastal plots, AONB land, former commercial premises with change of use history — these are the property types where the planning status is often the core of the value, and where historical planning activity is most likely to be complex and only partially visible.
Agricultural holdings with any history of residential use or conversion are particularly high risk. The lawful use question — whether a dwelling on agricultural land has residential planning permission, a certificate of lawful use, or neither — can be extremely difficult to establish from a CON29 alone. And a property sold as having established residential use, where that status is actually unresolved, creates significant post-exchange exposure for both solicitor and client.
Properties near LPA boundaries, in AONB areas, or on the edge of National Park authority areas require particular care. A property in the Wye Valley AONB may fall under Herefordshire Council on one side and Monmouthshire County Council on the other — two entirely separate planning systems with no cross-referencing. A CON29 from one authority tells you nothing about planning history registered with the other.
National Park Authorities run their own planning registers entirely separately from the surrounding district council. A property near a National Park boundary may have relevant planning history in the NPA register that will not appear on any CON29 from the LPA. And Welsh LPA portals operate on systems that block automated access — making independent retrieval significantly more complex than for English authorities.
A pre-exchange planning history report sits cleanly alongside your other search disbursements. At £149–£249 per site depending on complexity, it costs less than one hour of your time and is straightforwardly justifiable to the client as a standard pre-exchange search. It does not require you to give planning advice — it delivers a factual intelligence report that you review and advise on in the context of the transaction.
Planning Decoder retrieves withdrawn applications, unresolved CLEUDs, enforcement records and title constraints that standard search packs miss — and delivers a professional written report before exchange. Protects your client and your PI cover.
Commission a due diligence report →