What's being built near any UK address?
Look up planning applications within 500m of any UK property. See what is undecided, what just got approved, and what could change your view, light, traffic or street character before you make an offer.
12.4
planning applications, on average, within 500m of a UK property in any 12-month window.
That's the average across hundreds of properties checked on Move Insights. The median is 12, the busiest 10% of properties have 25 or more, and the single noisiest had 45. Most buyers find out about exactly zero of them before exchanging contracts.
What a nearby application can mean for your property
Not every planning application matters to the buyer. Some genuinely do. The categories below are the ones worth reading the case officer's report on.
Loss of view, light or privacy
A two-storey rear extension on the house behind, or a roof terrace that overlooks your garden. Most extension applications fall here. They are the modal application type we see (33% of nearby applications across our sample).
Change of use
A pub becoming flats, a shop becoming an HMO, an office becoming a takeaway. Change-of-use applications can shift the character of the street and bring new traffic, deliveries and noise patterns.
Major developments
New estates, blocks of flats, hotels, supermarkets. These often start as outline applications years before any building begins. The undecided ones are the ones to ask about.
Telecoms and masts
Phone mast and antenna applications are nearly always granted under permitted development rights. They show up in our data and tend to be quick decisions. Worth knowing about, rarely worth fighting.
HMO conversions
A residential property becoming a House in Multiple Occupation. In some councils this needs full planning permission; in others it falls under permitted development. The application appears either way.
Listed building consent
Required for any external or significant internal change to a listed building. Useful as a signal of how active the conservation officer is in the area, and how quickly applications get through.
What our planning check covers
- Every application within 500m of the property over the last 24 months.
- Status of each: permitted, undecided, refused, withdrawn, or granted with conditions.
- Distance from the property, and the official reference for the application.
- The 12-month and 24-month application count for the immediate area.
How busy is the typical UK property's neighbourhood?
Across the properties checked on Move Insights, here's the spread of how many planning applications were within 500m in the last 12 months.
| Applications in 12m | Properties | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 25 | 5.8% |
| 1-5 | 83 | 19.3% |
| 6-15 | 173 | 40.3% |
| 16-30 | 139 | 32.4% |
| 31+ | 9 | 2.1% |
Move Insights, refreshed 1 May 2026.
The undecided applications matter most
Across the properties we have data for, 71.6% have at least one undecided application within 500m. An undecided application is one that has been submitted to the council but not yet approved or refused. It can sit there for months while objections, revisions and conditions are negotiated.
Of the 3,848 most recent applications we sampled across all those properties, the breakdown is:
| Status | Applications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Permitted | 1,722 | 44.8% |
| Undecided | 1,034 | 26.9% |
| Conditions | 498 | 12.9% |
| Rejected | 215 | 5.6% |
| Unknown | 206 | 5.4% |
| Withdrawn | 157 | 4.1% |
| Unresolved | 14 | 0.4% |
| Referred | 2 | 0.1% |
Sample is the 10 most recent applications per property (sorted by submission date). Recent applications are more likely to still be undecided, so the Undecided percentage in this status table over-represents what you'd see across the full universe of applications.
What kind of work is being applied for?
Categories from a keyword scan of 3,848 sampled application descriptions. About four in ten applications fall outside our common categories (minor amendments, conditions discharge, bespoke works), so this table shows what we can name with confidence rather than the full picture.
| Category | Applications | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,507 | 39.2% |
| Extension | 1,282 | 33.3% |
| Change of use | 248 | 6.4% |
| Outbuilding / garage | 195 | 5.1% |
| Tree works | 187 | 4.9% |
| Loft conversion | 103 | 2.7% |
| New build / dwelling | 90 | 2.3% |
| Telecoms / mast | 73 | 1.9% |
| Advertisement / signage | 71 | 1.8% |
| Listed building consent | 60 | 1.6% |
| HMO conversion | 32 | 0.8% |
How to use this when making an offer
Ask the seller what they know about the undecided applications
The seller has had longer to research the area than you. If there's an undecided application within 100m, they will probably know about it. Their answer (or the silence) is informative. Sold prices nearby can also tell you whether the last buyer factored a known application into their offer.
Read the case officer's report on anything serious
Every council publishes a case officer's report on each application. It contains the objections, the planning policy points, and the recommendation. If something nearby looks contentious, ten minutes reading the report tells you more than a portal listing.
Use a refused application as a price-anchor argument
A neighbour's recently refused extension is a real constraint on what you can do with the same plot type. If you'd been planning the same extension, that refusal changes what the property is worth to you. It is a defensible point in a negotiation rather than just a discount request.
What this isn't
- Not a planning consultancy. We surface the data so you can see it. Interpreting whether an application will succeed, or whether yours would, is a planning consultant's job.
- Not a substitute for the official Local Authority Search. Your solicitor's search covers planning plus charges, road adoption, contaminated land and many other things. Use this report before you make an offer; use the official searches once you instruct.
- Not pre-application data. Pre-app discussions between developers and councils are confidential. We see formal applications only.
Common questions
Know before you offer
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