How to find your local planning authority

A local planning authority (LPA) is the public body with legal power to grant or refuse planning permission for land in its area, and to enforce against development that was built without it. In England that is almost always a council, although a few areas are handled by a national park authority or another body given planning powers by government. The practical question for you is simple: which one covers the exact address, because the policies, forms, fees timetable and officers all follow from that answer.

What is a local planning authority in the UK?

The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 sets out who counts. Outside the metropolitan areas and Greater London, a county council is the county planning authority and a district council is the district planning authority. A metropolitan district council is the planning authority for its district, and so is each London borough council (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 1). Unitary councils, which have no separate county above them, carry out the whole job themselves.

The county tier in a two-tier area mostly deals with minerals and waste. Applications for houses, extensions and shopfronts go to the district council, as the Government's planning guidance puts it (GOV.UK, making an application). The word "local" therefore does not always mean your parish or town council: those bodies are consulted on applications but do not decide them.

How do I find my local planning authority?

1. Open the Planning Portal's finder and enter your postcode or the authority's name. If the plot has no postcode, use its grid reference option instead.
2. Cross-check with the GOV.UK council finder, which gives the website of the council for a postcode. That page is about councils generally, so it will not tell you who handles planning in a national park.
3. Open the council's planning pages and look for the planning register, the local plan and a contact for the duty planner.
4. If your address sits on a boundary, between two districts or beside a park, ask the council in writing which authority will decide before you pay anyone to draw plans.

How do I search past planning applications on my council's website?

Every authority publishes its applications online, usually in a section called planning register, public access or search applications. Search by address, postcode or reference number, then open the documents tab. You are looking for the application form, the plans, the case officer's report and any consultee replies from highways, conservation or drainage teams.

• Search your own address first: it shows what has already been approved, and any conditions that still bind the property.
• Search both neighbours and the street: similar extensions, loft conversions or new homes that were approved show what the officers accepted.
• Note refusals as well as approvals, and read the reasons in the officer's report, because they show which policies the council leans on.
• Look at appeal decisions in the same area, which usually link from the register entry.

Reference formats differ between councils, so a number that works on one portal will not on another. Older decisions may sit as scanned images and some small cases predate the online system. Our own planning applications page explains what an architect prepares once you decide to apply, and the householder extension guide shows which projects need no application at all.

What do Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use instead?

Everything above describes England. The three other nations have their own legislation, forms, fees and appeal bodies, so check which one applies before using any England-only advice.

• Wales: the Welsh Government's planning page directs you to find your local planning authority and to apply through Planning Applications Wales (gov.wales, planning permission). The same page names Planning and Environment Decisions Wales as a Welsh Government body, and appeals there do not follow the English route, so check the Welsh guidance before relying on England-only deadlines.
• Scotland: the decision-maker is the planning authority, which is the local council or, in a national park such as Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, the park authority (mygov.scot, planning permission). Appeals are decided by the Scottish Government's Planning Directorate (gov.scot, planning and architecture).
• Northern Ireland: councils have largely held planning responsibility since 1 April 2015, while the Department for Infrastructure keeps regionally significant applications; the department recorded 8,774 decisions across 2025/26 (Department for Infrastructure).

What does the planning authority decide, and what is building control?

Planning asks whether a development is acceptable in land-use terms: its use, size, design, effect on neighbours, traffic, trees, ecology and flood risk. Building control asks whether the finished work is safe and meets technical standards such as structure, fire, drainage and energy performance. A scheme can pass one and fail the other, so having planning permission does not mean the construction is approved.

Both are often handled in the same council building but by different teams. In England the building control side can also be done by a private registered approver instead of the council, which is not possible for planning. The Planning Portal explains how a full plans building control application works, and both approvals may be needed on the same project.

Is pre-application advice worth asking the council for?

Usually yes for anything bigger than a simple extension, and almost always for a new house, a change of use or a listed building. Pre-application engagement is voluntary. Government guidance says councils may charge for discretionary services, that any charge must not exceed what the service costs to provide, and that councils are urged to offer at least a basic service for free (GOV.UK, before submitting an application).

What you get varies by council: a written reply, an officer meeting, or a site visit for a fee. Treat the reply as an informal view that does not bind the committee. Ask your architect to submit the questions and attach a sketch, because vague queries get vague answers. If the project involves a heritage asset, read our listed buildings page first.

How do I read a planning decision notice?

A decision notice is the formal outcome of your application. It names the site and the proposal, the date, and whether permission is granted, granted with conditions, or refused. Guidance says a refusal must set out the full reasons clearly and precisely, and identify the development plan policies it relies on (GOV.UK, determining a planning application). Approval notices no longer have to explain why.

1. Start at the decision line and the date: the clock for starting work and for appeals runs from the date on the notice.
2. Read the approved drawing list, because only those plans are permitted; a later design change may need a fresh consent.
3. Mark each condition and note whether it must be met before work begins, before occupation, or continuously.
4. Look for informatives, which are advice rather than requirements, and for any legal agreement linked to the permission.
5. If refused, list each reason and the policy cited, then decide whether to amend, resubmit or appeal.

Councils should decide most applications within 8 weeks, or 13 for major development, unless you agree a longer period in writing. The window to appeal depends on the case: the Planning Inspectorate gives 12 weeks for a refused householder application such as an extension, 6 months for most other refusals or for conditions, and 28 days where an enforcement notice has been served (Planning Inspectorate procedural guide).

How do I check an architect is on the ARB register?

1. Open the Architects Register, run by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), the statutory regulator.
2. Search by name or practice, and confirm the registration number and status match what you were told.
3. Ask the architect which planning authorities they have recently submitted to, since local knowledge of one council's validation list and officers saves weeks.
4. Use our city pages to compare practices near you, and read about the difference between ARB and RIBA.

What to ask an architect before hiring them

• Which planning authority will decide my application, and have you dealt with it before?
• Will you request pre-application advice, and is the council's fee included in your quote or extra?
• Which of my neighbours' decisions have you checked, and what did they tell you?
• Who handles conditions after approval, and what does that cost?
• What happens to your fee if the application is refused and we need to appeal?