Free tool
Planning constraints checker
Check the national planning designations recorded at any location in England — free, with the source and check time shown against every result.
Check a location
Enter a postcode, address or place name in England. The check queries the national planning datasets published on planning.data.gov.uk and reports what is recorded at that point. It is decision support, not a planning decision.
Datasets the check covers
Each dataset below is queried live from planning.data.gov.uk, published under the Open Government Licence. Results carry the source and the time of the check so they can be audited.
- Green Belt and brownfield land register entries.
- Conservation areas, listed buildings and scheduled monuments.
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest and ancient woodland.
- Flood risk zones, with the highest zone recorded at the point.
- Tree preservation zones.
- National Parks and National Landscapes (formerly AONBs).
- Built-up area boundaries and the Local Plan boundary for the authority.
How to read the result
A constraint reported as identified means the dataset records a designation intersecting the point you entered. Not identified means the dataset returned no record there — useful, but it is a national dataset and not a substitute for a site survey.
Data currently unavailable means the source could not be reached at the time of checking. That is deliberately distinguished from a nil result: an absence of data is never treated as an absence of constraint.
Constraints that carry the most weight
Not all constraints behave the same way in decision-making. Statutory designations such as SSSIs and scheduled monuments carry the strongest protection. Heritage assets engage a statutory duty to have special regard to preservation. Flood zone 3 engages the sequential and exception tests. Green Belt makes most new building inappropriate development unless an exception or the Grey Belt tests apply.
Others — tree preservation orders, hedgerows, existing trees — usually shape layout rather than principle.
What the check does not include
Access and visibility, topography, contamination and ground conditions, utility and drainage capacity, protected species present on site, agricultural land classification, minerals safeguarding and neighbour amenity are all matters that need site-specific work. Treat this check as triage, not as a planning appraisal.
Common questions
- Where does the constraints data come from?
- The national planning data platform at planning.data.gov.uk, published by government under the Open Government Licence. Each result shows its source and the time it was checked.
- Why does a constraint show as unavailable?
- The dataset could not be reached at that moment. It is reported as unavailable rather than as an absence of constraint, so you know the point has not been cleared.
- Can I check a boundary rather than a single point?
- Yes — drawing a red-line boundary and checking the whole parcel is part of the members' site search tools, which also produce a scored appraisal and report.
This assessment is an automated planning intelligence report based on available public data. It does not constitute planning, legal, valuation or other professional advice and does not guarantee that planning permission will be granted.