New data: early planning application submissions
By the time a planning application appears on the council’s website, it’s already around three weeks old. Once it’s submitted, the council has to check it before it goes public. For those three weeks, the application exists, but nobody outside the council can see it.
Searchland and Planning Portal partner to show planning applications at submission
We’ve exclusively partnered with Planning Portal to show planning applications as they’re submitted. New submissions reach us within about 10 minutes, so you can see what’s coming forward around three weeks before it goes public.
How long does the council take to check a planning application?
Before a council publishes an application, it checks that everything is in place: the right forms, plans, fees and supporting documents. An application gets a reference number, goes on the council’s website and opens for public comment only after it has passed those checks.
How long that takes depends on the council and the type of application. Across submissions made through Planning Portal, the wait between submission and the application going public is typically around three weeks. Some submissions are sent back or withdrawn, and never go public at all.
Until now, that whole stage has been invisible to anyone outside the council.
New planning applications on Searchland
Early planning applications now appear in Searchland alongside everything else you use to assess a site:
- Every new submission appears on the map, clearly marked as unvalidated, meaning the council hasn’t checked it yet.
- Added to Searchland within 10 minutes of submission, and available around 3 weeks before they hit council portals.
- You see what’s planned at a glance: the site boundary, the type of application, what’s proposed and how many homes.
- The site is ready to assess straight away, with titles, ownership and planning constraints alongside.
- When the council publishes the application, Searchland matches it to the original submission, so you can follow it through to a decision.
Submissions haven’t been checked by the council yet, and some never will be. Every one is marked as unvalidated, so you always know what you’re looking at.
Why early planning data matters for land sourcing
A submission is one of the clearest signals that a site is coming forward. Someone has commissioned plans, prepared an application and paid the fee. It also points to who is likely to control the land.
- Land and new homes teams can see where other developers and promoters are active before it goes public, and adjust their own search accordingly.
- Land agents can spot new activity in their patch early, and get in front of landowners on neighbouring sites while there’s still time to act.
- Planning consultants can see what’s coming forward near a client’s site before the council opens it for comment, rather than finding out from the weekly list.
- Housebuilders tracking supply get around three weeks’ head start on where new homes are being proposed.
The only land-sourcing platform with Planning Portal submission data
Planning Portal handles more than 95% of planning applications in England and Wales. In 2025 that meant around 620,000 new submissions. Searchland is the only land-sourcing platform with access to that data at the point of submission, and this is the first partnership of its kind for a land-sourcing platform.
It’s the latest addition to what has become the most complete planning picture on any UK property platform. Over the past few months we’ve added planning enforcements, public comments, site activity and planning committees, plus Ask AI to help you query it all in plain English. Early applications extend that picture back to the moment an application is made.
“Planning Portal is where applications start, so bringing that data into Searchland means our users can see what’s coming forward around three weeks sooner. For land teams, that’s more time to assess a site, speak to the right people and make a decision. For the sector, it gives a clearer view of where development is heading, and it helps unlock sites that might otherwise be missed.”
Arthur Goodhart, Head of Data at Searchland
See early planning applications on Searchland
Early planning applications are live now on Searchland, across England and Wales.
Want to see what’s been submitted near your sites? Request a demo.
About Planning Portal
Planning Portal is the online service for submitting planning and building regulations applications, used by applicants, agents and councils. It handles more than 95% of planning applications in England and Wales and is operated by TerraQuest. Find out more at planningportal.co.uk.
