The Yorkshire Planner is a Yorkshire-based planning consultancy founded by Rebecca Grace, an independent consultant with over 14 years of experience at large practices. After testing several competing platforms, Rebecca chose Searchland for its intuitive interface, constraint mapping, and reliable data sourcing.
We spoke with Rebecca about how the platform helps her compete as an independent consultant and manage a growing pipeline of work.
Challenges before Searchland:
- Site assessments required manually checking 8 to 12 different government and council websites
- A single planning appraisal could take up to five hours
- No paid data tool in place, all research was done manually
From five-hour appraisals to five minutes
When a new enquiry lands, the first thing Rebecca does is open Searchland. Within minutes, she has site constraints, ownership details, planning policy, and planning history in one place.
"I used to run my research across 8 to 12 different websites. Searchland now gives me the same thing in minutes.”
Reliable data, updated daily, traceable to the source
The Yorkshire Planner’s reputation depends on the accuracy of Rebecca’s advice. One feature she highlights that competing platforms lack is Searchland's source links, which let her click through to the original local authority page for any data point.
"Searchland puts me on a level playing field with much larger planning and property consultancies. It gives me fast access to the same depth of data, which lets me work more efficiently and with confidence."
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Customer support that goes further
Rebecca values Searchland's regular training sessions, which help her stay on top of new features. She also highlights the nationwide pricing model as a practical advantage over competitors that charge by region.
"It's very easy to spend money on a new tool and then not use it. I like that Searchland keeps you on top of it with training reminders and updates, and they're always happy to jump on a 1-on-1 whenever I need one."
What's next for The Yorkshire Planner?
Rebecca’s business is quickly growing through word of mouth. As enquiries increase, Rebecca is using Searchland to triage new opportunities, assessing site difficulty within minutes rather than committing hours before knowing whether a project is viable.
"Searchland is helping me manage more enquiries on my own. As I scale and hire, it's a valuable tool we'll continue to use."
Rebecca actively recommends Searchland to both large and independent consultancies. We're proud to support The Yorkshire Planner as Rebecca grows the business.
— Quotes from Rebecca Grace, Director, The Yorkshire Planner
Want to see how Searchland can help you source and assess sites at scale? Book a demo here with our team today.
