Before you draw, before you apply
Start with the question on your mind.
Type it the way you'd say it out loud. You'll get a clear answer and the sources behind it — and a confident sense of whether you can proceed, or should bring in help.
Tell us your postcode and your question. PlanningAssist tailors the answer to your local plan and national policy — in plain English, with the sources behind it. Free to ask, any time.
PlanningAssist reads the question, finds the policy that governs it, and answers in plain English — then lists exactly where the answer comes from.
Describe your project the way you'd explain it to a neighbour — “can I convert my garage?” — and drop in your postcode. No forms, no planning vocabulary required.
Your postcode goes to PlanningConsult, which retrieves your adopted Local Plan and national policy (NPPF) — so the answer reflects the rules that actually apply where you are.
You get a clear answer with numbered references you can open and read yourself — so you can act, or move on to a full site check.
A generic chatbot will confidently invent a planning rule. PlanningAssist won't — it only answers from sources it can name, and shows them to you. Three kinds sit behind each reply:
Tap any question to open it in the assistant — with a full answer and its sources.
PlanningAssist is the middle step — the moment you stop reading and start asking. It sits between general guidance and a full site check, and hands you on cleanly when you need either.
Plain-English guidance and education, organised by region and project — for understanding the rules before you start.
Explore guidance You are hereInteractive, source-grounded answers to your specific planning questions — instantly, any time.
Ask a questionDrop in a postcode for an instant 15-layer constraint report — approval likelihood and a drafted planning statement, sources cited on every flag.
Run a postcode checkPlanningAssist never charges you to ask. It's funded by trusted local contacts — vetted trades and professionals shown alongside a relevant answer, ranked by how well they match your question and how close they are to your postcode.
Type it the way you'd say it out loud. You'll get a clear answer and the sources behind it — and a confident sense of whether you can proceed, or should bring in help.