PlanAlert

For trades

Know about the work before anyone knocks on the door

When a homeowner applies for planning permission, they are telling the council exactly what they want built — months before they hire anyone. Plan Alerts sends you those applications in your patch, matched to your trade, every weekday.

Watch one area free, no card neededSee pricing

Step 1

Pick your areas and your trade

Choose the councils, towns or a distance around your postcode, then tell us what you do — extensions, roofing, electrics, groundworks, joinery, and so on. We only send you work you can actually take.

Step 2

Get the applications as they land

Every weekday we read the councils' own planning registers and email you the new applications that match. Each one comes with a plain-English summary, the address, the agent or applicant where the council publishes it, and a link to the council's own page.

Step 3

Approach the homeowner at the right moment

Two moments matter: when the application goes in, and when it is approved. Early gets you in front of people still choosing who to use. At approval, the work is about to start and budgets are real. We flag both.

Step 4

Send a letter that doesn't look like junk

Each application comes with a short letter you can edit — the homeowner's proposal in their own words, what you do, and how to reach you. Print it, sign it, post it. Nothing automated, nothing spammy.

How much of the country we watch

We currently collect from 403 of 413 UK planning authorities, holding 227,740 applications. Wherever you work, check the coverage page — it lists every council and says honestly where we still have gaps.

What an alert actually looks like

This is an example, written the way a real one reads. Nothing is hidden behind the payment — you can see the same detail on any application in the live feed right now.

The email

3 new jobs near you — 2 approved this week

Two-storey rear extension and loft conversion

Willow Road, Bristol · 1.8 miles away · Approved 14 March

A family home adding a two-storey extension at the back and converting the loft with two roof lights. Likely to need groundworks, brickwork, roofing, windows, plastering and electrics.

Rough job value £55,000–£80,000 · Best time for your trade: now (groundworks), roofing in about 8–12 weeks

See the council's own listing

The letter you can print

Dear homeowner,

I saw that your plans for a two-storey rear extension and loft conversion at Willow Road were approved by the council this month. Congratulations.

I am a local builder based a couple of miles from you and I have finished several extensions of this size nearby. If you have not settled on someone yet, I would be glad to look at the drawings and give you a straight price, with no obligation.

Kind regards,

Your name, your business, your number

Edit any of it, print it, post it. We never send it for you.

What this is not

  • We do not sell lists of homeowners' names, phone numbers or email addresses. You get what the council publishes and nothing more.
  • We do not post your letters for you. You print and send them, so the wording and the timing stay yours.
  • We do not promise you work. We show you the jobs early — winning them is still your job.

Try it on your own patch

Watch one area free, with no card. You will see the real applications coming in around you before you decide whether it is worth paying for.

Start watching an areaSee what's near me