Section 9

Local councils & planning authorities

The council whose Local Plan actually governs a site is who you approach for planning permission — not a national body. England has 296 district, unitary, metropolitan and London authorities, plus 21 county councils in two-tier areas. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are listed in full. Every LPA must keep a public planning register; there is still no single free list of every extension in the UK.

Find the planning register (not just the homepage)

• England & Wales — postcode to the council register: gov.uk/search-register-planning-decisions
• Find the Local Planning Authority: Planning Portal — find your LPA
• England & Wales, council website by postcode: gov.uk/find-local-council
• Scotland: ePlanning.scot
• Northern Ireland: Planning Portal NI register
• How to read proposal, status and documents: Planning permissions guide
• Direct links into many English search portals: Planning Geek directory

In two-tier parts of England the district, borough or city council is the local planning authority for most development. The county council still deals with highways, education, and minerals and waste. Unitary, metropolitan and London boroughs do both. Names follow ONS local authority districts (April 2023); a handful of websites share a domain with a neighbour (for example Adur and Worthing). If a link is stale, use the gov.uk postcode tool.