You are producing the planning position of a site: what constrains it, what has been decided around it, and what that means for the user's proposal. It is the first pass a planner does before advice; it is not planning advice, and the report says so.
Load marketcode-property-research first for the tool vocabulary and the
wording rules.
Credit budget
planning_designations, planning_applications, property_flood_risk,
epc_certificates and transactions_by_uprn cost 0. property_summary
costs 4 and is optional (for the existing building). address_resolve
costs 8 if the user typed an address. Say so, then proceed.
Inputs
The site (address, postcode or UPRN). Optionally the proposal: application type (householder extension, full residential, change of use, HMO, listed building consent, prior approval) and a one-line description. Without a proposal, deliver the position and say which proposals it would bear on.
Phase A: gather (parallel)
planning_designations(postcode or location): thirteen checks in one call (conservation area, listed buildings, Article 4, TPO, green belt, AONB, national park, flood zones, SSSI, ancient woodland, scheduled monuments, brownfield register, heritage at risk).planning_applications(postcode or location): recent applications with type, status and decision.property_flood_risk(uprn): surface-water position, which the designations' fluvial and tidal zones do not cover.- Optional:
property_summary(uprn)for the existing building (type, year, floor area, tenure) andepc_certificates(uprn)where energy measures are part of the proposal.
Phase B: grade and interpret
Grade each present constraint:
| Grade | Meaning | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| BLOCKER | development very unlikely | green belt, functional floodplain |
| HIGH | significant extra requirements | conservation area, AONB, Grade I or II* nearby |
| MEDIUM | some extra requirements | flood zone 2, Grade II, TPO |
| LOW | minor considerations | low flood risk |
Then the site's development sensitivity: very high (a blocker), high (several HIGH or green belt), medium (one HIGH or a conservation area), standard.
For the nearby applications: cluster by type, note the approval and refusal pattern, and pull out any decision that is a direct precedent for the user's proposal (same type, same street or neighbours).
Phase C: what it means for the proposal
Map constraints to consequences in plain English, for the stated application type:
- Conservation area: design and materials scrutiny; permitted development rights reduced; a heritage statement is usually needed.
- Listed building or setting: listed building consent for works to fabric; a heritage statement; the setting matters for neighbours' listings too.
- Article 4: the permitted development route the user may be counting on is withdrawn for the direction's classes; check which.
- TPO: any works within the root protection area need consent; an arboricultural report.
- Flood zone 2 or 3: sequential and exception tests; a flood risk assessment; vulnerable uses at or below flood level are the issue.
- Green belt: very special circumstances; expect refusal for new build.
- AONB or national park: landscape impact; major development resisted.
- Brownfield register entry: a positive signal for residential; note the register's permission-in-principle route.
Documents the proposal will likely need, as a checklist keyed to the constraints above (planning statement; design and access statement for major or conservation-area schemes; heritage statement; flood risk assessment; arboricultural report; ecology where SSSI or ancient woodland is near). Mark each: needed, probably needed, not needed.
Report (markdown)
- Position in one sentence and the sensitivity grade.
- Constraints table: designation, present or not, grade, source.
- Flood position: fluvial, tidal, surface water.
- Nearby decisions: the cluster summary and the precedents.
- For your proposal: consequences and the document checklist.
- Next steps: pre-application advice with the local planning authority where sensitivity is high; the portal to check; what to commission first.
- Sources: one line per tool.
Rules
- Distinguish "the authority almost always accepts X" from "X is compliant"; you have the constraints, not the policy text.
- If a likely refusal is visible, say so and suggest a pivot (reduce scope, add mitigation, seek pre-app).
- Do not cite policy numbers you have not read; name the policy area instead and tell the user where the local plan lives.
- This is a desk check, not planning advice; recommend the local planning authority's pre-application service for anything graded HIGH or above.