Planning Intelligence Quiz — Planwiser

Free Under 2 minutes Bespoke to your site 100+ planning & housing datasets

Do I need planning permission?

We check your postcode against national planning data and run a permitted development test — you may not need permission at all. Free personalised checklist at the end.

MRTPI

Built by chartered town planners with decades of experience assessing these applications.

  • 01Whether it's permitted development or needs an application
  • 02Constraints auto-detected from your postcode
  • 03Your project readiness score, category by category
  • 04A 34-point checklist, pre-ticked from your answers
Decades
Of Local Planning Authority experience behind the advice
MRTPI
Chartered membership, Royal Town Planning Institute
rtpi.org.uk →
AISEP
Institute of Sustainability & Environmental Professionals
isepglobal.org →
England
Homeowners advised across the country
01 · Why PlanWiser The approach

Planning permission, from the other side of the desk.

PlanWiser at a glance

Insider planning expertise, priced for homeowners.

  • Chartered planning advice — MRTPI, AISEP
  • Built on council-side experience — decades of assessing applications inside Local Planning Authorities
  • Fixed prices, published up front — no hourly clocks, no scope creep
  • Householder work only — extensions, lofts, outbuildings, appeals
SM MR AK DH 50+
homeowners advised across England
Householder refusals · England
17,000+
planning applications by homeowners are refused every year — most for reasons that were knowable, and fixable, in advance.
Estimate from GOV.UK official statistics: ~159,600 householder decisions in the year to June 2025, ~89–90% granted. Figures rounded.
Why it matters
Most consultants tell you what to write. PlanWiser tells you what the officer will think — because we have spent decades being that officer.
PlanWiser · Chartered planning advice · MRTPI

Big developers buy this advice. Homeowners rarely can.

PlanWiser exists to close that gap. Our advice is built on decades of experience inside Local Planning Authorities — reading the applications, sitting in on committees, and watching plenty of well-intentioned schemes succeed, and fail, for reasons most homeowners never see coming.

That experience now works for the other side of the desk. Most PlanWiser clients are extending a family home, converting a loft, replacing an outbuilding, or trying to build in a tricky garden. Many arrive anxious — they've heard the refusal stories, or already had a knock-back and don't know what went wrong.

Our job is to tell you straight: what'll fly, what won't, and what's actually worth fighting for.

See case studies →
02 · Get started Products & services

Three ways to get the answer you need.

Design it yourself in our software, have us write the planning view, or talk it through with a chartered planner. Fixed prices, published up front. No hourly clocks. No creep.

New
Do it yourself · Software
PlanWiser Studio
The smarter way to plan. Craft your proposal with step-by-step guidance and auto-generated planning documents — before you spend £1,000s on drawings.
1 · Context2 · Site3 · Proposal4 · Assessment5 · Statement
£99one-off
  • Guided in five simple steps
  • Trace your own photos — real measurements, not a postcode guess
  • Live plan, elevation and street views as you move the sliders
  • Automatic proposal assessment, element by element
  • Professional planning statement, cover letter & submission checklist
  • Covers extensions, lofts, garden rooms, new dwellings, conversions & multi-unit
Explore Studio →

A planning design and document generation tool. It does not constitute formal advice, is not a substitute for professional planning, architectural or legal services, and does not produce scaled drawings. England only.
Written analysis
Planning Intelligence Snapshot
The complete written planning view on your site & scheme.
£199one-off
  • Full site & policy assessment
  • Constraints, opportunities & strategy
  • Read the way a planning officer would
Order the snapshot →
Talk it through
Premium Strategy Session
A focused, in-depth session to plan the smartest route through.
£395one-off
  • One-to-one with a chartered planner
  • Tailored strategy for your project
  • Clear, prioritised next steps
Book a session →
Not sure which you need?

Tell us about the project and we'll point you the right way.

No obligation, no sales call. Describe what you're hoping to build and we'll reply with an honest steer — including if the answer is that you don't need to pay us anything at all.

Useful to include
  • What you're planning to build
  • Your postcode or council
  • Whether you've been refused before
  • Roughly when you want to start
Send us the details →
03 · In their words Homeowner results

Real homeowners.
Real outcomes.

★★★★★

We'd been refused twice on a rear extension and given up. PlanWiser looked at it for half an hour and told us exactly what was killing it. Three months later it was approved.

SM
Sarah & James M.Two-storey rear extension · Oxfordshire
★★★★★

They'll tell you straight if your project's a stretch. Worth more than any fancy report — it saved us spending £8k on plans that were never going through.

MR
Michael R.Garden annexe · Reading
★★★★★

They knew our council inside out — what they care about, what they wave through. Felt like having a planning officer on our side. Hugely calming through a daunting process.

TP
The PattersonsBarn conversion · Wiltshire
★★★★★

The 20-minute call paid for itself ten times over. PlanWiser reframed our loft application in a way I'd never have thought of, and it sailed through.

AK
Aisha K.Hip-to-gable loft · Bristol
★★★★★

We were about to instruct an architect for a scheme that had no chance. PlanWiser caught it on the first call and pointed us at something that actually worked.

DH
David H.Replacement dwelling · Surrey
★★★★★

Honest, fast, and clearly knows the system from the inside. The written report gave us the confidence to actually go ahead.

EW
Emma W.Side-return extension · London
04 · What we help with Specialties

Built for homeowners,
not corporate developers.

i.

House extensions & alterations

Single-storey. Double-storey. Side-return. Wraparound. We'll tell you what your council will actually accept — before you spend thousands on drawings.

ii.

Loft conversions & dormers

Hip-to-gable. Mansard. Dormer. Whether it's permitted development or needs full permission, we'll find the cleanest route through.

iii.

Outbuildings & garden rooms

Studios, annexes, gyms, granny flats. The rules around what counts as "incidental" trip people up constantly. We'll keep you on the right side of the line.

iv.

Refused before? Appeals.

A refusal isn't the end. We'll read the decision notice the way the inspector will, work out what's actually winnable, and tell you straight if it isn't.

v.

Self-builds & garden plots

Subdividing. Infill plots. Replacement dwellings. The borderline cases — where good planning advice matters most.

vi.

Lawful Development Certificates

In plain English: proving what you've built is allowed, or that what you want doesn't need permission at all. Hugely valuable if you're selling, too.

05 · Common questions What homeowners ask

Things homeowners always ask us.

Do I actually need planning permission for this?+
Often the first and most useful question. Plenty of work falls under permitted development — meaning no application is needed — but the rules are full of small traps (curtilage, designated areas, prior approvals, the 4-year rule). A short call usually tells us whether you need permission, whether you'd benefit from a Lawful Development Certificate, or whether you can simply crack on.
I've already been refused — is there anything I can do?+
Often, yes. Refusals fall into three buckets: fixable (the scheme needed minor changes), strategic (the application was framed wrong), and genuinely unwinnable. We'll read the officer's report the way an inspector will and tell you honestly which one you're in. Plenty of refused schemes get through on the second attempt — but only if the right thing changes.
How much does it cost?+
Start for free: the 60-second assessment gives you an instant read on where your project stands, at no cost. From there, two fixed-price options match most needs — the Planning Intelligence Snapshot at £199 is a full written planning view of your site and scheme, and the Premium Strategy Session at £395 is a focused one-to-one to plan the smartest route through. No hourly clocks, no surprise extras — you see the price before you commit.
Will you tell me if my project is a long shot?+
Yes — bluntly. Telling you something will get approved when it won't is the most expensive favour anyone can do you. We'd rather lose the work than walk you into a refusal. If your scheme needs to change to stand a real chance, we'll say so on the first call.
Do I still need an architect?+
For most projects, yes — they handle drawings, design, and (if needed) building regs. PlanWiser does something different and complementary: we work out what to apply for and how to frame it so it gets approved. Many of our best clients come to us before instructing an architect, so the brief is right from day one.
How long does the whole process take?+
Once an application is submitted, councils have eight weeks to determine a householder application (thirteen for larger ones). Our side is faster: the free assessment is instant, a written Snapshot turns around in a few working days, and a Strategy Session is usually booked within a week. We'll always give you a realistic timeline up front — not an optimistic one that doesn't survive contact with the council.