Welcome to the PlanProve blog

Welcome to the PlanProve blog. We built PlanProve because the UK planning system, while well-intentioned, can feel opaque and intimidating for homeowners taking on their first extension, loft conversion, or change of use. Even seasoned professionals find local quirks frustrating, with every council having its own interpretation of national policy and its own unwritten expectations about documentation and design.

This blog is our attempt to make that world a little less confusing.

Over the coming months we will publish practical guides covering the topics homeowners ask us about most. What counts as permitted development in 2026. How to read a local plan without losing an afternoon. What a planning officer actually looks at when they open your application. Why pre-application advice is often worth the fee. How to interpret consultation responses from neighbours, highways, and heritage officers without panicking.

We will also cover the mistakes we see most often. Submitting drawings at the wrong scale. Underestimating how much a flood zone designation or a nearby listed building will shape what is achievable. Treating the planning statement as an afterthought rather than the document that frames your whole case. These errors are easy to avoid once you know to look for them, and expensive once you do not.

Alongside the guides we will share insights from the planning professionals on the platform. Planning consultants, transport consultants, ecologists, heritage specialists, structural engineers, architects and more. You will hear how they approach tricky sites, negotiate with officers, and turn refusals into approvals on appeal. We will feature case studies of real projects, with the reasoning behind key decisions made visible.

We hope you find it useful. If there is a topic you would like us to cover, let us know.