Where our data comes from
Most directories rely on what companies say about themselves. Ours is built from the public planning record: real applications, real projects, real outcomes, verified by the firms themselves.
It starts with the public planning record
Local planning authorities publish every planning application they receive, along with the documents submitted in support of it. Those documents name the consultants who did the work: the ecologist who ran the survey, the planning consultant who wrote the statement, the engineer behind the drainage strategy.
We collect and structure this public record continuously as councils publish new applications. That is what powers each profile. A track record of real projects a firm has been named on, the councils they have worked with and the kinds of work they actually do, rather than a self-written advert.
We currently monitor around 90% of the UK's planning applications by volume, and we are actively working to complete coverage of every authority.
Cross-referenced with Companies House
Company names in planning documents are messy. Trading names, abbreviations and old entities all appear. We resolve each firm against Companies House, the UK registrar of companies, to confirm it exists, check whether it is active, and group related records under the right company.
An active registered company is not an absolute requirement, though. It helps us fast-track verification when a firm claims its profile, but plenty of excellent specialists operate as sole traders, and we want to champion them too. Sole traders are verified through our manual review route, with no restriction on their visibility or their ability to win work.
What the Verified badge means
A Verified badge means the company has claimed its profile and passed our verification checks. We confirm the person claiming actually represents the firm by matching their email domain against trusted sources, including the company website and its planning history, and, where the firm is a registered company, by checking it is active at Companies House.
Claims that cannot be verified automatically, including sole traders without a Companies House registration, are reviewed manually by our team before any badge is awarded. Verified firms control their own description, services, contact details and showcase projects.
Unclaimed profiles
Profiles the firm has not yet claimed are built entirely from the public record. They show the planning track record we have assembled, with some details held back until the company verifies ownership.
If one of these profiles is your firm, you can claim it in a few minutes and take control of how your company appears.
Keeping the data accurate
The directory refreshes as local planning authorities publish new applications and decisions, so track records grow over time instead of going stale.
Verified owners can edit their own profiles and submit corrections directly. If you spot something wrong on any profile, yours or not, contact us and we will investigate and correct the record.