A new UK-based service, Planning Decoder, has launched a 48-hour property planning intelligence report designed to identify issues that could derail residential transactions.

The platform pulls data from local authority planning records, appeal decisions, Companies House and policy documents, combining AI-assisted analysis with human review.

The service has been operating in beta since late 2025 and is now working with agents across the South East and Wales, particularly on more complex residential transactions including listed properties, Green Belt sites and homes in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The launch comes as agents face increasing pressure around material information disclosures where planning history or compliance issues are not immediately visible through standard searches.

Quick turn-around

Planning Decoder founder, James Williams, says: “The information agents need to disclose is already in the public record. Our job is to do the work of finding it, in 48 hours, for less than a transaction fee.”

The information agents need to disclose is already in the public record.”

He explains that the most common use cases include pre-marketing due diligence, pre-exchange verification and resolving planning queries raised late in the conveyancing process.

Recent examples include uncovering incorrect planning authority records on a listed farmhouse, identifying historic planning issues on rural land that had not appeared in standard searches, and providing evidence to support an appeal on a development site.

Estate agents are moving into a world where ‘I didn’t know’ is no longer a defence.”

James adds: “Estate agents are moving into a world where ‘I didn’t know’ is no longer a defence. The research burden shouldn’t fall on them manually when the data is sitting there waiting to be pulled properly.”

The company says the aim is to give agents greater confidence in their disclosures while helping to reduce delays and fall-throughs at the point of exchange. Reports start at £149.