Open the application on your council's planning portal, copy the address bar link, and paste it below. We read the page and explain the proposal in plain English — including key dates and whether there still appears to be time to comment.
Planning application summariser — what this tool does
Council planning portals are written for professionals. A single application can span dozens of documents, and the summary page itself is often a wall of codes, dates, and jargon. If you just want to know what your neighbour is proposing and whether you can still comment, that is a lot of reading.
This tool reads the portal page for you. Paste the link to an application on your council's planning register and you get a plain-English explanation of what is proposed, the key dates on the record, and whether the comment window still appears open.
The summary is educational and generated by AI from the public portal page — it is not legal advice, and the council portal remains the authoritative source. If the application concerns you, run our free material-grounds scan next, then draft an objection letter from £7.99 if you choose.
How it works
- Open the planning application on your council's planning portal (for example an Idox Public Access page) and copy the address bar link.
- Paste the link into the tool. We check it points at a public council planning register.
- We read the page — including the key-dates tab on Idox portals — and an AI writes a plain-English summary of the proposal, status, and dates.
- You see whether there still appears to be time to comment, plus practical next steps and a link to start a free objection scan.
How this helps if you are objecting
The two facts that matter most at the start of any objection are what exactly is proposed and when comments close. Both are on the portal but often buried. Getting them in plain English first means you can decide quickly whether a formal objection is worth your time.
Once you know the proposal and the deadline, run the free scan to see which of your concerns may be material planning considerations, and use Case Watch if you want alerts when the record changes.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the planning application summariser free?
- Yes. No account or payment is required. Paste a council portal link and read the summary. It is rate-limited to keep the service available for everyone.
- Which council portals does it work with?
- It works with pages on public council planning registers across the UK — including Idox Public Access, Planning Explorer, and national planning registers. If a page needs a login or is not a planning register, the tool will say so.
- Can it tell me the deadline for comments?
- When the portal page shows a consultation end or comments-by date, the summary includes it and says whether the window still appears open. Many councils also accept comments up to the decision date. Always confirm the deadline on the council portal itself.
- Is the summary legal advice?
- No. It is an automated educational summary of a public web page. It can contain mistakes and the portal record can change. For advice on your situation, speak to your ward councillor or a qualified professional.
- Does Planning Guard submit my comment or objection?
- No. Comments and objections are always submitted on the council's own planning portal. Planning Guard helps you understand the application and, if you choose, draft an objection letter after a free scan.
- The tool says my link doesn't look like a planning portal — why?
- Make sure you paste the link to the application's detail page on the council planning register, not a news article or the council homepage. On Idox portals the link usually contains 'applicationDetails.do'.