Check That FieldEvery field in England, scored
Will that field get built on?
Type a postcode. We score every field nearby for how likely it is to become housing, and show you why.
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very High
Built on open data published by
- HM Land Registry
- Environment Agency
- Natural England
- Ordnance Survey
- Historic England
- Department for Education
- NHS England
- MHCLG
01How a field is scored
Points for pressure.
Points off for protection.
Every field starts at zero. Evidence that someone wants to build adds points: a Local Plan allocation, a promoter's option, a council short of housing land. Protections take them away, and a few things, like a nature reserve or a floodplain, put a hard ceiling on the score.
- Twelve checks on every field, from flood zones to the council's housing supply
- Every reason links to the record or page it came from
- A confidence level that says how much we could actually check
Field report
Land east of Mill Lane
4.2 ha · St Albans
Very High
- Allocated for housing in the emerging Local Plan+35
- A land promoter holds an option on the field+25
- The council is short of a five-year housing supply+15
- Sits on the edge of the village+10
- Partly in Flood Zone 2−15
12 checks · web check includedHigh confidence
02Before it hits the council
The application is the last step, not the first.
By the time a planning notice goes up on the gate, a field has usually been promoted for years. We read what promoters publish, what the local paper reports and what the council has already been told, so you hear about it at the start.
- 1
Years before
A promoter options the land
Found by the web check
We start looking here - 2
Years before
Consultation events in the village hall
Found by the web check and local news
- 3
Then
Put forward in the Call for Sites
Found in the council's site register
- 4
Then
Allocated in the draft Local Plan
Found in the Local Plan
- 5
Finally
The planning application lands
The first most neighbours hear of it
Most people find out here
- 22m
- registered land parcels across England
- 1.3m
- open fields, each scored on request
- 308
- councils, with their plans and housing targets
- 12
- checks on every field, from flood risk to promoters
03Two reports
The score is free. The why is £19.99.
Check as many fields as you like for nothing. When one matters, the deep report lays out every reason and runs the web check on it.
Lite report
Free
No account. No limit.
- The score out of 100 and its band
- A 5-year and a 15-year view
- What we checked, and how confident we are
- Scores for every field around you, on the map
Deep report
£19.99
One field, or a selection. Pay once, keep it.
- Every reason behind the score, with its source
- The web check: promoters, land deals and local news
- Planning applications, refusals and appeals nearby
- What would push the score up or down
- The score worked out again with everything found
Owner check and field watching are on the way, and bundle with the deep report.
Start with a free scoreTake it to the viewing.
Standing in the garden, wondering about the view? Check That Field is coming to iPhone and Android.
High
Land promoter consulting nearby
04Straight answers
Things people ask before they type a postcode.
How accurate is it?
It's an estimate built from published data, not a prediction. Where we hold the council's plans and planning register, it's a fair reflection of the pressure on a field. Where we don't yet, the report says so and marks the score low confidence. It is never planning or legal advice.
Is it really free?
Yes. The lite report, with the score and what we checked, is free with no account. The deep report, with every reason and the web check, is £19.99 for a field or a selection of fields.
Where does the data come from?
Open data from HM Land Registry, the Environment Agency, Natural England, Historic England, Ordnance Survey and the councils themselves, plus what promoters and the local press publish. Every reason in a deep report links to where it came from.
Can you tell me who owns the field?
Not yet. An owner check from HM Land Registry is on the way, on its own and bundled with the deep report.
Which areas do you cover?
All of England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different planning systems and aren't covered yet.