Frequently asked questions

I am not receiving emails.
a) Check your spam or junk mail folder.
b) You may need to add 'contactus@planningapp.org' to your 'safe sender' list.
I can't find a planning application.
We are currently focused on current planning applications validated on or after 3 Nov 2017. Applications published before this date are not currently loaded.
Where is the data stored?
The data is stored in the Cloud. The data and servers are hosted by Amazon (AWS) in the EU.

What is new?

Here are the recent changes to the service:

23 Mar 2024: CAAC appraisal can now be reviewed without requiring a decision.
The appraisal can now be reviewed without setting the decision. The descision is now only required for publishing.
12 Mar 2024: 'Multiple' CA is now auto assigned to nearest CA.
A number of applications have started coming in with the conservation area set as 'Multiple'. This prevents the CA from being asigned. To combat this a routine has been introduced that maps an application to a conservation area based on other applications in its immediate vicinity / postcode area. This only applies to Applications that are in a CA but failed to be mapped.
7 Mar 2024: Fixed problem with updating meeting minutes.
An update to audited changes prevented updated meeting minutes from being saved. This is now fixed.
14 Jan 2024: Updated About CAACs.
The About CAACs text has been updated.
4 Dec 2023: Updated news.
A CAAC Chair can now add or update news items
27 Nov 2023: Opens multiple application documents.
Selected documents on the view application page can now be opened in one click.
Note - this requires the "allow popup windows" setting to be enabled in your browser for this website
23 Nov 2023: Reinstated email forwarding.
Email forwarding to the CAAC chairs, eg to chair.kingstontowncaac@planningapp.org, had stopped working. This has now been reinstated.
21 Nov 2023: Adds application document subsections.
The list of documents on the view application page has been grouped by type (DAS, elevations and plans etc) to assist with finding documents of interest.
17 Nov 2023: Re-assigned Fishponds Park CA To SCAAC.
CA26 Fishponds Park Conservation Area was missing from the SCAAC meeting agenda's since July 2022. Two applications were impacted: 23/00836 was missing from the May 23 agenda and 23/02181 missing from the Sept 23 agenda. The Fishponds Park CA is now reinstated to the SCAAC meeting agendas and these two applications and any future applications within this CA are now included once more.
16 Nov 2023: Revised application page.
The view application page has been reworked to be more compact and consistant with the listing page.
14 Nov 2023: Fixed application list sorting.
Application list sorting is now working.
14 Nov 2023: Fixed page disabled when publishing appraisals.
The page remained disabled due to the lingering modal effect when publishing appraisals. This is now fixed.
10 Nov 2023: Improved watch-lists.
Your watch-list link is shown when you add or remove an Application from the list. You need to be logged in to see this feature.
9 Nov 2023: Infinite scrolling.
The Application list page links have been replaced with one infinite scrolling page.
3 Nov 2023: Upgraded Minutes editor.
Editing meeting minutes is improved with the introduction of a new standard text editor. This replaces the Markdown editor used previously.
24 Oct 2023: Fixed large number of weekly emails issue.
The weekly email-sending routine went into a continuous loop due to an error that prevented it from completing. The cause has been fixed and further checks added to help prevent a similar issue in future. Appologies to those affected.
17 Oct 2023: Fixed the weekly email application count.
The weekly emails had an incorrect total for the applications received for the CAAC. This has now been corrected.
16 Oct 2023: KTCAAC renamed to Kingston and North Kingston CAAC
The Kingston Town CAAC is renamed as the Kingston and North Kingston CAAC
16 Oct 2023: Riverside South moved to SCAAC
'CA24: Riverside South' will henceforth be included in Surbiton CAAC meeting agendas. (Formerly in the Kingston Town CAAC agenda)
13 Oct 2023: auto-sized text box
An appraisal text box will now expand as you type.
11 Oct 2023: Technology update.
Updates have been made to the technology running this site. There should be no noticable change.
11 Oct 2023: Links to past CAAC meeting agendas.
Links to the last 2 years of meeting agendas are now available.
28 Jun 2022: CA14 (Cadogan Road) moved to Surbiton CAAC.
The Surbiton and Kingston Town CAACs have agreed that conservation area CA14 (Cadogan Road) should be hence forth covered by the Surbiton CAAC. Therefore from July 2022 onwards, planning applications within CA14 (Cadogan Road) conservation area will appear in the Surbiton CAAC meeting agendas and will no longer be included in the Kingston Town CAAC meeting agendas.
7 Mar 2022: Added changes history for appraisal 'show' pages
Committee members can view the history of changes for an unpublished appraisal by clicking the 'last touched by' link.
10 Jan 2022: Fixed missing Target dates
Application target dates were no longer being set. It was mapped to 'Statutory Expiry Date' which RBK appears to have removed. It is now mapped to 'Determination Deadline'. Also default ordering of applications now shows latest updates first.
10 Jul 2021: Omit applicant & agent details for small applications
Applicant & agent details are only significant for large applications.
11 Mar 2020: Adds CAAC appraisals to application pages
If there is a CAAC appraisal, it will be included in the application show page.
13 Feb: Adds content to appraisal emails
Appraisal text is added to the email directly, so the link doesn't have to be clicked to read it.
11 Feb 2020: Fixes mapping applications to categories
Idox Application category mappings were added.
17 Nov 2019: Improved home page and added news
The home page has been reworked to improve its appeal. A news page has been added.
17 Oct: Relink Applications from RBKs old system to Idox
On around 19 September RBK appeared to have retired the old planning portal pages. Therefore the undecided applications in this App with these now broken links have been updated to link to their equivalent Idox pages. 157 applications were affected.
1 Apr: KTCAAC Constitution
The Kingston Town CAAC Constitution has been published.
22 Mar: Council Committee meeting dates.
Weekly emails and the dashboard now include upcoming Council committee meeting dates for applications previously appraised by the CAAC.
19 Mar: Improved application document links.
When viewing an application the document links open to a 'page not found' on Idox. This is because an application page on Idox needs to be visited first to set a session cookie. To make this clearer, links are disabled until the application page on Idox is opened.
4 Feb: Applications included in CAAC agendas now based on when received.
Prior to RBKs transition to Idox, applications were included in CAAC meeting agendas based on their date validated. However this method broke down as RBK loaded backlogged validated applications into Idox. The delays ran into several weeks causing applcations to be belatedly added to past agendas, which was wrong. Therefore with this change, inclusion in CAAC agendas is now based on when Plannnig App became aware of the validated application in Idox (which it checks every night). I.e "when received". Now those recently received are in the current agenda as you would expect.
31 Jan 2019: Idox non-CA-assignment workaround
Applications in the new Idox system are being marked as "in a Conservation Area", but not which one. This work-around assigns these applications the same CA as a nearby application for which the CA is known. It does this by searching last years applications within a radius based on postcodes. This work-around is not perfect, it may not always assign to the correct CA, and applications without postcodes will need to be done manually (if so they will be listed on the CAAC Dashboard). If you spot any discrepancy, please Contact Us.
18 Dec 2018: Retrieve applications RBK failed to publish
RBK are in a state of transition as they switch over to their new "Idox" planning system, as used by Sutton. We have been informed that RBK have now closed their existing planning system to new applications - future applications will be entered into the new Idox system. A side effect of this is the weekly updates stopped being issued! To alleviate this situation we have "found" the validated applications which should have been published on 7 Dec 2018. We did not find any applications that should have been published on 14 Dec 2018. We will continue to watch this space, and will endevour to provide as continuous service as possible during this transition.
30 Nov: Appraisals receipt audit
This adds the ability to track CAAC appraisals that have been published & sent - to see how many were acknowledged in Officers reports, how many were not, and how many were sent too late.
20 Nov: Respond to amended plans
This adds the ability to respond to an updated planning application when the local authority requests observations on amended plans. These "Further Observations" can now be appended to a published appraisal, and on publishing these comments, the updated appraisal can be re-sent.
16 Nov: Fixes missing applications from Malden & Coombe CAAC agendas
Ensures applications are included in agendas where their publish dates coincide with the meeting issue date
7 Nov: Meeting agenda application filters for CAACs
The planning applications included in the CAAC meeting agendas can now be taylored per CAAC preferences. For example with this change the Maldens and Coombe CAAC is now configured to include 'Tree' applications, and Kingston Town CAAC is now configured to exclude 'Condition' applications where there is no listed building on the site.
10 Oct: Added Sutton applications
Planning Applications for the Borough of Sutton can now be viewed.
16 Sept: Improved search by application number
When searching for a specific application number, the search will automatically include decided applications.
13 Sept: Improved emails sent to RBK
Revised the 'from' address and format.
4 Sept: Update your user name
You can now set your profile username.
21 Aug: Improved review of appraisals during a CAAC meeting
Appraisals now open as a modal window over the top of the meeting agenda. This saves clicking back and forth so much as we work through the list during the meeting.
17 Aug: Fixed applications missing from some Surbiton agendas
Applications were not being assigned to "Oakhill" and "St Andrews Square" Conservation areas. The matching logic has been updated to account for missing apostrophes and additional text.
8 Aug: Cleaner Navigation bar
The top navigation bar has been de-cluttered and is now a darker contrasting colour.
1 Aug: Postcode radius search
The existing postcode search is upgraded to include a distance. Applications will be included if they are located within this radius from the postcode. This works in combination with the other search criteria to refine the search results.
27 July: Publishing CAAC meeting minutes
Completed meeting minutes can only be viewed by CAAC members. You now have the option to publish them. Publishing means an email with a link is sent to Development Control, and the meeting minutes can be viewed by anyone whether logged in or not.
24 July: Saved-searches for watch-lists
You can now add a saved-search to your watch-list. Any application that matches your search criteria will be included in your watch-list. This works in addition to any applications you have saved to your watch-list.
19 July: Group sharing for watch-lists
Group sharing makes it possible for others to view your watch-list.
12 July: Added 'last updated' to applications listing.
The date the applications' most recent document was uploaded to the RBK website is now displayed. This is particularly useful for applications you might be tracking.
3 July: Added decision link to officers report.
Clicking on the applications' decision now opens the officers report document, if available.
30 June: Added link to ward Councillors.
Follow up with Ward Councillors using the 'ModernGov' link now on the 'view planning application page'. Clicking it opens the Council web page listing Councillors for the Ward.
29 June: Upgraded application search.
Find planning applications by seaching by keywords or by number. Drill down by adding search filters to refine the results further.
28 June: Added 'watching'.
Keep track of planning applications by adding them to your saved list.
20 June: Added dashboard as home page.
CAAC members can see a status overview and click directly through to appraisals that need working on. Other users see a basic home page.
19 June: Fixed a temporary issue with logging in.
18 June: Added a state filter to the meeting appraisals list.
Following a meeting CAAC members can use the filter to identify which appraisals are awaiting review.
6 June: Added ability to draft appraisals without a decision.
Minor workflow improvement: a CAAC member Conservation Area representative can now add their suggested reasons before the meeting.
24 May: Added ability to modify a meeting agenda.
10 May: Added ability to appraise any application.
Any planning application whether in a Conservation Area or not can now receive a CAAC appraisal. They will appear at the bottom of a CAAC meeting agenda, under 'Other'.
9 May: Added "Decision already issued" option to appraisals.
If the planning application was determined before the CAAC meeting, then the CAAC appraisal can now be marked as "Decision already issued" to indicate why it wasnt considered by the committee.
2 May: Added 'Chair' email accounts.
Three 'Chair' email accounts can be configured to send CAAC appraisals direct to RBK on publishing; and to forward any emails received to the respective chairs.
23 April: Updated to 'Google Docs' theme.
The informational content on each page now has a white A4 page appearance, similar to that of a Google Document.
17 April: Added CAAC minutes & appraisal workflow.
Added meeting minutes, using 'markdown'; Added new, draft, reviewed & published appraisal workflow.
10 April: Added GDPR compliance.
Added compliance with the new EU regulations due to come into force on 25 May 2018.
23 March: Added Conservation Areas documents.
PDF documents for almost every C.A. have been scanned and are available for download.
14 March: Added About Conservation Areas pages.
The complete description of each C.A. has been added from the RBK website.
6 March: Added CAAC Appraisals.
CAAC Appraisals can now be added to past meeting agendas.
29 January: More legible font.
Replaced the 'Sketchy' theme with the 'Basic' theme for an easier-to-read font.
15 Jan: Added unsubscribe.
Added the ability to manage your subscriptions.
11 Jan: Improved print view.
When you print a page, the side menu, header and footer are now hidden.
10 Jan: 'Clear Filters' button added.
On the Planning applications page, you can now reset the filters in the side menu by clicking the 'Clear Filters' button.
10 Jan 2018: 'No applications found' message displayed.
On the Planning Applications page, if your filters result in an empty list, you now get a message displayed instead of a blank page.